FINRA Rule 9135

Every served document must simultaneously be filed; every filing must be timely; every filing must be directed to the correct adjudicative body; and every filing must be accompanied by a certificate of service and comply with the contact information maintenance requirements that enable the electronic proceeding infrastructure to function.

FINRA Rule 9135 sits within the 9130 Service; Filing of Papers subsection of the 9100 Application and Purpose section of the 9000 Code of Procedure series. It was adopted by SR-NASD-97-28 effective August 7, 1997, amended by SR-FINRA-2008-021 effective December 15, 2008 as part of the consolidated FINRA rulebook transition announced in Regulatory Notice 08-57, amended by SR-FINRA-2011-044 effective March 30, 2012 announced in Regulatory Notice 12-12 to add electronic mail as a delivery method for filing, amended by SR-FINRA-2022-009 effective August 22, 2022 announced in Regulatory Notice 22-16 to add paragraph (d) requiring email address and contact information registration for OHO proceedings, and most recently amended by SR-FINRA-2025-013 effective October 7, 2025 announced in Regulatory Notice 25-10 to restructure paragraph (a) into two sub-provisions addressing OHO filing and non-OHO filing separately and to conform the rule to the full OHO Portal transition.

FINRA Rule 9135(a): Timeliness of Filing

FINRA Rule 9135(a) governs the critical question of when a filing is deemed timely — the standard that determines whether a document has been filed within the deadline set by the Adjudicator or specified in the Code. 

The timeliness standards differ between OHO proceedings and all other proceedings, a distinction formalized by the 2025 amendment which restructured paragraph (a) into two sub-provisions.

For proceedings before the Office of Hearing Officers under FINRA Rule 9135(a)(1) — as restructured by SR-FINRA-2025-013 — complaints shall be deemed filed as of the date of submission to the OHO Portal. This provision reflects the complete transition to Portal-based filing for OHO proceedings: the complaint, while still served on respondents by personal service or mail under FINRA Rule 9131, is now filed with OHO through the Portal, and the Portal submission date is the controlling timeliness date. 

All other papers required to be filed with OHO are timely if received within the time limit specified by the Adjudicator or set forth in the rules, unless the Adjudicator orders otherwise.

For all other papers required to be filed in Code proceedings — those in NAC appellate proceedings, eligibility proceedings, expedited proceedings, and other non-OHO contexts — FINRA Rule 9135(a)(2) provides a same-day file-and-serve timeliness standard: papers are timely if, on the same day they are served on the parties, they are also hand-delivered, mailed via U.S. Postal Service first class mail, delivered by electronic mail, or sent by courier to the Adjudicator. This simultaneity requirement — that filing occurs on the same day as service — prevents any gap between the moment parties receive documents and the moment the official case record contains those documents. A party who serves a brief on opposing counsel on a Monday but does not file it with the Adjudicator until Tuesday has not satisfied FINRA Rule 9135(a)(2)'s same-day requirement even if both acts occur well within any applicable deadline.

The received-within-the-time-limit standard for OHO papers other than complaints means that OHO must actually receive the filing before the deadline expires. For Portal filings this is a precise electronic timestamp standard — Portal submission time is receipt time. For the same-day filing standard in non-OHO proceedings, mailing on the filing date satisfies the requirement even if the document is received after the deadline, recognizing that the party cannot control postal transit time once the document is properly mailed.

FINRA Rule 9135(b): Where to File

FINRA Rule 9135(b) establishes the institutional destination for all filings in Code proceedings. Papers required to be filed in connection with proceedings under the Rule 9200 series — disciplinary proceedings before OHO — and the Rule 9300 series — appellate proceedings before the NAC — shall be filed with the Office of Hearing Officers. All other papers required to be filed pursuant to the Rule 9000 series shall be filed where specified in the applicable rule, or if not specified, with the Adjudicator, unless the Adjudicator orders otherwise.

