What does it take to trigger FINRA Board review of a National Adjudicatory Council proposed decision?

A majority of Governors voting in favour at the meeting at which the Council's proposed decision is first tabled before them

One Governor acting alone, since the right belongs to each of them individually rather than to the Board collectively

A request from either party to the proceeding, which any Governor may then take up on their behalf

A referral from the Council itself where it considers the matter to raise an issue of general policy

From what event does the period for calling a proceeding for Board review run?

The service of the proposed written decision on the parties

The Council's issuance of its proposed written decision

The Board's receipt of the Council's proposed written decision

The close of the Council's oral argument in the proceeding

A proposed decision reaches the Board two weeks before its next scheduled meeting. Which meeting carries the deadline for a call for review?

The meeting after next, because the deadline attaches to the next meeting falling at least fifteen days after receipt

The next meeting, because the deadline attaches to whichever meeting first follows receipt of the decision

Neither, because the deadline runs as a fixed calendar period independently of when the Board meets

The next meeting, unless a Governor asks the Chair to defer the item to the one following it for want of time

The Board may adjust the call-for-review period in either direction. What vote does each direction require?

A majority to shorten it, unanimity to extend it

Unanimity to shorten it, a majority to extend it

Unanimity in both directions, since either alters a party's expectations

A majority in both directions, since neither affects the outcome of the review

A Governor calls a proceeding for review within the period and afterwards changes their view of it. What is the Board's position?

It must put the question to a vote of the whole Board, and reviews the proceeding only if a majority supports doing so

It may treat the call as withdrawn, because the Governor who made it remains in control of it throughout

It must still review the proceeding, because a call is discretionary to make and the review that follows one is not

It may decline, because the review obligation attaches only where the parties have also asked for it

The Board orders briefing on a proceeding involving several respondents, only one of whom appealed. Who may be required to brief?

Only the Department of Enforcement, since respondents brief at the Council stage rather than at this one

Every respondent named in the original complaint, since the proceeding is reviewed as a whole

Only the respondent whose conduct produced the sanction the Board considers most severe

Not those who neither appealed nor cross-appealed, nor those whose issues are outside the review

How far does the Board's authority over sanctions extend once it reviews a proceeding?

To affirming, modifying, reversing, increasing or reducing any of them including cease and desist terms, imposing another fitting sanction, or remanding with instructions

To affirming or reversing them exactly as ordered, with any change in the severity of a sanction requiring a remand to the Council for its reconsideration

To reducing or reversing them only, since a body reviewing on a Governor's motion may not worsen a respondent's position

To affirming or remanding only, since the imposition of sanctions is reserved to the panel that heard the evidence

What content must the Board's written decision carry?

A statement of the sanction imposed and the effective date, the reasoning being optional at Board level

The same elements required of a Council decision, so a bare reversal without reasoning does not comply

The calling Governor's grounds and the Board's disposition of each of them, but no findings of fact

Whatever the Board considers sufficient, since its decision is final and not subject to internal appeal

In what circumstance is a Board decision under FINRA Rule 9351 not FINRA's final disciplinary action?

Where a respondent applies to the Commission, since the application suspends the finality of the decision

Where the Board modifies rather than affirms, since a modified decision must return for the Council's endorsement

Where the Board remands, since the matter then returns for further proceedings and another cycle follows

Where the Board increases a sanction, since a respondent must first be heard on the increased penalty

On whom must the Board's written decision be served, beyond the parties themselves?

Any customer identified in the complaint as having suffered loss from the conduct

Each FINRA member firm that employed a respondent at any time during the conduct at issue

The Council, so that its own records of the proceeding can be marked as superseded

Each FINRA member firm employing a respondent must be given a copy

FINRA Rule 9144(b) bars Governors from taking part, with the Review Subcommittee or the Adjudicators it names, in matters relating to a call for review, a review or an appeal under the Rule 9300 Series. Who is exempt from that bar?

