FINRA Rule 9260

FINRA Rule 9260 sits within the 9200 Disciplinary Proceedings section of the 9000 Code of Procedure series as the structural header for the rules governing the centerpiece of the disciplinary process — the evidentiary hearing before the Hearing Panel and the decision that follows. 

The hearing and decision phase is the culmination of every stage that preceded it: the complaint's formal charges, the respondent's answer, the Hearing Panel's appointment, the pre-hearing conferences, and the discovery exchange all converge at the hearing where evidence is presented, witnesses are examined, and the Panel deliberates to reach a decision on violations and sanctions.

The Eleven Rules Within FINRA Rule 9260's Subsection

FINRA Rule 9261 — Evidence and Procedure in Hearing — governs how the hearing itself is conducted, including the order of presentation, the conduct of opening statements and closing arguments, the examination of witnesses, and the admission of documents and other evidence. It implements FINRA Rule 9145(a)'s non-application of formal evidence rules in the specific context of the hearing proceeding, empowering the Hearing Officer to manage evidence presentation with flexibility while ensuring that all relevant material reaches the Panel.

FINRA Rule 9262 — Testimony — governs the specific rules applicable to witness testimony at the hearing, including the oath requirement, the order of examination and cross-examination, the right of parties to examine adverse witnesses, and the procedures applicable when the Hearing Officer determines that live testimony should be heard under specific circumstances.

FINRA Rule 9263 — Evidence: Admissibility — provides the Hearing Officer's authority to exclude evidence that is irrelevant, immaterial, or unduly repetitious even in the absence of the Federal Rules of Evidence, implementing the flexible but bounded evidentiary framework of FINRA Rule 9145 in the specific context of hearing admissibility decisions.

FINRA Rule 9264 — Motion for Summary Disposition — governs the pre-hearing and during-hearing motion practice through which a party may seek disposition of one or more causes of action without a full evidentiary hearing, when the material facts are not in dispute and the moving party is entitled to a decision as a matter of law — FINRA's analog to summary judgment.

FINRA Rule 9265 — Record of Hearing — establishes the court reporter recording requirement for all disciplinary hearings and pre-hearing conferences, the transcript availability and purchase procedures, and the transcript correction process — creating the official verbatim record that is the foundation of any appellate review.

FINRA Rule 9266 — Proposed Findings of Fact, Conclusions of Law, and Post-Hearing Briefs — governs the post-hearing briefing process through which parties submit their written arguments about the factual and legal conclusions the Panel should reach, the sanctions it should impose, and any other matters requiring resolution in the Panel's decision.

FINRA Rule 9267 — Record; Supplemental Documents Attached to Record; Retention — defines the complete contents of the official record of the disciplinary proceeding, addresses the attachment of supplemental documents to the record, and establishes the retention requirements for that record.

FINRA Rule 9268 — Decision of Hearing Panel or Extended Hearing Panel — governs the Hearing Panel's written decision — its required content, the findings of fact and conclusions of law it must contain, the sanction determination process, the service and filing of the decision, and the date on which the decision becomes final.

FINRA Rule 9269 — Default Decisions — governs the specific decision type applicable when a respondent fails to answer, fails to appear at a pre-hearing conference or hearing, or otherwise defaults — authorizing the Hearing Officer to deem all complaint allegations admitted and to enter a default decision without a full evidentiary proceeding.

FINRA Rule 9270 — Settlement Procedure — governs the post-complaint settlement process available to parties who reach agreement after a complaint has been filed and a hearing requested — complementing the pre-complaint AWC process of FINRA Rule 9216 with a post-complaint resolution mechanism.

FINRA Rule 9280 — Contemptuous Conduct — governs the Hearing Officer's and Hearing Panel's authority to impose sanctions on parties and representatives who engage in contumacious behavior during disciplinary proceedings, and provides the as-of-right interlocutory review mechanism for exclusion orders that FINRA Rule 9150 and FINRA Rule 9148 reference.