The direction of both OHO disciplinary proceedings and NAC appellate proceedings to the Office of Hearing Officers as the filing destination reflects OHO's role as the institutional custodian of the complete case record across both levels of adjudication. When a case is appealed from OHO to the NAC, the case file — including all documents filed during the OHO proceeding — transfers to NAC consideration but remains under OHO's administrative custody. NAC appeal papers are filed with OHO rather than separately with the NAC, ensuring continuity of the case record. The NAC's Counsel and adjudicative panels access the record through the unified OHO filing system.

For other proceeding types — eligibility proceedings under the Rule 9520 series, expedited proceedings under the Rule 9550 series, exemption proceedings under the Rule 9600 series, and temporary cease and desist proceedings under the Rule 9800 series — FINRA Rule 9135(b)'s instruction to file where the applicable rule specifies or, if unspecified, with the Adjudicator ensures that each proceeding type's designated filing body receives the papers without requiring FINRA Rule 9135 to enumerate every filing destination separately.

FINRA Rule 9135(c): Certificate of Service Requirement

FINRA Rule 9135(c) imposes the universal certificate of service requirement: papers filed with an Adjudicator or the Office of Hearing Officers shall be accompanied by a certificate of service stating the date, method of service, and the name and address of each person served. This requirement operates in tandem with the service obligation — every document that is served on parties must simultaneously be filed with the Adjudicator, and the filing must include a certificate documenting the service.

The certificate of service requirement under FINRA Rule 9135(c) creates the evidentiary record that enables precise deadline computation throughout the proceeding. The date of service stated in the certificate is the date from which all response periods are computed under FINRA Rule 9138. A respondent who receives a motion served on a specified date has a defined period to respond — that period runs from the date certified in the certificate of service. If no certificate of service accompanies a filing, or if the certificate is incomplete or inaccurate, the Adjudicator cannot reliably compute the response period, creating potential procedural confusion that disrupts the orderly administration of the proceeding.

The method of service element of the certificate is equally important for deadline computation. As FINRA Rule 9138 provides, service by mail triggers a three-day addition to response periods; service by Portal or email does not. A certificate that fails to specify the method of service prevents the parties and the Adjudicator from determining whether the three-day mail addition applies to the response period.

The name and address of each person served element serves the verification function — confirming that every party required to receive the document has in fact been served and identifying the specific address at which service was made. This element enables any party to challenge service of a specific document by identifying discrepancies between the address stated in the certificate and the address at which service should have been made.

FINRA Rule 9135(d): Contact Information Registration Requirement

FINRA Rule 9135(d) — added by SR-FINRA-2022-009 effective August 22, 2022 — imposes an affirmative contact information maintenance obligation on parties in OHO proceedings: parties must file and serve on all other parties their current email address and contact information at the time of their first appearance in an OHO proceeding, and must file and serve any change in email address or contact information during the course of the proceeding.

This contact information registration requirement is the foundational administrative prerequisite for the electronic service framework that FINRA Rule 9133(b) and FINRA Rule 9132(b) establish for OHO proceedings. Electronic service by Portal and email functions only if every party's electronic contact information is on file with OHO and current. The requirement to register email addresses at the time of first appearance ensures that the electronic service infrastructure is fully operational from the earliest stage of every OHO proceeding. The requirement to promptly update any change ensures that the electronic address on file remains accurate throughout the proceeding — a party who changes email addresses during a lengthy disciplinary proceeding without updating OHO risks missing Portal notifications and email service of time-sensitive documents.

The first appearance trigger — rather than, for example, the date of complaint service — gives respondents whose counsel accepts service of the complaint a brief window to establish Portal access and register their contact information before their first formal filing. In practice, the Department of Enforcement registers its contact information when the complaint is filed, and respondents register at the time they file their answer or first motion. Once registered, the contact information governs all subsequent electronic service throughout the proceeding including into any NAC appellate proceedings where email service applies.

The accommodation provision — noted in Regulatory Notice 22-16 — preserves access for parties who lack the ability to use or access email or the OHO Portal. FINRA provides reasonable accommodations to such parties upon request, and the process for requesting an alternative method of service or filing is described on the FINRA website and in the Code and Guide letter sent with each complaint. This accommodation provision ensures that the mandatory electronic default does not create a due process barrier for parties who genuinely cannot access electronic systems.