The Council's Chair, where that person also sits as a Governor

The Board's Chair, whose presiding role requires participation in every matter before the Board

Any Governor who took no part in the proceeding at the Council stage of the appeal

Any Governor drawn from the public rather than the industry side of the Board

How often does a disciplinary proceeding that reaches the National Adjudicatory Council go on to Board review?

In every proceeding, since Board confirmation is what converts a proposed decision into a final one

Rarely — in most proceedings no Governor calls it, and the Council's proposed decision becomes the final action

In every proceeding where a sanction of suspension or bar has been imposed by the Council

In roughly half of them, since the Board reviews any proceeding in which the Council itself divided on the outcome

Which kind of proceeding is most likely to attract a call for Board review?

One in which the sanction imposed exceeds the amount the Department of Enforcement had sought

One in which the respondent has disputed the Council's individual findings of fact in considerable detail and at length

One turning on a novel legal theory, an unusually severe or lenient sanction, or a procedural question of general effect

One in which the respondent is a member firm rather than an individual, since a firm's sanction reaches customers and staff beyond the case

A Hearing Panel sanction was stayed when the respondent appealed. What happens to that stay if a Governor calls the proceeding for Board review?

It converts into the interim conditions and restrictions regime for the duration of the review

It lapses when the Council issues its proposed decision, the call for review having no effect on it

It lapses unless the Board renews it, which it may do on the calling Governor's motion

It continues through the Board's review, the appellate stay extending to that stage as well

Where does FINRA Rule 9351 sit within the 9300 Series of the Code of Procedure?

It is the only substantive rule in the 9350 subsection, the subsection governing discretionary review by the FINRA Board

It is one of several rules in the 9340 Proceedings subsection, alongside those on oral argument and the recommended decision

It sits in the 9310 subsection, whose rules alone govern how a proceeding comes up for review, by appeal or by call

It shares the 9350 subsection with several further rules that govern how the Board conducts its review

Because a proposed decision raises an urgent issue, the Board votes to cut the call-for-review period to eight days, with one Governor voting against. What is the effect of the vote?

The period is shortened, because a majority vote suffices to change the period in either direction

The period stays at fifteen days, because shortening it requires a unanimous vote of the Board

The period is shortened, but only for the Governors who voted in favour of cutting it

The period is shortened, but the dissenting Governor keeps the full fifteen days to make a call

How does FINRA Board review under Rule 9351 relate to review by the SEC and the federal courts?

It is an alternative to SEC review, so a respondent chooses one route or the other but may not pursue both

It follows the SEC's review, giving the Board a final internal reconsideration of the SEC's order before the courts

It is FINRA's last internal check on a disciplinary outcome, coming before any external review by the SEC and the courts

It runs alongside SEC review, the Board and the SEC considering the same proceeding at the same time

A Governor tries to call a proceeding for review after the Board meeting that carried the deadline has passed, no vote having been taken to extend the period. What is the effect of the call?

It suspends the Council's proposed decision until the Board has decided whether to accept the late call

It is valid if the calling Governor shows good cause for not having made the call in time

It is valid if both parties consent in writing to the Board's taking up the proceeding out of time

None, because the right to call is conditioned on the call being made within the prescribed period

What does placing the call-for-review right with each Governor individually, rather than with the Board as a body, make possible?

A Governor who sees a significant legal error or sanctioning inconsistency can trigger review without first assembling a majority

Governors can divide the proposed decisions among themselves, each assigned a share to read so that none goes unexamined

The parties can direct their request for review to whichever Governor they consider most receptive to their case

A Governor can make the call in confidence, the parties learning of the review only once the Board has decided it

The Board wants to give Governors longer than usual to decide whether to call a proposed decision for review. At what point must it vote to lengthen the period?

Only once a Governor has asked for more time, the extension then being granted to that Governor alone

During the fifteen-day period itself, while that period is still running

Before the Council issues its proposed decision, when the Board settles its agenda for coming meetings

At the meeting after the one carrying the deadline, once the period has run without a call being made

A Governor has called a proceeding for review in accordance with the rule. By when must the Board carry out the review?

