The Central Registration Depository, Your Lifetime Registration Number and What Employers and Investors Can See

A CRD number is the unique identification number given to every firm and individual registered in the US securities industry. It is issued by the Central Registration Depository, known as the CRD, the registration and licensing database operated by FINRA for regulators across the country.

Once you have a CRD number, it stays with you for your whole career. Change firms, change roles or leave the industry and come back, and your registrations, exam results and any disclosures follow you under the same number.

This guide covers what the CRD is, how a CRD number is assigned, how to find yours or anyone else’s, what the record contains, how it connects to BrokerCheck, worked examples, the exam traps and five practice questions. For the form that puts most of that information into the system, FRC’s guide to what Form U4 is explains each section.

What the CRD Is

The Central Registration Depository was created in 1981 by NASD, FINRA’s predecessor, working with NASAA, the association of state securities regulators. Before then, a representative registering in several states had to file separate paper applications with each one.

The CRD replaced that patchwork with a single electronic system. A firm files once, and the registration information reaches FINRA, the states and other self-regulatory organisations that need it.

Today the CRD holds registration, licensing and disciplinary information on roughly every broker-dealer and registered representative in the United States. Regulators use it to approve registrations, track qualifications and spot people with problem histories.

The CRD also handles the practical side of registration. Fingerprint results submitted by firms are recorded there, exam appointments are linked to it, and registration fees are processed through it, so a single record follows each step from application to approval. For a new entrant, that means everything from your first exam to your first registration sits in one place from day one.

Where This Topic Appears on the Exams

The CRD and the registration process appear in the laws and regulations section of the Series 65 and throughout the SIE and Series 7. Questions test how registration works, which forms are filed, what must be disclosed and what the public can see.

FRC’s Series 65 Exam Preparation course covers registration of investment adviser representatives and agents, and the exam requires no sponsor. The SIE Examination Preparation course and the Series 7 Exam Preparation course cover Form U4, Form U5 and the registration rules that feed the CRD.

Every FRC course can be spread across interest-free monthly payments, so cost is no reason to delay. Registration questions are practical as well as exam-tested, because every candidate will go through this process for real.

How a CRD Number Is Assigned

A firm receives its CRD number when it first registers, which for a broker-dealer means filing Form BD. The firm keeps that number for as long as it exists.

An individual usually receives a CRD number when a firm files a Form U4 to register them for the first time. The U4 contains their personal details, employment history, the registrations being sought and answers to detailed disclosure questions.

Candidates can also receive a CRD number before joining a firm. Someone sitting the SIE without a sponsor sets up an account with FINRA’s Financial Professional Gateway, and a CRD number is created so the exam can be scheduled and the result recorded.

How to Find Your CRD Number

If you are or have been registered, the easiest way to find your CRD number is to search your own name on BrokerCheck, FINRA’s free public search tool. Your CRD number appears on your summary page.

You can also find it in your FINRA Financial Professional Gateway account, which shows your registrations, exam results and continuing education status. If you are currently employed by a firm, the compliance or registration department will have it on file.

Firms often ask for a CRD number when you apply for a role. It lets them check your registration history quickly and prepare the transfer of your licences if they hire you.

How to Look Up Someone Else’s CRD Record

Anyone can search BrokerCheck for a broker or brokerage firm by name or CRD number. The results show current and past registrations, employment history, exams passed and any disclosure events reported to the CRD.

For investment advisers and their representatives, the SEC’s Investment Adviser Public Disclosure website provides similar information, drawn from Form ADV and the registration records. Many people appear in both systems, because they are registered as both a broker and an adviser representative.

FRC’s guide to how to look up an investment advisor representative walks through both searches step by step. Checking a professional’s record before handing over money is one of the simplest protections an investor has.

What the CRD Record Contains

The CRD record covers the full registration story. It includes the firms a person has worked for, the states they are registered in, the exams they have passed and their continuing education status.

It also includes disclosure events. These cover customer complaints, arbitrations and civil litigation, regulatory actions, criminal charges and convictions, terminations for cause and certain financial events such as bankruptcies, unsatisfied judgments and liens.

Not every item in the CRD is shown publicly. BrokerCheck displays the information that FINRA Rule 8312 requires, while some items, such as certain personal details, remain visible only to regulators and firms.

How the Record Is Kept Up to Date

The CRD only works if the information in it is current. Registered persons must keep their Form U4 accurate, and firms must file amendments when something changes, generally within 30 days of learning of the event.

When a person leaves a firm, the firm must file a Form U5 within 30 days of the termination. The U5 states the reason for leaving and must disclose certain events, such as an internal review or a termination following allegations of wrongdoing.

Firms also have their own reporting duties under FINRA Rule 4530, covering events such as customer complaints, regulatory findings and criminal charges involving the firm or its people. Together, these filings keep the record a reliable picture of a person’s history.

The CRD and Your Qualifications

Your exam results live on your CRD record. Under FINRA Rule 1210, a representative-level qualification generally lapses if you are not registered for two years, unless you take part in FINRA’s Maintaining Qualifications Program, which can extend that period to five years.

The SIE works differently. A passed SIE is valid for four years, whether or not you are associated with a firm.

Continuing education is tracked on the CRD too. FINRA Rule 1240 requires registered persons to complete regulatory and firm-element training, and a person who misses the regulatory element deadline can have their registration made inactive until it is completed.

The CRD and Investment Adviser Registration

Investment advisory firms register through a related system, the Investment Adviser Registration Depository, or IARD, also operated by FINRA. Firms file Form ADV through IARD, while their individual representatives are registered on Form U4 through the CRD.

That means an investment adviser representative has a CRD number just like a broker. Their Series 65 or Series 66 result appears on the same record.

