Rules 6624 Through 8210, Explained One Rule at a Time
This is Part 5 of FRC's FINRA Rules Quick Reference, continuing directly from Part 4's coverage of OTC transaction reporting. This piece completes the Quotation, Order, and Transaction Reporting Facilities rules, including TRACE and the Consolidated Audit Trail, before opening the Clearing and Investigations series.
FRC's SIE Exam Preparation course covers the foundational trade-reporting material every entry-level candidate is tested on. The Series 7 Exam Preparation course goes further into the market surveillance and investigation rules a fully licensed registered representative needs to understand.
Trade Reporting and Investigations
More in This FINRA Rules Quick Reference Series
This guide is part of a ten-part series. The other nine parts are Part 1: Membership and Registration, Part 2: Duties and Conflicts, Part 3: Supervision and Financial Rules, Part 4: Securities Offerings and Market Reporting, Part 6: Sanctions and Disciplinary Procedure, Part 7: Hearings and Appeals, Part 8: Eligibility and Exemption Proceedings, Part 9: Cease and Desist Orders and the Uniform Practice Code, and Part 10: Close-Out Procedures and Final Delivery Rules.
FINRA Rule 6624: Trade Reporting of Short Sales
Rule 6624 sets specific requirements for how short sale transactions in OTC equity securities must be reported to the OTC Reporting Facility, ensuring short sale activity is identifiable in the reported trade data. It works alongside SEC Regulation SHO to give regulators visibility into how much of a security's reported trading volume actually reflects short selling.
FINRA Rule 6625: Exemption from Trade Reporting Obligation for Certain Alternative Trading Systems
Rule 6625 exempts certain alternative trading systems from the standard OTC trade reporting obligation under specified conditions, recognizing that some ATS structures already report equivalent data through another mechanism. It prevents duplicate reporting of the same transaction data through two separate channels.
FINRA Rule 6630: Applicability of FINRA Rules to Securities Previously Designated as PORTAL Securities
Rule 6630 clarifies how FINRA's trade reporting rules apply to securities that were previously designated as PORTAL securities, a category tied to a now-retired private resale market for certain restricted securities. It ensures a legacy classification doesn't create ambiguity about which current reporting rules actually apply.
FINRA Rule 6700: Trade Reporting and Compliance Engine (TRACE)
Rule 6700 is the section heading for the Trade Reporting and Compliance Engine, FINRA's system for reporting transactions in corporate and agency bonds and other eligible debt securities. Every specific TRACE reporting requirement that follows sits underneath this umbrella, and TRACE data is what brought genuine price transparency to the corporate bond market for the first time.
FINRA Rule 6710: Definitions
Rule 6710 defines the specific terms used throughout the TRACE rules, including what counts as a TRACE-eligible security. This definition determines exactly which bonds and debt instruments the reporting obligations in the surrounding rules actually apply to.
FINRA Rule 6720: Participation in TRACE
Rule 6720 sets out the requirements a firm must meet to participate in TRACE, including the application and registration process for becoming a TRACE reporting member. It establishes who is actually authorized to submit trade reports into the system.
FINRA Rule 6730: Transaction Reporting
Rule 6730 sets out the substantive requirements for reporting a TRACE-eligible transaction, including what information must be reported, such as the CUSIP number, size, and price, and which party to the trade bears the reporting obligation. It is the core rule that actually generates the bond market transparency TRACE was built to provide.
FINRA Rule 6731: Exemption from Trade Reporting Obligation for Certain Alternative Trading Systems
Rule 6731 exempts certain alternative trading systems from the standard TRACE reporting obligation under specified conditions, mirroring the logic of Rule 6625 in the OTC equity context but applied to TRACE-eligible debt securities. It avoids duplicate reporting where an ATS already satisfies the underlying transparency goal another way.
FINRA Rule 6732: Exemption from Trade Reporting Obligation for Certain Transactions on an Alternative Trading System
Rule 6732 extends a narrower exemption from TRACE reporting to specific transaction types executed on an alternative trading system, distinct from the broader ATS-level exemption in Rule 6731. It addresses particular transaction structures that don't fit the standard reporting framework cleanly.
FINRA Rule 6740: Termination of TRACE Service
Rule 6740 sets out the circumstances and procedures under which FINRA can terminate a firm's access to TRACE, generally tied to a firm's compliance failures with the reporting rules. It gives FINRA a real enforcement lever beyond simply fining a firm for reporting violations.