At the first meeting falling at least fifteen days after the call, so that Governors can read the briefs

Within fifteen days of the call, at a special meeting convened for that purpose

Not later than the next meeting of the Board after the call

Within whatever period the calling Governor specifies when making the call to the Board

Why is the Board's review obligatory once a Governor has called a proceeding, rather than left to the Board's preference?

It guarantees the respondent a further hearing on the facts before a body other than the Council

It prevents the Department of Enforcement from withdrawing its complaint once the Board has taken the matter up

It binds the calling Governor to the view that prompted the call, so that Governor cannot later change position

It protects the respondent and the Department of Enforcement from having review left pending indefinitely after a call

When the FINRA Board reviews a proceeding under Rule 9351, which decision is it affirming, modifying or reversing?

The Council's proposed written decision, as a document, rather than the Hearing Panel's decision directly

The Hearing Panel's decision, which the Board examines afresh as though the Council had not considered it

The Department of Enforcement's complaint, which the Board may sustain or dismiss in whole or in part

The calling Governor's written statement of grounds, which the Board may adopt, amend or reject

Where the FINRA Board remands a proceeding with instructions, to whom may it direct the matter?

To the Department of Enforcement, which then decides whether to file an amended complaint in line with the Board's instructions

Back to the Council or to the Office of Hearing Officers, for further proceedings consistent with the Board's guidance

To the Statutory Disqualification Committee, which reconsiders the sanction in line with the Board's instructions

To the Board's Executive Committee, which completes the review on the Board's behalf under its instructions

When the FINRA Board serves its written decision under Rule 9351 by electronic mail, at what point is service complete?

Only once a duplicate has followed by personal service or by overnight commercial courier

Upon the recipient's acknowledgment of receipt, which the Board must obtain before it relies on the email

Upon sending, with no acknowledgment of receipt required

Three business days after sending, to allow for any delay in the email's delivery

Where FINRA Rule 9144(b)'s bar on Governors applies to a call for review, what does it keep a barred Governor out of?

The vote on the call, while leaving the Governor free to join the discussion before it

The discussion of the call, while leaving the Governor free to cast a vote on whether to call

Nothing, once the Governor has declared the ground of the bar to the others present

Both the discussion and the decision on the call

Why is a proceeding that turns on nothing more than applying settled legal standards to its own facts unlikely to be called for Board review?

Such work is properly left to the Council's expert appellate judgment, Board review being kept for governance-level concerns

Such a proceeding cannot be called at all, the call right being confined to cases raising a novel legal theory

The Council's findings in such a proceeding bind the Board, which may revisit only a sanction it considers extreme

Such a proceeding ends with the Hearing Panel, routine matters never reaching the Council in the first place

The FINRA Board's dispositional powers after a review are structured to mirror the powers of which body, under which rule?

The SEC, whose powers on an application for review are set out in the Exchange Act

The National Adjudicatory Council, whose appellate powers are set out in FINRA Rule 9348

The Hearing Panel, whose first-instance powers are set out in the 9200 Series

The Board Executive Committee, whose expedited eligibility review powers are set out in FINRA Rule 9526

A FINRA Board decision issued after a review under Rule 9351 suspends a respondent. What determines when the suspension begins?

Rule 9351 itself, which starts every suspension on the date the Board issues its written decision to the parties

Rule 9351 itself, which starts the suspension at the first Board meeting held after the written decision has been served

A separate sanctions effectiveness rule, the review rule making the decision final without fixing when its sanctions take effect

The Hearing Panel's original decision, whose own effective date continues to govern the sanction whatever the Board later decides

A FINRA Board decision issued after review includes a fine, a six-month suspension and a permanent cease and desist order against one registered representative. Which part of the decision means FINRA must serve it on him by courier, facsimile or other means reasonably likely to obtain prompt service?