For Series 65 candidates, this is a useful point to remember. The adviser firm and the individual representative use different forms, but both sit within the same FINRA-operated registration infrastructure.

How Long the Record Stays Public

Leaving the industry does not erase a CRD record. BrokerCheck continues to show information about formerly registered individuals for 10 years after they leave.

For people with certain serious disclosures, such as a final regulatory action or a criminal conviction, the information remains publicly available permanently. This prevents people with problem histories from disappearing and re-emerging elsewhere unnoticed.

Removing a disclosure, known as expungement, is possible only in limited circumstances, generally through FINRA arbitration and a court order. It is deliberately difficult, because the integrity of the record is what makes it useful.

Worked Example: A New Graduate

A finance graduate passes the SIE before applying for jobs. When she set up her FINRA account to sit the exam, a CRD number was created for her, and her SIE result is recorded against it.

Six months later, a broker-dealer hires her and files a Form U4. The U4 uses her existing CRD number, and once she passes the Series 7 and Series 63, those results are added to the same record.

When she later applies to another firm, the recruiter asks for her CRD number. Using it, they can see her exams, her registration history and the fact that her record has no disclosures.

Worked Example: Changing Firms

A representative with eight years’ experience moves from one broker-dealer to another. His old firm files a Form U5 within 30 days, stating that he left voluntarily.

His new firm files a Form U4 under his existing CRD number. His registrations transfer, and his entire history, including his two previous firms, remains on one record.

A client who searches BrokerCheck can see both firms and the dates he worked at each. Nothing about his history was lost in the move.

Worked Example: Checking Before Investing

An investor is approached by someone offering a high-return investment. Before handing over any money, she searches the person’s name on BrokerCheck and on the SEC’s adviser database.

She finds no record at all. The person is not registered with FINRA or as an investment adviser representative.

That is a serious warning sign. A properly registered securities professional dealing with the public will almost always have a CRD number and a public record to match.

What Employers See When They Check Your CRD Record

For a hiring manager, a CRD number is a shortcut to your registration history. In a few minutes they can confirm which exams you have passed, which firms you have worked for and whether there are any disclosures they need to ask about.

A clean record with the right qualifications can move an application forward quickly. A record with unexplained gaps or disclosures will lead to questions, so it is better to raise anything relevant yourself at interview than to let an employer find it first.

For candidates who have not yet been registered, the record may be short, perhaps just a passed SIE. That is a strong signal on its own, because it shows you have taken the first regulated step without waiting for a sponsor.

Common Questions About CRD Numbers

Is a CRD number confidential? No, a registered person’s CRD number appears on BrokerCheck, so it is effectively public, although the full CRD record includes some information that only regulators and firms can see.

Do you have a CRD number if you have only passed the SIE? Yes, in most cases, because a CRD number is created when you set up your FINRA account to sit the exam.

Can you see your own full record? Registered individuals can review their information through FINRA’s Financial Professional Gateway, and anyone can request a copy of their own CRD information from FINRA. Checking it before a job search is a sensible step, so there are no surprises when an employer looks.

The Exam Traps

The first trap is thinking a CRD number changes when someone moves firms. It is a lifetime number that stays with the individual throughout their career.

The second trap is confusing the CRD with BrokerCheck. The CRD is the full regulatory database, and BrokerCheck is the public window into part of it.

The third trap is mixing up the forms. Form U4 registers an individual, Form U5 ends a registration with a firm, and Form BD registers a broker-dealer. The fourth trap is forgetting the qualification timelines: representative exams generally lapse after two years out of the industry, while a passed SIE is valid for four years.

FRC’s guide to Series 65 ethics and laws questions and exam traps covers more traps in this area. For the full list, see FRC’s guide to Series 65 exam traps and common mistakes.

A Memory Aid

Remember “one number, one career.” Your CRD number never changes, and everything you do in the industry is recorded against it.

For the forms, remember “U4 in, U5 out.” Form U4 brings an individual into a firm’s registration, and Form U5 takes them out.

Practice Questions

Question one: what does CRD stand for? Central Registration Depository.

Question two: a representative moves to a new broker-dealer. Does she get a new CRD number? No, her CRD number stays the same for her whole career.

Question three: which form must a firm file when a registered representative leaves? Form U5, within 30 days of the termination.

Question four: where can a member of the public check a broker’s registration and disclosure history for free? BrokerCheck.

Question five: for how long is a passed SIE generally valid? Four years.

Related Questions

The CRD record begins with the Form U4 a firm files on your behalf. FRC’s guide to what happens after a firm files your Form U4 explains the steps from filing to approval.

Get Exam-Ready

CRD questions reward candidates who understand how the registration system fits together. Once the CRD, BrokerCheck and the U4, U5 and BD forms are clear, these become some of the most dependable marks on the exam.

The FRC dictionary is more than a dictionary. It is a library of explainer videos, written explanations and on-page quizzes covering the FINRA and SEC rules you are tested on, so you can open any term and go deeper whenever a question catches you out.

Study With FRC

FRC’s programs and memberships are open to everyone. Whether you are preparing for the Series 65, the SIE, the Series 7 or a combination, structured exam preparation turns topics like registration into marks you can rely on.

Your CRD record shows regulators what you have passed. FRC’s Professional Membership adds a verified Digital Profile that shows employers what you are working on now, including your courses and real-time progress, rather than a claim on a resume.

Your Next Step

A CRD number is the lifetime identification number given to every registered firm and individual in the US securities industry, held in FINRA’s Central Registration Depository. Your registrations, exam results and disclosures all sit on that one record, and BrokerCheck lets the public see much of it.

Remember “one number, one career,” and you will be ready for every version of this question the exam can ask.