FINRA Rule 6750: Dissemination of Transaction Information
Rule 6750 governs how FINRA disseminates the transaction information collected through TRACE to the public market, including the timing and format of that dissemination. It is the rule that actually turns collected trade reports into the public bond-price transparency TRACE is known for.
FINRA Rule 6760: Obligation to Provide Notice
Rule 6760 requires a firm to notify FINRA Operations when it identifies a TRACE-eligible transaction that is not yet entered into the TRACE system, before proceeding to report that transaction. It is a procedural safeguard ensuring new or unusual securities don't fall through a gap in TRACE's coverage.
FINRA Rule 6770: Emergency Authority
Rule 6770 gives FINRA emergency authority to modify TRACE reporting requirements or operations in the event of a significant market disruption or system failure. It provides operational flexibility for genuinely exceptional circumstances that the standard rules weren't designed to anticipate.
FINRA Rule 6800: Consolidated Audit Trail Compliance Rule
Rule 6800 is the section heading for FINRA's Consolidated Audit Trail compliance rules, implementing the national market system plan that created a single, comprehensive database tracking the lifecycle of every order in the US equity and options markets. Every specific CAT obligation covered in this section exists to support that single, unified regulatory audit trail.
FINRA Rule 6810: Definitions
Rule 6810 defines the specific terms used throughout the Consolidated Audit Trail rules, establishing the precise vocabulary that the more substantive CAT reporting obligations depend on. Consistent definitions matter enormously here since CAT data is meant to be comparable across every reporting firm in the market.
FINRA Rule 6820: Clock Synchronization
Rule 6820 requires a member firm's business clocks to be synchronized to a specified tolerance against a national time standard, ensuring the timestamps in CAT data are precise and comparable across firms. Accurate, synchronized timestamps are what let regulators actually reconstruct the exact sequence of events across an order's full lifecycle.
FINRA Rule 6830: Industry Member Data Reporting
Rule 6830 requires a member firm to report specified order and event data to the Consolidated Audit Trail, capturing the details of an order's lifecycle from origination through execution or cancellation. It is the core data-submission obligation that actually populates the CAT database.
FINRA Rule 6840: Customer Information Reporting
Rule 6840 requires a member firm to report specified customer identifying information to the Consolidated Audit Trail, linking order activity back to the actual customer behind it. It is what allows CAT to trace market activity to a real, identifiable party rather than an anonymous account number.
FINRA Rule 6850: Industry Member Information Reporting
Rule 6850 requires a member firm to report specified information about itself and its associated persons to the Consolidated Audit Trail, complementing the order and customer data reported under Rules 6830 and 6840. It rounds out the three-part data set, order, customer, and firm, that gives CAT its full regulatory picture.
FINRA Rule 6860: Time Stamps
Rule 6860 sets specific requirements for the granularity and accuracy of the timestamps a firm must apply to CAT-reportable events. It works directly alongside Rule 6820's clock synchronization requirement to ensure CAT data is precise down to the level regulators actually need.
FINRA Rule 6865: Time Stamp and Clock Synchronization Rule Violations
Rule 6865 sets out how FINRA treats violations of the time stamp and clock synchronization requirements in Rules 6820 and 6860, including the standards used to assess compliance. It gives those two technical rules real enforceability rather than leaving them as aspirational standards.
FINRA Rule 6870: Connectivity and Data Transmission
Rule 6870 sets requirements for how a member firm must connect to and transmit data into the Consolidated Audit Trail system, including technical specifications for that data transmission. It ensures the CAT system actually receives usable, correctly formatted data from every reporting firm.
FINRA Rule 6880: Development and Testing
Rule 6880 sets requirements for how a member firm must develop and test its systems for CAT reporting before going live, reducing the risk of reporting errors once the firm begins submitting real production data. It builds a formal testing checkpoint into the CAT compliance process.
FINRA Rule 6890: Recordkeeping
Rule 6890 requires a member firm to maintain records related to its Consolidated Audit Trail reporting, ensuring the underlying data supporting each CAT submission remains available for later verification. It applies the same recordkeeping discipline governing the rest of the rulebook to CAT compliance specifically.
FINRA Rule 6893: Timely, Accurate and Complete Data
Rule 6893 requires a member firm's CAT data submissions to be timely, accurate, and complete, setting the substantive quality standard the more technical rules around timestamps and connectivity ultimately exist to support. It is the rule regulators cite most directly when a firm's CAT data itself turns out to be wrong or missing.
