A trading authorization form is the document you file with your brokerage to let a third party — a financial advisor, a family member, or another trusted person — place trades in your account without needing your sign-off on every transaction. You keep legal ownership of the assets; your named agent gets defined authority to act. Before you fill it out, two choices do most of the work: how much authority to grant (limited or full), and whether the agent can decide what to trade or only execute what you tell them.
Pick the Level of Authority First
Brokerages split trading authority into two tiers, and the choice shapes everything else on the form.
Limited trading authority lets your agent buy, sell, and trade securities in the account — stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and, if separately approved, options. It does not allow withdrawals or transfers of assets out of the account. The cash and securities stay inside the account regardless of what trades the agent places. This is the standard choice when you want someone running the investment side without the ability to pull money out.
Full trading authority covers everything limited authority allows and adds the power to withdraw funds, request wire transfers, move securities to external accounts, and in some cases make tax elections or initiate IRA rollovers. At Fidelity, full authority also covers requesting check disbursements and initiating Roth conversions.
Because full authority creates a real risk of account depletion, firms scrutinize it more heavily. Fidelity requires a medallion signature guarantee to add full authority — without one, the firm defaults to limited authority even if you checked the full-authority box. Treat the box you check as consequential: leaving the level field ambiguous usually causes the firm to apply the most restrictive default.
Discretionary or Non-Discretionary
Granting trading authority does not automatically mean your agent decides what to buy and sell. That is a separate layer.
Under non-discretionary authority, you tell the agent what to trade and they execute. They may have some flexibility on timing or price — for example, “buy 200 shares of XYZ today at the best price you can get” — but the decision about the security and the quantity stays with you. FINRA limits this kind of time-and-price discretion to the end of the business day the customer granted it, unless you sign a written instruction extending it.
Discretionary authority lets the agent choose independently which securities to buy or sell, in what quantities, and when. FINRA Rule 2510 requires your prior written authorization before any broker or advisor exercises discretion, and the brokerage firm itself must accept the account in writing through a partner, officer, or manager. The trading authorization form is where that written authorization lives. If you want the agent making independent investment calls, the form has to say so explicitly. Checking a box that only allows order execution leaves the agent unable to act without a specific instruction from you.
What Each Section of the Form Asks For
Forms vary by firm, but they collect the same three groups of information: your details, the agent’s details, and the terms of the authorization.
Your Information as Account Owner
You provide your full legal name as it appears on the account, your brokerage account number, and your current residential address. Match everything to your government-issued ID — passport or driver’s license — because mismatches get flagged in compliance review and slow processing. If you hold multiple accounts at the same firm and want the authorization to cover all of them, check whether the form allows multiple account numbers or whether you need one form per account.
Your Agent’s Information
The form asks for the agent’s full legal name, Social Security number, date of birth, residential address, phone number, and email. Brokerages collect this partly to satisfy federal customer identification requirements under the USA PATRIOT Act, which requires financial institutions to verify the identity of anyone with authority over an account. Employment information is also typically required for background screening.
If the agent is a professional firm rather than an individual, you’ll need the firm’s legal entity name, Taxpayer Identification Number, and often a corporate resolution authorizing a specific person at the firm to act on the account.
Terms and Duration
Look for fields specifying whether the authorization is indefinite or set for a defined period. Some forms include an expiration date; others default to indefinite authority that continues until you revoke it in writing. You will also select the authority level (limited or full) and, at many firms, whether the authority is discretionary or non-discretionary. Fill these fields deliberately. Blanks typically trigger the most restrictive default.
Signatures and the Medallion Guarantee
Both you and the agent sign the form, certifying that the information is accurate. Most firms also require additional verification to protect against fraud, and the specific requirement depends on the level of authority and the firm.
A medallion signature guarantee is a special stamp confirming that your signature is genuine and that you have the legal authority to authorize the transaction. It is not the same as notarization. A notary confirms identity and witnesses a signature; a medallion guarantee also verifies your authority and capacity. You can obtain one at banks, credit unions, and brokerage firms that participate in a medallion program, typically at no charge if you are an account holder. Fidelity requires a medallion guarantee for full trading authority but waives the requirement if all signers complete the form in person at a Fidelity Investor Center.