FINRA Rule 9285 — Interim Orders and Mandatory Heightened Supervision While on Appeal or on Discretionary Review — governs the conditions and restrictions framework added by the 2021 amendment package, authorizing Hearing Officers to impose investor protection measures on disciplined respondents during the pendency of appeals and requiring member firms to adopt heightened supervision plans for disciplined associated persons.

The Hearing and Decision Phase in the Disciplinary Proceeding Lifecycle

The rules within FINRA Rule 9260's subsection govern the period of the disciplinary proceeding that begins when the hearing is convened and concludes when the Hearing Panel's decision becomes final — a period that may range from a single day in a straightforward case to weeks of testimony in a complex multi-respondent matter, followed by weeks or months of post-hearing briefing and Panel deliberation. This is the phase in which FINRA's enforcement case is tested against the respondent's defense before a neutral fact-finder, in which the credibility of witnesses is assessed by persons who observe their demeanor, and in which the legal and factual analysis that will govern the outcome is developed through the give and take of adversarial proceedings.

The hearing phase is distinct from all the procedural machinery that preceded it not merely in subject matter but in institutional character. The pre-hearing phase is administrative — managed by the Hearing Officer acting alone pursuant to FINRA Rule 9235's individual authority. The hearing phase is adjudicative — conducted by the full Hearing Panel acting collectively, with the Hearing Officer managing the proceeding's logistics while all three Panel members participate in receiving and evaluating the evidence that will inform their collective decision. The post-hearing briefing and decision phase is deliberative — the Panel reviews the record, considers the arguments, deliberates toward a collective conclusion, and issues the written decision that FINRA Rule 9268 governs.

The COVID-19 Video Conference Amendment and Its Legacy

FINRA Rule 9261 — the first and most directly hearing-procedure-focused rule within FINRA Rule 9260's subsection — was temporarily amended by SR-FINRA-2020-027 to permit disciplinary hearings to be conducted by video conference during the COVID-19 pandemic. This temporary amendment — which permitted the use of video conferencing technology for FINRA Rule 9261 disciplinary hearings, FINRA Rule 9524 eligibility proceedings, and FINRA Rule 9830 cease and desist hearings — recognized that in-person hearing requirements could not be maintained during public health emergency conditions. The operational experience with video conference hearings during the pandemic has informed subsequent discussions about whether and how to permanently accommodate remote hearing formats in appropriate circumstances.

Examination Relevance and Key Takeaways

FINRA Rule 9260 is tested on the Series 24 General Securities Principal examination as the organizational header of the hearing and decision subsection of the disciplinary proceedings framework. Understanding its structural role is essential to correctly navigating the relationship among FINRA Rules 9261 through 9270, 9280, and 9285 as an integrated framework governing the centerpiece of FINRA's disciplinary process.

The key points to retain are these: FINRA Rule 9260 is the organizing header for the comprehensive Hearing and Decision subsection encompassing FINRA Rules 9261 through 9270 plus FINRA Rules 9280 and 9285; it has no independent operative text but announces the subject matter of the subsection and delineates the hearing and decision phase within the 9200 series; the subsection covers every stage of the hearing phase from evidence presentation through testimony, admissibility, summary disposition, record keeping, post-hearing briefing, the Panel decision, default decisions, settlement, contemptuous conduct, and interim orders during appeal; the hearing and decision phase is the adjudicative culmination of all prior procedural stages — the point at which FINRA's enforcement case is tested against the respondent's defense before the Hearing Panel; the rules within the subsection implement the collective adjudicative authority of the full Hearing Panel rather than the individual administrative authority of the Hearing Officer; and FINRA Rule 9260's subsection was adopted as part of the original 1997 Code of Procedure and has been supplemented most recently by FINRA Rule 9285 added effective April 15, 2021 through SR-FINRA-2020-011.