Each of them, every sanction in a Board decision after review calling for that prompt form of service

The suspension, since a sanction that keeps him out of the industry for a period has to reach him without delay

None of them, that prompt form of service being reserved for decisions that bar or expel a respondent

The permanent cease and desist order, which is among the sanctions that call for that prompt form of service

FINRA Rule 9351 | Financial Regulation Courses

Discretionary Review by FINRA Board

SERIES 24 | FINANCIAL REGULATION COURSES

FINRA Rule 9351 governs the FINRA Board of Governors' discretionary authority to call a NAC proposed decision for further review — the highest tier of FINRA's internal disciplinary appellate system.

The rule establishes five operative provisions: the Governor's call-for-review right; the fifteen-day period within which a call may be made with the Board's authority to shorten it by unanimous vote or extend it by majority vote; the Board's obligation to conduct review at its next meeting after a timely call; the Board's complete dispositional authority including the power to affirm, modify, reverse, or remand findings and to affirm, modify, reverse, increase, reduce, or substitute sanctions including PCDO terms; and the issuance and service obligations for the Board's written decision including the email service authority added in 2022.

Together these five provisions create the complete framework for the FINRA Board's discretionary oversight of NAC appellate decisions — an authority that exists as the ultimate institutional check on FINRA's internal disciplinary outcomes before the external appellate process before the SEC and federal courts.

FINRA Rule 9351 sits as the sole substantive rule within the FINRA Rule 9350 Discretionary Review by FINRA Board subsection of the 9300 Review of Disciplinary Proceeding series. It was adopted by SR-NASD-97-28 effective August 7, 1997, amended by SR-NASD-97-81 effective January 16, 1998, amended by SR-FINRA-2008-021 effective December 15, 2008, amended by SR-FINRA-2015-019 effective November 2, 2015 — adding the PCDO terms parenthetical consistent with FINRA Rule 9348's parallel amendment — and most recently amended by SR-FINRA-2022-009 effective August 22, 2022 — adding email service authority for Board decisions. Three selected notices are associated — 08-57, 15-35, and 22-16.

FINRA Rule 9351(a): The Governor Call-for-Review Right

FINRA Rule 9351(a) establishes the threshold right — a Governor may call a disciplinary proceeding for review by the FINRA Board if the call for review is made within the period prescribed in paragraph (b). The may formulation confirms the discretionary nature of the call-for-review authority — no Governor is obligated to call a proceeding for review, and the Board as an institution does not automatically review every NAC proposed decision.

Each Governor independently assesses whether a specific NAC proposed decision warrants Board-level review.

The individual Governor authority — any single Governor may trigger Board review — creates a low institutional threshold for initiating review while ensuring that the review authority exists at the individual level rather than requiring collective Board action to initiate.

This structure enables a single Governor who identifies a significant legal error, policy concern, or sanctioning inconsistency in a NAC proposed decision to trigger review without needing to build a Board majority before the review period expires.

FINRA Rule 9351(b): The Fifteen-Day Period and Its Modification

FINRA Rule 9351(b)(1) establishes the primary fifteen-day call-for-review window — a Governor must make their call for review not later than the next meeting of the FINRA Board that is at least fifteen days after the date on which the FINRA Board receives the NAC's proposed written decision. This fifteen-day period is measured from receipt of the proposed decision rather than from its issuance, ensuring that the Board has actual possession of the document before the review clock begins running.

The connection to Board meeting schedules — the call must be made not later than the next Board meeting that is at least fifteen days after receipt — ties the review period to FINRA's governance calendar rather than to an absolute calendar date. If the FINRA Board meets monthly and the proposed decision arrives two weeks before the next meeting, the fifteen-day requirement means that meeting is too soon — the Governor must wait for the subsequent meeting to make a timely call. If the proposed decision arrives thirty days before the next meeting, that meeting satisfies the fifteen-day minimum and a Governor may call at or before that meeting.

