How to Get a CRD Number: Sponsor, Form U4, and Fees

To get a CRD number, you need a FINRA member firm to sponsor you: the firm files Form U4 on your behalf through the FINRA Gateway after you’ve passed the required qualification exams and submitted fingerprints, and the system assigns your permanent CRD (Central Registration Depository) number once the filing is processed.¹ There is no way to apply for one yourself. The number stays with you for the rest of your career, even if you change firms or leave the industry for a stretch.

Find a Sponsoring Firm

Sponsorship is the gating step. FINRA requires every person working in the securities business at a member firm to be registered in a category matching their job, and the firm — not the individual — initiates that registration.² If you want a CRD number, you need a broker-dealer willing to hire or associate with you and file on your behalf.

The firm itself must already be registered. Broker-dealers register with the SEC and FINRA by filing Form BD and receive their own CRD number tracking the firm’s compliance history.³ Investment adviser representatives follow a related path through the IARD system, which is also operated by FINRA and also issues CRD numbers.⁴

Pass the Qualification Exams

Before registration can go through, you have to pass the exams for the type of work you plan to do. The first is the Securities Industry Essentials (SIE) exam, which covers basic securities knowledge, market structure, and regulatory rules. You can sit for the SIE without a sponsor, but passing it alone doesn’t qualify you to work in the business.⁵

You also need a representative-level exam that matches your role. Common ones include:

Series 7, General Securities Representative — the broadest license, covering most types of securities
Series 6, Investment Company Representative — mutual funds, variable annuities, and similar products
Series 79, Investment Banking Representative
Series 57, Securities Trader

A sponsoring firm is required to sit for any representative-level exam.⁵ In 2026, the SIE costs $100 and the Series 7 costs $395.⁶

What Goes on Form U4

Your firm files Form U4, the Uniform Application for Securities Industry Registration or Transfer, electronically through FINRA.⁷ You’ll provide:

Residential history for the past five years, with no gaps
Employment history for the past ten years, covering full- and part-time work, self-employment, military service, unemployment, and full-time education
Identifying information: legal name, Social Security number, date of birth, and citizenship status

If you have never been registered before, or have been out of the industry for more than 30 days, every section of the form has to be completed from scratch. Transfers within 30 days of leaving a previous firm carry some information forward.⁷

Disclosures

Form U4 has a disclosure section that requires honest reporting of your legal, regulatory, and financial history: criminal charges and convictions, regulatory actions, customer complaints, investment-related civil lawsuits, and terminations from past firms. Financial disclosures include bankruptcies, compromises with creditors, bond payouts or revocations, and unsatisfied judgments or liens.⁸ Omitting something required can lead to disciplinary action, including a permanent bar from the industry.

Fingerprints

Federal law requires broker-dealers to submit fingerprints for an FBI criminal background check.⁹ Firms handle this through physical cards or electronic scans. The FBI charges $10 per submission.¹⁰

What It Costs

FINRA charges $125 for each initial Form U4 filing, with an additional $155 disclosure processing fee if the filing contains new disclosure information.¹¹

Each state you want to register in charges its own jurisdiction fee, ranging from $0 in Kansas to $190 in New Jersey. FINRA layers a tiered system processing fee on top, based on how many jurisdictions you register in:

1–5 jurisdictions: $70
6–20 jurisdictions: $95
21–40 jurisdictions: $110
41 or more: $125

These are set out in FINRA’s SRO/Jurisdiction Fee and Setting Schedule.¹² A representative registering in a handful of states should expect several hundred dollars in initial costs before exam fees. Most firms cover these costs for their sponsored representatives.

How the Filing Gets Submitted

All registration filings move through the FINRA Gateway. Each firm designates a Super Account Administrator (SAA) as its primary contact with the system, who manages access for the compliance staff who prepare and submit filings.¹³ Fees come out of the firm’s Flex-Funding Account, loaded by check, ACH, or wire transfer, and nothing processes until the account has enough money in it.¹⁴

Once the filing goes through and your background check clears, the system assigns your CRD number. The firm sees the notification in its online dashboard, and the number is yours from that point on.¹

What Can Block You From Registering

Some events in your background can make you ineligible to register. Under Section 3(a)(39) of the Securities Exchange Act, disqualifying events include:

All felony convictions and certain misdemeanor convictions within the past ten years
Temporary or permanent court injunctions related to securities violations, regardless of when they were issued
Being barred or suspended by FINRA, the SEC, the CFTC, or another securities regulator
Findings that you made false statements in applications or regulatory proceedings
Findings by the SEC, CFTC, or an SRO that you willfully violated federal securities or commodities laws
Final orders from state securities, banking, or insurance regulators that bar you from association or are based on fraudulent conduct

Statutory disqualification isn’t necessarily permanent. A firm can sponsor a disqualified person by filing an MC-400 Application, which starts an eligibility proceeding under FINRA’s Rule 9520 series. The application requires a detailed supervisory plan and an explanation of why the firm believes approval is warranted. The MC-400 processing fee is $5,000, with an added $2,500 hearing fee if a hearing is required.¹⁵

After You Have the Number

Your CRD number is permanent, but your registration is not. You have to complete FINRA’s Regulatory Element continuing education by December 31 each year for every registration category you hold, under FINRA Rule 1240.¹⁶ Miss the deadline and your registration goes inactive; stay inactive for two straight years and it terminates automatically, forcing you to requalify by exam.¹⁷

You and your firm also have an ongoing duty to keep Form U4 current. Amendments for things like a new address, a legal name change, a criminal charge, a customer complaint, a regulatory action, or a financial judgment must be filed within 30 days of learning about the event.¹⁸ Late filings carry a $100 fee for the first day, $40 for each day after, up to $2,460 — and repeated failures can draw separate disciplinary review.¹⁹

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FINRA. Central Registration Depository (CRD)
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FINRA. FINRA Rule 1210 – Registration Requirements
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FINRA. Form BD
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NASAA. CRD and IARD
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FINRA. Securities Industry Essentials (SIE) Exam
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FINRA. FINRA Fee Adjustment Schedule
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FINRA. Form U4
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FINRA. Form U4 Uniform Application for Securities Industry Registration or Transfer
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FINRA. Frequently Asked Questions About Fingerprint Processing
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FINRA. Fingerprint Fees
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FINRA. Schedule of Registration and Exam Fees
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FINRA. SRO/Jurisdiction Fee and Setting Schedule
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FINRA. FINRA Entitlement Program – Super Account Administrators
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FINRA. Regulatory Fees and Payment Options
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FINRA. General Information on Statutory Disqualification and FINRA Eligibility Proceedings
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FINRA. Continuing Education (CE)
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FINRA. Maintaining Your Registration
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Securities and Exchange Commission. Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of a Proposed Rule Change to Amend Form U4
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FINRA. Frequently Asked Questions About Late Disclosure Fees