Some firms, particularly for institutional or mutual fund accounts, require notarization instead of or in addition to a medallion guarantee. American Century’s trading authorization form, for example, includes a full notary acknowledgment section.
Submitting the Form
Submission methods vary. Most firms accept digital upload, fax, mail, or in-person delivery at a branch. Fidelity encourages digital submission for faster processing — scan or photograph the completed form and upload it on their website. Mailing is the usual fallback.
After submission, the compliance department verifies that the information matches firm records and that the proper signatures and guarantees are present. Processing timelines are not universal; incomplete forms take longer. Expect a confirmation notice by email or mail once the authorization is active. Some brokerages also require a verbal verification call with the account owner before the agent places a first trade, as a final fraud-prevention step.
What the Form Alone Does Not Cover
A trading authorization form does not by itself open the account to every type of trading. Options and margin each sit behind their own gates.
Before a brokerage approves an account for options, it must perform due diligence on the customer’s financial situation and investment objectives, and an Options Principal at the firm must approve the account in writing. The firm must deliver the Options Clearing Corporation’s disclosure document covering the mechanics and risks of options trading before or at the time of approval. Within fifteen days of approval, you sign an agreement that the account will be handled under the exchange’s rules. If your agent will trade options for you, the trading authorization form needs to reflect that the account is options-approved, and the discretionary or non-discretionary scope should cover options transactions. Some firms handle this on the same form; others use separate options paperwork. Margin agreements are similarly separate: if the agent needs to trade on margin, the account must have a margin agreement in place first.
Trust and entity accounts add another layer. On a trust account, only the named trustee has authority to act, so the brokerage will review the trust instrument to confirm it authorizes or at least doesn’t prohibit delegation of trading functions. Some states have statutes specifically permitting trustees to delegate investment functions to agents and brokers. For corporate or partnership accounts, firms typically require a corporate resolution or partnership agreement identifying who can grant trading authority, along with formation documents and the entity’s Taxpayer Identification Number.
Trading Authorization vs. Durable Power of Attorney
A standard trading authorization form and a power of attorney can look similar, but they behave differently when things go wrong. A standard (non-durable) trading authorization terminates if you become incapacitated. If you fall into a medical coma or are declared mentally incompetent, the agent’s authority ends and the brokerage freezes the account. A durable power of attorney continues after incapacitation; that is the point of making it durable. If continuity during a health crisis is the reason you’re setting up third-party access, a durable POA may be what you actually need rather than, or in addition to, a trading authorization form.
Both types of authority end when the account holder dies. The account effectively freezes until legal representatives or executors provide the necessary probate documents. TD Bank’s trading authorization form states this explicitly: the firm continues dealing with your agent until it receives proof of your death, a court order terminating the agent’s authority, or your written revocation.
Many states have adopted versions of the Uniform Power of Attorney Act, which can require financial institutions to accept a properly executed statutory POA within a set number of business days. A brokerage’s proprietary trading authorization form is governed by your account agreement with that specific firm. If you already have a durable POA naming someone as your agent, ask the brokerage whether it will accept the POA directly or whether it also requires its own trading authorization form on file.
Changing or Revoking the Authorization
To end or change a trading authorization, submit a written revocation notice directly to the brokerage. The notice should state your intent to terminate the agent’s powers, include your account number, and be signed and dated. Most firms require written revocation specifically. A phone call alone will not do it, because the firm needs a documented trail.
Once the firm processes the revocation, the agent’s access to the trading platform and trade desk is disabled. Processing windows vary. If timing is sensitive — a concern about unauthorized trades during the transition, for instance — call the firm’s customer service line to flag urgency and ask them to restrict the agent’s access immediately while the written notice is processed.
To change the level of authority rather than revoke it (downgrading from full to limited, say), you generally complete a new form rather than amending the old one. Firms prefer a clean replacement document so there is no ambiguity about what the agent can and cannot do.
One Safeguard Worth Adding
While you have the paperwork open, consider naming a trusted contact person on the account. FINRA Rule 4512 requires brokerage firms to make reasonable efforts to collect one for every non-institutional customer account. A trusted contact is not an authorized trader; it is an independent person the firm can reach out to if something looks wrong, so they can help confirm your wishes or flag potential abuse. Naming one is optional, but it gives the brokerage a point of contact independent of your agent — useful precisely because the person you’ve authorized to trade is also the person whose activity might someday need checking.