IAR Continuing Education FAQ

Every investment adviser representative (IAR) registered in a jurisdiction that adopts the model rule will be subject to its CE requirements. The program applies to all registered IARs of both state-registered and federal covered investment advisers in that jurisdiction.

No, IARs are free to select courses that appeal to their interests and business models so long as they meet the credit requirements, and the courses are approved content for the IAR CE program. The program provides maximum flexibility for IARs.

IAR CE requirements are maintained if an IAR has been registered with a state which requires IAR CE (an in-scope state) for any part of the year. Thus, even if an IAR withdraws from an in-scope state, the requirement continues to exist and may affect future registration(s) in in-scope states.

The course vendor/provider reports course completion to FINRA, NASAA’s vendor for program tracking.

Yes, the IAR CE course reporting fee, also sometimes referred to as the roster fee, is $3 per credit hour.

When the course vendor/provider submits an IAR’s completed course for credit, the $3 per credit hour is due upon submission. The course provider submits the reporting fee and course completion information to FINRA, the manager of NASAA’s CE reporting database.

The IAR CE requirement begins on January 1 of the calendar year following a jurisdiction’s adoption. An IAR registered in a state that has enacted an IAR CE requirement can begin taking IAR CE courses on January 1 and all CE credits must be reported by the end of each calendar year. Newly registered IARs will be required to meet the annual IAR CE requirement by the end of the first full calendar year following the year in which they first become registered.

IARs need to attain 12 CE credits each year to maintain their IAR registration. A “credit” is a unit that has been designated by NASAA to be at least 50 minutes of educational instruction. The 12 credits must include 6 credits of Products and Practices and 6 credits of Ethics and Professional Responsibility.

The Products and Practices component is designed to ensure ongoing knowledge and competency related to investment products, strategies, standards, and compliance practices relevant to the investment advisory industry.

The Ethics and Professional Responsibility component is designed to ensure ongoing knowledge and competency related to an IAR’s duties and obligations to his or her clients including, but not limited to, issues related to the fiduciary duty owed to each client.

Every Ethics and Professional Responsibility course must ensure that at least one-half (50%) of the material in the course is related to an IAR’s ethical responsibility. Therefore, by taking all 6 credits, the IAR meets the 3 credits of ethics that is required by the Model Rule. This ensures that every IAR can meet the ethics component of the IAR CE model rule. If course providers are unable to certify that content on ethical responsibility is covered or if content reviews determine that content on ethical responsibility is insufficient, those courses will not be approved.

No. While an IAR may take more than 12 credits in a single year to satisfy a previous year’s deficiency, the IAR may not carry forward excess credits into a subsequent year.

CRD tracking will include duplicate courses in the course transcript section if reported, but duplicate courses will not count toward the IAR CE requirement, even if completed in another year. However, a duplicate course that has been updated with a new course number will provide the IAR with CE credit for that course. Every course that is taken must have a unique course ID. The course ID will be available to the IAR so they can review that against their own records. Some courses will be updated over time and have the same name. However, if the content has changed enough to be relevant, then a new course ID will be issued to the provider. In that case, so long as the course has a new course ID, a course with the same name or instructor may be taken again. An example of this could be regulatory courses in an area where government rules and regulations change frequently or even annually. In this case, the course will have a new course ID and may also have a new course title to indicate the year for which the course is relevant.

If an IAR begins taking courses during a calendar year, then changes firms mid-year, the credits completed before the switch will appear in the IAR’s course transcript in CRD and will apply toward the annual CE requirement.

Yes. To re-register during the two-year exam window, the IAR would need to complete any missed CE. For instance, if the IAR leaves the industry in December 2022 without completing the 12 credits of CE for 2022, and then attempts to re-enter in 2024, the IAR would need to complete (before becoming registered) 12 credits for 2022 and 12 credits for 2023. The 12 credits for 2024 would be due by December 31, 2024. The CE for 2022 and 2023 need not be completed within those years but can be done on a catch-up basis in 2024.

Alternatively, the IAR can re-take and pass the Series 65 or 66 in lieu of completing the missing CE.

Yes.  Courses completed in the current year will apply to the current year and the past year if there is a deficiency to be resolved.  Completed IAR CE credits completed in any year will first be applied to the previous year, if the IAR did not complete the previous year’s requirement, and then to the current year’s requirement.

Example 1:  Joe failed to complete his IAR CE requirement for 2022 by December 31, 2022.  Any IAR CE courses he completes in 2023 will be applied to the 2022 deficiency until that requirement is completed.  Excess credits in 2023 will not be applied to the 2024 IAR CE requirement. 

