SIE Ready🪪 Registration & Qualification · Lesson 2 of 4 · 5 min
U4 In, U5 Out: The Forms That Follow You
📄 Your Form U4 is your public career record. Leave something off it and the omission becomes the story.
💡 Key idea
U4 in, U5 out, both 30 days. U4 amendments within 30 days of learning of the event (10 days for a statutory disqualification). The public sees much of it on BrokerCheck.
🧠 Why it matters
FORM U4 is the registration application: personal data, 10 years of employment history, 5 years of residence, and disclosure questions (criminal charges, regulatory actions, customer complaints, liens, bankruptcies). It must be kept current: amendments are due within 30 DAYS of learning of the event, and within 10 DAYS for a statutory disqualification. Filing false or misleading information is itself a violation. FORM U5 is filed by the firm within 30 DAYS after a person leaves, stating the reason (voluntary, discharged, etc.), and the firm gives the person a copy. Much of this appears on BROKERCHECK, FINRA's free public tool. Example: a rep learns on May 1 that a judgment lien was filed; the U4 amendment is due by May 31.
📈 In the real world
🧾 Rosa is let go after an internal investigation. Her firm files a U5 three weeks later describing the reason and sends her a copy. Her next employer reads it, and so can any investor on BrokerCheck. Rosa learns that a U5 is not a private goodbye letter.
📌 Takeaways
- U4 amendments: within 30 days of learning of the event
- U5: firm files within 30 days of termination and gives the person a copy
- BrokerCheck lets the public see registration and disclosure history for free
📖 Terms in this lesson
Form U4: The registration form a firm files for a new associated person, disclosing history; it must be kept current as events occur.
Form U5: The form a firm files within 30 days after a registered person leaves, stating the reason.
BrokerCheck: FINRA's free public tool showing the registration and disciplinary history of firms and registered people.
U4 IN, U5 OUT: Form U4 registers a person joining a firm; Form U5 is filed when that person leaves.
✅ Test yourself
A rep learns on March 3 that she has been named in a customer arbitration. By when is the Form U4 amendment generally due?
- June 1
- March 10
- April 2
- April 30
Answer: C · April 2
U4 amendments are due no later than 30 days after learning of the event, so about April 2. Ten days applies only to a statutory disqualification, and later dates miss the deadline.
After a rep resigns, which form must the firm file, and within what time?
- Form BD, within 30 days
- Form U4, within 10 days
- Form U5, within 60 days
- Form U5, within 30 days
Answer: D · Form U5, within 30 days
The firm files Form U5 within 30 days of termination and provides a copy to the individual. U4 is the application, and Form BD is the firm's own registration.
What is BrokerCheck?
- A paid credit report that firms order on job applicants
- The SEC's database of public company filings
- An internal FINRA file that investors cannot view
- FINRA's free public tool showing registration and disclosure history
Answer: D · FINRA's free public tool showing registration and disclosure history
BrokerCheck is free and public; much of its data comes from Forms U4 and U5. The SEC's filing database is EDGAR, and credit reports are a separate background check.
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More in Registration & Qualification
- 1Who Needs a License (and Who Doesn't)
- 2U4 In, U5 Out: The Forms That Follow You
- 3Continuing Education and Keeping Your Exams Alive
- 4Disqualified: Felonies, 8210 and FINRA Discipline
📝 Free SIE practice questions: overview of the regulatory framework