The Simultaneous File-and-Serve Principle

The most operationally significant principle embedded in FINRA Rule 9135 is the simultaneous file-and-serve requirement — the obligation to file papers with the Adjudicator on the same day they are served on the parties. This simultaneity principle, established in FINRA Rule 9135(a)(2) for non-OHO proceedings and implied by the OHO Portal's integrated service-and-filing architecture for OHO proceedings, prevents the common litigation irregularity of serving parties before the court has the document or, conversely, filing with the court before serving the parties.

In OHO proceedings the OHO Portal's architecture makes simultaneous service and filing automatic — submitting a document to the Portal simultaneously serves all Portal participants and files the document with OHO in a single act. There is no separate service step and separate filing step; Portal submission accomplishes both instantly. This integrated architecture eliminates the possibility of a filing-without-service or service-without-filing gap in OHO proceedings.

In non-OHO proceedings the simultaneous requirement must be consciously observed by filing parties. A party emailing a brief to opposing counsel and then separately emailing or mailing the brief to the Adjudicator must do both on the same calendar day. The practical advice for practitioners in non-OHO proceedings is to prepare both communications before sending either, then dispatch both simultaneously — ensuring that the same-day requirement is satisfied without risk of end-of-day timing failures.

Connection to FINRA Rules 9136 and 9137

FINRA Rule 9135 operates in direct sequence with FINRA Rules 9136 and 9137 — the three rules together constitute the complete filing requirements framework. FINRA Rule 9135 establishes the procedural mechanics of when, where, and how to file. FINRA Rule 9136 establishes the form requirements that filed papers must satisfy — paper size, typeface, title page, pagination, margins, spacing, and fastening. FINRA Rule 9137 establishes the signature requirement that every filed paper must carry. A document that satisfies FINRA Rule 9135's procedural filing requirements but fails to comply with FINRA Rule 9136's format requirements or FINRA Rule 9137's signature requirement is deficient — the Adjudicator may require correction or, in the case of missing signature under FINRA Rule 9137(b)(2), strike the filing.

Examination Relevance and Key Takeaways

FINRA Rule 9135 is tested on the Series 24 General Securities Principal examination in the context of the Code of Procedure's filing requirements, deadline computation, and the procedural obligations of parties in disciplinary proceedings. Examination questions may address the timeliness standards for OHO versus non-OHO filings, the certificate of service requirement, the contact information registration obligation, and the simultaneous file-and-serve principle.

The key points to retain are these: FINRA Rule 9135 governs when, where, and how papers must be filed with Adjudicators in all Code proceedings; for OHO proceedings complaints are deemed filed upon Portal submission and all other papers are timely if received within the applicable time limit; for non-OHO proceedings papers are timely if on the same day they are served they are also hand-delivered, mailed, emailed, or couriered to the Adjudicator — the same-day file-and-serve requirement; papers required to be filed in Rule 9200 series disciplinary and Rule 9300 series appellate proceedings shall be filed with the Office of Hearing Officers; other papers shall be filed where the applicable rule specifies or with the Adjudicator if unspecified; every filing must be accompanied by a certificate of service stating the date, method, and name and address of each person served; FINRA Rule 9135(d) — added by SR-FINRA-2022-009 effective August 22, 2022 — requires parties in OHO proceedings to file and serve their current email address and contact information at the time of their first appearance and to update that information promptly whenever it changes; FINRA provides reasonable accommodations for parties unable to use electronic systems; the OHO Portal's integrated architecture makes simultaneous service and filing automatic for OHO proceedings — Portal submission accomplishes both instantly; for non-OHO proceedings the simultaneous requirement must be consciously observed by filing both the party service and the Adjudicator filing on the same calendar day; and the rule was most recently amended by SR-FINRA-2025-013 effective October 7, 2025, announced in Regulatory Notice 25-10, which restructured paragraph (a) to address OHO and non-OHO filing separately and conformed the rule to the full OHO Portal transition.