Supervision and Regulation of Associated Persons
The registration file is the supervisor's first audit trail
Every person associated with a member in a capacity involving the investment banking or securities business must be registered under the FINRA By-Laws, and the member files a Uniform Application for Securities Industry Registration or Transfer (Form U4) through CRD. Fingerprints are submitted for covered personnel as required under the Exchange Act. The member must amend the U4 within 30 days of learning of a change to a disclosure item - an arrest, a regulatory action, a customer complaint, a bankruptcy, a change in outside business activity. On termination of association, a Form U5 is filed within 30 days, and "permitted to resign" answers require a narrative describing the circumstances.
Traps that recur in questions
The amendment clock runs from the member's knowledge, not the event date, and 30 days is the recurring interval - not 10, not 60. A superficial or misleading U5 is itself a violation. Continuing education has two distinct halves: the Regulatory Element (computer-based, due by December 31 of the second anniversary year after registration, then every three years; a person who has not met it may not perform the functions of the registration) and the Firm Element (an annual needs analysis and firm-designed training for registered personnel). Selling away: a private securities transaction requires prior written notice, and the member must approve or deny in writing; approved transactions go on the firm's books. Outside business activity requires written notice to the firm.
Rule of thumb
When a question asks "how long," sort it into one of three buckets: 30 days for U4 amendments and U5 filings, 3 business days for fingerprints, and the three-year Regulatory Element cycle.