FINRA Rule 9351(b)(2) establishes two modification mechanisms. By unanimous Board vote, the Board may shorten the review period to less than fifteen days — accommodating urgent circumstances where expedited review is warranted. By majority Board vote during the fifteen-day period, the Board may extend the review period beyond fifteen days — providing additional time when a proposed decision raises complex issues requiring thorough review before the call decision is made. These flexibility provisions ensure that the fifteen-day default can be adjusted for both urgency and complexity without requiring a rule amendment.

FINRA Rule 9351(c): Review at Next Board Meeting

FINRA Rule 9351(c) establishes two provisions governing the Board's conduct of review after a timely call. First, if a Governor calls for review within the prescribed period, the FINRA Board shall review the disciplinary proceeding not later than the next meeting of the FINRA Board — a mandatory timeline ensuring prompt review once a call has been made. Second, the FINRA Board may order the parties — excluding respondents who did not appeal or cross-appeal, or as to whom the relevant issues do not apply — to file briefs in connection with the Board review proceedings.

The mandatory shall review formulation contrasts with the discretionary may call formulation — once a call is made the review is obligatory, even if the calling Governor later changes their view or the Board majority would prefer not to review. This mandatory review obligation protects the parties whose rights are at issue — the respondent and Department of Enforcement — from having the review delayed indefinitely after a call has been made.

The parties-excluded-from-briefing limitation — excluding respondents who did not appeal, cross-appeal, or whose issues are not at stake in the review — mirrors the parallel limitation in FINRA Rule 9349(a)'s formal consideration provisions. Respondents who are not affected by the specific issues under Board review are not dragged into the Board-level proceeding unnecessarily, preserving their settled outcomes from the NAC level.

FINRA Rule 9351(d): The Board's Complete Dispositional Authority

FINRA Rule 9351(d) establishes the Board's dispositional authority after review — authority that mirrors FINRA Rule 9348's NAC powers with one key modification: the Board may affirm, modify, or reverse the NAC's proposed written decision as a document rather than the underlying Hearing Panel decision directly. The Board's review is of what the NAC proposed — the Board assesses the NAC's analytical conclusions and may accept, adjust, or reject them.

The Board may affirm, modify, reverse, increase, or reduce any sanction including PCDO terms — the same granular sanction authority that FINRA Rule 9348 grants the NAC. The PCDO terms parenthetical — added by the 2015 amendment — ensures that the Board's review authority over sanctions extends to the precise language and scope of any permanent cease and desist order the NAC imposed or modified. The Board may impose any other fitting sanction beyond what the NAC ordered. And the Board may remand with instructions — directing the matter back to the NAC or OHO for further proceedings consistent with the Board's guidance.

The requirement that the Board prepare a written decision including all the elements described in FINRA Rule 9349(b)(1) through (6) — the same content requirements that govern NAC decisions — ensures that Board decisions are as analytically complete and well-reasoned as NAC decisions. A Board decision that simply reverses or modifies without explanation does not satisfy FINRA Rule 9351(d)'s content requirement.

FINRA Rule 9351(e): Issuance, Service, and Finality

FINRA Rule 9351(e) establishes the service obligations for the Board's written decision and its finality status. The Board shall issue and serve its written decision on the parties, provide a copy to each FINRA member employing a respondent, and — following the August 2022 amendment — may serve by electronic mail with service complete upon sending.

The Board's decision constitutes the final disciplinary action of FINRA for SEA Rule 19d-1(c)(1) purposes unless the Board remands the proceeding. This finality provision makes the Board's FINRA Rule 9351 decision the ultimate conclusion of FINRA's internal disciplinary appellate system when it exercises its review authority — superseding the NAC's proposed decision as the outcome of the full appellate process and triggering the respondent's right to seek SEC review under FINRA Rule 9370.

