Registration of the Firm and Its Personnel; Personnel Management
Membership and personnel registration
The Series 24 principal owns the paper trail proving that the firm and everyone in it are properly registered and supervised. The firm's own registration runs through Form BD (and its amendments); the individual side lives in Web CRD, where Form U4 is filed when a person becomes associated with the member. The 30-day clock governs almost this entire domain: Form U4 filed within 30 days of association, an amended U4 within 30 days of learning of a reportable event, Form U5 within 30 days of termination, and Form BR within 30 days of opening or closing a branch office. Fingerprints (FINRA Rule 1010) must be submitted for any person who handles securities, cash, or customer records.
Know Section 3(a)(39) of the Exchange Act: statutory disqualification - certain felonies, injunctions, regulatory bars, and orders - makes a person ineligible until the firm obtains relief through the MC-400 eligibility process. Disclosure of serious criminal and regulatory items has no expiration date; candidates lose points assuming old convictions 'drop off.'
Personnel management duties flow from Rule 3110: designate a supervisor; review outside business activities (Rule 3270, prior written notice) and private securities transactions (Rule 3280, prior notice and approval); monitor continuing education (Regulatory Element every two years within 120 days of the anniversary, Firm Element annually); and keep registrations alive - a representative absent from the industry more than two years must requalify by examination.
Rule of thumb: if a question asks how fast a personnel or registration form is due, answer 30 days unless the rule states otherwise. Worked example: a representative resigns March 3. Count 30 calendar days - the U5 is due no later than April 2, and it must be factual and non-defamatory; editorializing in the middle of a dispute is the classic supervision failure.