The Commissioner of the Department of Insurance, Securities and Banking, pursuant to the authority set forth in Section 705 of the Securities Act of 2000, effective October 26, 2000 (D.C. Law 13-203; D.C. Official Code § 31-5607.05), hereby gives notice of her adoption of the following amendments to Chapter 1 (Broker-Dealers, Agents, Investment Advisers, and Investment Adviser Representatives) of Subtitle B (Securities) of Title 26 (Insurance, Securities and Banking) of the District of Columbia Municipal Regulations (“DCMR”).
A prior version of this rulemaking was originally published in the District of Columbia Register at 71 DCR 015876 on December 20, 2024. After publication of the original proposed rulemaking, it was determined that certain revisions to the proposed amendments were required, and thus the notice was republished with those additional revisions. A second proposed rulemaking was published for an abbreviated 7-day period on May 23, 2025 at 72 DCR 006224. No additional comments were received.
This rulemaking will update the District of Columbia’s regulations to allow broker-dealer agents and investment adviser representatives to participate in programs that will allow them to maintain their licensing examination qualifications for a period of up to five (5) years by completing annual continuing education requirements. It will provide flexibility for currently licensed persons who may decide to leave the industry for various reasons but wish to maintain their eligibility to return within five (5) years. The new rules will require such persons to meet continuing education requirements during their time away from the industry so that they remain current on regulatory requirements and industry developments. The new rulemaking also fixes some typographical errors in 26-B DCMR § 160, covering examination and qualification requirements for investment advisers and investment adviser representatives.
No changes have been made to the text of the rules as proposed. The rules were adopted as final by the Commissioner on April 25, 2025, and shall become effective upon publication of this notice in the District of Columbia Register.
Chapter 1, BROKER-DEALERS, AGENTS, INVESTMENT ADVISERS, AND INVESTMENT ADVISER REPRESENTATIVES of Subtitle B, SECURITIES, of Title 26, INSURANCE, SECURITIES AND BANKING, of the District of Columbia Municipal Regulations is amended as follows:
Section 103, EXAMINATIONS, is amended by adding new sections 103.5 through 103.8 to read as follows:
103.5 A person applying for a license as an agent of a broker-dealer shall have passed the examination(s) required by § 103.1 within two (2) years of the date of application unless such person is covered by Subsection 103.6 or 103.7 or this requirement is otherwise waived by the Commissioner.
103.6 A person who has been licensed as an agent in any jurisdiction within two (2) years of the date of filing an application for a license in the District shall not be required to retake the examinations required by § 103.1 to be eligible for a license.
103.7 A person who has not been licensed as an agent in any jurisdiction within the two (2) years of filing an application for a license in the District but has been licensed as an agent in another jurisdiction within five (5) years of the filing of an application for a license in the District, who has participated in the FINRA Maintaining Qualifications Program, and whose appropriate FINRA qualifying examinations remain valid pursuant to effective participation in the FINRA Maintaining Qualifications Program shall be deemed in compliance with the examination requirements of § 103.1.
103.8 Successful participation in the FINRA Maintaining Qualifications Program shall not extend the Series 66/Uniform Combined State Law Examination for purposes of investment adviser representative licensing.
Section 160, EXAMINATION/QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS, is amended as follows:
Subsection 160.1 is amended by striking the phrase “of a passing score on one of the following examinations:” and inserting the phrase “that the person took and passed, within the two-year (2-year) period immediately preceding the date of the application, either:” in its place.
Subsection 160.2 is amended by striking the number “159.1” and inserting the number “160.1” in its place.
Subsection 160.3 is amended by striking the number “159.1” and inserting the number “160.1” in its place.
Subsection 160.4 is amended by striking the number “159.1” and inserting the number “160.1” in its place.
A new subsection 160.6 is added to read as follows:
160.6 Notwithstanding Subsection 160.3, a person who terminates their license as an investment adviser representative may maintain the validity of their Series 65/Uniform Investment Adviser Law Examination (“Series 65 Examination”), the investment adviser representative portion of the Series 66/Uniform Combined State Law Examination (“Series 66 Examination”), the FINRA Securities Industry Essentials Examination (“SIE”), and the General Securities Representative Examination (“Series 7 Examination”), as applicable, without being employed by or associated with an investment adviser or federal covered investment adviser for a maximum of five (5) years following the termination of the effectiveness of the investment adviser representative license if the person meets all of the following requirements:
(a) The person previously took and passed the examination for which they seek to maintain validity under this rule;
(b) The person was licensed as an investment adviser representative for at least one (1) year immediately preceding the termination of the investment adviser representative license;
(c) The person was not subject to a statutory disqualification as defined in Section 3(a)(39) of the federal Securities Exchange Act (15 U.S.C. § 78c(a)(39)) while licensed as an investment adviser representative or at any period after termination of the license;
(d) The person elects to participate in the NASAA Exam Validity Extension Program (to extend the validity of the Series 65 Examination or Series 66 Examination) and, if applicable, the FINRA Maintaining Qualifications Program (to extend the validity of the SIE or the Series 7 Examination) under this section within two (2) years after the effective date of the termination of the investment adviser representative license;
(e) The person is compliant with the investment adviser representative continuing education requirements mandated by § 161 at the time the investment adviser representative license becomes ineffective;
(f) The person completes annually on or before December 31 of each calendar year in which the person participates in the NASAA Exam Validity Extension Program:
(1) Six (6) credits of IAR Ethics and Professional Responsibility Content offered by an Authorized Provider, including at least three (3) hours covering the topic of ethics; and
(2) Six (6) credits of IAR Products and Practice Content offered by an Authorized Provider, provided that compliance with the FINRA Maintaining Qualifications Program shall be considered compliance with this requirement; and
(g) The person successfully participates in the NASAA Exam Validity Extension Program (“EVEP”) and, if applicable, successfully participates in the FINRA Maintaining Qualifications Program (“MQP”) and has completed the credits required by paragraph (f) of this subsection for each calendar year that elapses after the person’s investment adviser representative license became ineffective regardless of when the person elects to participate in EVEP (and MQP, if applicable).
Section 199, DEFINITIONS, is amended as follows:
The following definition is added after the definition of “FINRA”:
FINRA Maintaining Qualifications Program - shall mean the program established by FINRA which provides eligible persons who terminate any of their representative or principal securities registrations or licenses with the option of maintaining their qualifications for certain terminated registrations or licenses by completing annual continuing education requirements.
The following definitions are added after the definition of “Mass transfer”:
NASAA - shall mean the North American Securities Administrators Association.
NASAA Examination Validity Extension Program - shall mean the program established and managed by NASAA that allows certain registered or licensed persons to extend the validity of NASAA qualifying exams beyond the normal time limits.