The unless-the-Board-remands qualifier preserves the possibility that Board review produces another appellate cycle rather than immediate finality. A Board remand with instructions returns the matter to the NAC or OHO, and the subsequent proceedings would again proceed through the Rule 9300 Series appellate framework before a decision again becomes final.

FINRA Rule 9144's Separation of Functions Constraints

The Board's exercise of FINRA Rule 9351 discretionary review authority sits alongside the separation of functions constraints of FINRA Rule 9144(b). FINRA Rule 9144(b) prohibits Governors from participating in discussions or decisions relating to calls for review, reviews, or appeals pursuant to the Rule 9300 Series with the Review Subcommittee or the Adjudicators that rule names — except that the NAC Chair, if also a Governor, is exempt from this prohibition. The prohibition is framed by reference to participation with the Review Subcommittee or those Adjudicators; its text does not address the Board's own deliberations when a Governor calls a proceeding for review under FINRA Rule 9351.

The Rarity of FINRA Rule 9351 Review in Practice

As confirmed by Federal Register filings associated with FINRA rulemaking, Board-level review under FINRA Rule 9351 is exercised rarely. The NAC's proposed decision under FINRA Rule 9349 becomes the final disciplinary action in the vast majority of cases because no Governor calls it for Board review. The Board's review authority exists as an institutional backstop — ensuring that significant disciplinary outcomes can receive the highest level of internal governance oversight — but routine disciplinary appeals are resolved at the NAC level without Board intervention.

The cases most likely to attract Board review are those involving novel legal theories that set precedent for future enforcement, unusually severe or unusually lenient sanctions that raise policy concerns, or significant procedural questions that affect the fairness of disciplinary proceedings broadly. These governance-level concerns are the appropriate domain of Board review — not the routine application of established legal standards to individual cases, which is properly left to the NAC's expert appellate judgment.

Connection to FINRA Rules 9144, 9311, 9348, 9349, 9360, and 9370

FINRA Rule 9351 connects to FINRA Rule 9144(b) — whose separation of functions constraints govern Governors' participation with the Review Subcommittee and the Adjudicators. It connects to FINRA Rule 9311 — whose appellate stay of the Hearing Panel decision extends through Board-level review under FINRA Rule 9351. It connects to FINRA Rule 9348 — whose NAC powers are the subject of Board-level review and whose authority structure mirrors FINRA Rule 9351(d)'s Board powers. It connects to FINRA Rule 9349 — whose proposed written decision is the subject of the Board's review under FINRA Rule 9351. It connects to FINRA Rule 9360 — whose sanctions effectiveness provisions govern when a Board decision under FINRA Rule 9351 takes effect. And it connects to FINRA Rule 9370 — whose SEC review right is triggered by the finality of a Board decision under FINRA Rule 9351(e).

Serving a Board Decision That Includes a Permanent Cease and Desist Order

FINRA Rule 9351(e) requires the FINRA Board to issue and serve its written decision on the Parties, and permits it to serve the decision on the Parties by electronic mail. The decision constitutes the final disciplinary action of FINRA for purposes of SEA Rule 19d-1(c)(1), unless the Board remands the proceeding.

FINRA Rule 9360, which governs the effectiveness of sanctions specified in a decision constituting final disciplinary action of FINRA, including a decision issued under FINRA Rule 9349 or FINRA Rule 9351, adds a service requirement that depends on the sanction. When the sanction is a bar, an expulsion, or a permanent cease and desist order, FINRA shall serve the decision on a Respondent by courier, facsimile or other means reasonably likely to obtain prompt service. A fine or a suspension is not on that list.

Suppose a Board decision issued after review fines a registered representative, suspends him and imposes a permanent cease and desist order on him. It is the permanent cease and desist order that brings the requirement to serve the decision on him by courier, facsimile or other means reasonably likely to obtain prompt service. Had the decision imposed only the fine and the suspension, that requirement would not apply.

