GALVIN LEGAL, PLLC provides CRD Expungement assistance to registered representatives who are interested in expunging certain disclosure items from their FINRA BrokerCheck Report. Request a free consultation for additional information about our services.
FINRA operates and maintains the Central Depository Registry (CRD) pursuant to its rules and its agreements with securities regulators and the North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA). The CRD contains disclosure and administrative information about registered securities firms and registered representatives (brokers). The public is unable to access the CRD directly; however, most of the information is available through FINRA’s BrokerCheck system.
The CRD is populated with information for the registration forms submitted by broker-dealers and regulators. For example, the most common forms are Forms U4, U5, and U6.
Brokers may seek to expunge information from their record in the CRD. The process is called expungement and is accomplished through an arbitration proceeding through FINRA Dispute Resolution.
FINRA considers expungement to be an “extraordinary remedy” and arbitrators are told that they should only recommend it under certain circumstances. FINRA Rule 2080 establishes the procedures for expungement of customer dispute information from the CRD. The rule provides three narrow grounds for expungement:
- The claim, allegation, or information is factually impossible or clearly erroneous;
- The registered representative was not involved in the alleged investment-related sales practice violation, forgery, theft, misappropriation, or conversion of funds; or
- The claim, allegation, or information is false.
FINRA prohibits any dispute settlements from being conditioned on, or otherwise compensating a customer for, the customer’s agreement to consent to, or not oppose, the expungement request.
Certain categories of information cannot be expunged from the CRD. These categories include:
- Civil Judicial Actions
- Criminal Matters
- Financial Matters
- Investigations
- Regulatory Matters
Request a free consultation for additional information about our services.