FINRA Rule 6895: Compliance Dates
Rule 6895 sets out the specific compliance dates by which member firms of different sizes were required to begin meeting the various Consolidated Audit Trail obligations. It reflects the phased, multi-year rollout FINRA used to bring the entire industry onto the CAT system.
FINRA Rule 6897: Consolidated Audit Trail Funding Fees
Rule 6897 sets out the fees FINRA charges member firms to fund the ongoing operation of the Consolidated Audit Trail system. Because CAT is an industry-funded utility rather than a government-run system, this rule is what actually pays for its infrastructure and operation.
FINRA Rule 6898: Consolidated Audit Trail — Fee Dispute Resolution
Rule 6898 sets out the process a member firm can use to dispute a Consolidated Audit Trail funding fee it believes was calculated or assessed incorrectly. It gives firms a formal channel to challenge a fee rather than simply paying or refusing to pay.
FINRA Rule 7100: Alternative Display Facility
Rule 7100 is the section heading for the fee and facility-charge rules governing the Alternative Display Facility, distinct from the operational rules for the ADF covered earlier in Rule 6200. It addresses the cost side of using the facility rather than how it functions.
FINRA Rule 7110: Definitions
Rule 7110 defines the specific terms used throughout the Clearing, Transaction and Order Data Requirements, and Facility Charges section, establishing the vocabulary the fee and charge rules in this part of the rulebook depend on. It mirrors the same definitional role Rule 6710 plays for the TRACE rules.
FINRA Rule 7120: Trade Reporting Participation Requirements
Rule 7120 sets out the requirements a firm must meet to participate in trade reporting through the Alternative Display Facility, covering the fee and facility-access side of participation. It works alongside the operational participation rules covered in the earlier trading facility rules.
FINRA Rule 7200A: FINRA/Nasdaq Trade Reporting Facilities
Rule 7200A sets out the fee and facility-charge rules for the two FINRA/Nasdaq Trade Reporting Facilities, the FINRA/Nasdaq TRF Carteret and the FINRA/Nasdaq TRF Chicago. It is the cost-side counterpart to the operational Rule 6300A series covering how those same facilities actually function.
FINRA Rule 7200B: FINRA/NYSE Trade Reporting Facility
Rule 7200B sets out the fee and facility-charge rules for the FINRA/NYSE Trade Reporting Facility, mirroring the structure of Rule 7200A but applied to the NYSE-affiliated facility instead of the Nasdaq-affiliated ones. Firms reporting through this specific facility look to this rule for their charge schedule.
FINRA Rule 7300: OTC Reporting Facility
Rule 7300 sets out the fee and facility-charge rules for the OTC Reporting Facility, the cost-side counterpart to the operational Rule 6600 series covering how OTC equity trade reporting actually functions. It determines what a firm pays to use the facility it is required to report through.
FINRA Rule 7400: Order Audit Trail System
Rule 7400 sets out the fee and facility-charge rules associated with the Order Audit Trail System, a predecessor audit-trail infrastructure that has been substantially superseded by the newer Consolidated Audit Trail covered in the 6800 series. It remains part of the rulebook for the specific scope where it still applies.
FINRA Rule 7500: Charges for Alternative Display Facility Services and Equipment
Rule 7500 sets out the specific charges for services and equipment associated with using the Alternative Display Facility, extending the general fee framework in Rule 7100 into more granular service-level detail. It covers the practical costs a firm actually incurs to connect to and use the ADF.
FINRA Rule 8110: Availability of Manual to Customers
Rule 8110 requires a member firm to make FINRA's rulebook manual accessible to customers, either by posting an electronic copy or providing access upon request. It ensures the rules governing a firm's conduct aren't hidden from the very customers those rules exist to protect.
FINRA Rule 8120: Definitions
Rule 8120 defines the specific terms used throughout the Investigations and Sanctions section of the rulebook, establishing the vocabulary the investigation and enforcement rules in this part depend on. Consistent definitions matter especially here given how much legal weight terms like "associated person" and "member" carry in an actual investigation.
FINRA Rule 8210: Provision of Information and Testimony and Inspection and Copying of Books
Rule 8210 grants FINRA staff and adjudicators the authority to compel member firms, associated persons, and other persons under FINRA's jurisdiction to provide information, documents, and sworn testimony related to an investigation, complaint, examination, or proceeding. Because FINRA lacks subpoena power as a self-regulatory organization, this rule is its single most important investigative tool, and failing to respond to an 8210 request carries serious consequences on its own, independent of whatever the underlying investigation was actually about.
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