When a Bar in a Board Decision Takes Effect

FINRA Rule 9360 sets when each kind of sanction in a decision constituting final disciplinary action becomes effective, including a sanction in a Board decision under FINRA Rule 9351. A bar or a permanent cease and desist order becomes effective upon service of the decision, unless otherwise specified in the decision. A sanction other than a bar, an expulsion or a permanent cease and desist order becomes effective on a date to be determined by FINRA staff, unless otherwise provided in the decision issued under FINRA Rule 9349 or FINRA Rule 9351.

Suppose the Board's decision after review bars a registered representative and states that the bar takes effect thirty days after the decision is served. The bar takes effect thirty days after service, on the date the decision specifies, and not on the day of service. Service fixes the effective date of a bar only where the decision specifies nothing else.

Staff Who Worked on the Case and the Board's Decision

FINRA Rule 9144(a) prohibits Interested FINRA Staff, except as counsel or a witness in a proceeding or as provided in the Rule 9550 Series, from advising an Adjudicator regarding a decision or otherwise participating in a decision of an Adjudicator. In a disciplinary proceeding under the Rule 9300 Series, Interested FINRA Staff includes the Head of Enforcement, an employee of the Department of Enforcement who reports, directly or indirectly, to the Head of Enforcement, a FINRA employee who directly participated in the authorization of the complaint, and a FINRA employee who directly participated in an examination, investigation, prosecution, or litigation related to the specific disciplinary proceeding.

FINRA Rule 9120 defines an Adjudicator as including a body, board, committee, group or natural person that presides over a proceeding and renders a decision, and a natural person who serves on such a body or board. The list of bodies that FINRA Rule 9120 names as included does not mention the FINRA Board, but when the FINRA Board conducts review proceedings under FINRA Rule 9351 and prepares its written decision, it fits the words of the definition: a board that presides over a proceeding and renders a decision, on which each Governor taking part serves.

Suppose that, while the Board is preparing its decision after review, a Governor asks the FINRA examiner who conducted the examination behind the case, and who did not appear as a witness, for advice on what sanction the decision should impose. The examiner directly participated in an examination related to that proceeding and is therefore Interested FINRA Staff, so FINRA Rule 9144(a) prohibits the examiner from giving that advice. The prohibition does not depend on the examiner's working in the Department of Enforcement, and it is not lifted by telling the Parties about the advice.

Examination Relevance and Key Takeaways

FINRA Rule 9351 is tested on the Series 24 General Securities Principal examination as the FINRA Board discretionary review rule — the third and highest tier of FINRA's internal disciplinary appellate system.

The key points to retain are these: FINRA Rule 9351 grants any individual Governor the authority to call a NAC proposed disciplinary decision for Board review within the prescribed period; the default review period is fifteen days from the date the FINRA Board receives the NAC's proposed written decision measured to the next Board meeting that is at least fifteen days after receipt; the Board may shorten the period below fifteen days by unanimous vote or extend it above fifteen days by majority vote during the period; once a timely call is made the Board shall review the proceeding at its next meeting — the review is mandatory once called; the Board may order briefing from parties excluding respondents not affected by the specific issues under review; the Board's dispositional authority mirrors FINRA Rule 9348 — the Board may affirm, modify, or reverse the NAC's proposed decision; may affirm, modify, reverse, increase, or reduce any sanction including PCDO terms; may impose any other fitting sanction; or may remand with instructions; the Board must prepare a written decision including all FINRA Rule 9349(b)(1) through (6) content elements; the Board's decision constitutes final FINRA disciplinary action unless it remands — triggering the respondent's FINRA Rule 9370 SEC review right; the Board may serve its decision by email with service complete upon sending following SR-FINRA-2022-009 effective August 22, 2022; FINRA Rule 9144(b)'s separation of functions constraints govern Governors' participation with the Review Subcommittee and the Adjudicators; Board-level review is rare in practice with the NAC's proposed decision becoming final in the vast majority of cases; and the rule was last amended August 22, 2022 through SR-FINRA-2022-009.