Example 2:  A broker-dealer (BD) registered representative (RR) registers as an IAR on July 1, 2022.  The RR does not have an IAR CE requirement for 2022.  The IAR CE requirement for that IAR would begin in January of 2023.  If the IAR completes courses during 2022, these credits will not be applied to future IAR CE requirements.

Yes. However, CE credit is only applied once. A course instructor will be awarded CE credit for every unique course, with a unique course ID, that they offer, deliver and report.

Yes, there is no limitation/maximum credits restriction for courses delivered as self-study or a similar method. However, these courses must be officially approved by Prometric and NASAA before they can count toward CE credits under the IAR CE Program.

Course completion is a shared responsibility between the instructor, the course provider, and the IAR. The IAR is responsible for attending class at the designated time and completing an assessment associated with that course to receive the CE credits for the course. The IAR will also be asked to complete a satisfaction survey as part of the course activities required for CE credit.

The IAR is responsible for ensuring that the course provider reports the IAR’s completion of the course by collecting the IAR’s CRD number, and first and last names. The IAR is also responsible for ensuring they receive documentation for courses attended and keeping track of the number of CE credits awarded for each course. The IAR can self-monitor course submissions by logging into their FinPro account.

The instructor is responsible for taking attendance and recording course completion for each participant as well as the number of CE credits to be awarded. They would then communicate that information to the course provider or directly to FINRA, as manager of NASAA’s CE reporting database. The course providers are responsible for reporting successful completion information to both the IAR and to FINRA, as manager of NASAA’s CE reporting database.

IARs will monitor and report their IAR CE through FINRA’s FinPro system.

Go to https://www.finra.org/registration-exams-ce/finpro to create an account.

Please see the User Guide and Video Tutorial for help setting up your account.

Yes, you can use FINRA’s Regulatory Element course towards the Products and Practice component of your IAR CE requirements. Please note, you must speak with your broker-dealer to determine if they want to report it on your behalf or if you should self-report your course completion through FinPro and pay the applicable reporting fee of $3 per credit hour. 

Please note, there will be no refunds. In addition, if for any reason your reporting fee payment is not processed or is charged back you will not receive the corresponding IAR CE credits.

Under the model rule, IARs are required to take approved CE courses from approved course providers. NASAA has developed standardized criteria under which potential IAR CE content providers and individual CE courses will be approved. Any vendor, firm, individual, or state may provide CE so long as the provider, instructor (if applicable) and course are approved.

Anyone can submit courses for approval once they are an approved provider; they are required to apply with their course materials and meet the established course criteria, which will be reviewed and approved by Prometric.

NASAA has retained Prometric as the course management vendor (CMV) to review and approve providers, instructors and courses in accordance with criteria established by NASAA’s IAR CE Committee. The application process and website to apply can be found at Investment Adviser Representative Continuing Education.

Potential IAR CE providers, instructors, and course content owners will be assessed on standard criteria available for review in the IAR CE Program Handbook.

A firm will need to go through the same approval process as other providers. A firm specific class can be limited to associated persons of that firm. The course content evaluation materials and requirements are available for review in the IAR CE Program Handbook.

No, other than the requirement that the 12 credits of CE must include six credits of Products and Practice and six credits of Ethics and Professional Responsibility. IARs will self-manage finding and completing CE courses, which will enable them to tailor their CE to their interests and business models.

Providers will indicate the total number of credits per course and whether the courses may cover both types of required content.

Yes, every course must have an assessment that is at least 10 questions in length. There is also a requirement that IARs pass assessments with a score of at least 70% within no more than three attempts.

To become a registered continuing education provider under the IARCE Program, you must complete the course provider application.  The application process and website to apply can be found at Investment Adviser Representative Continuing Education.  For additional information, please also review the . Prometric can be reached by phone at 800.742.8731, OR by e-mail at CESecuritiesSupport@Prometric.com.

If the IAR’s home state has not adopted the model rule, the IAR would still need to comply with the CE requirements in each of the other states in which he or she is registered as an IAR. See also the following questions and responses.

An IAR registered in another state who is also registered as an IAR in his or her home state is in compliance if the home state has CE requirements that are at least as stringent as the model rule and the IAR is in compliance with the home state’s IAR CE requirements.

Yes. If an IAR has an active registration in a state and adds another state, the current IAR CE completion requirement will apply to the new state.

For any questions regarding a jurisdiction’s specific requirements, please contact that jurisdiction’s securities regulator. Contact information is available here.

An IAR who is also a registered BD agent and who complies with FINRA’s CE requirements is considered to be in compliance with the requirement to report six credits of Products and Practices content, so long as the FINRA CE content continues to meet certain baseline criteria as determined by NASAA.

Yes, if the training is approved by NASAA. Anyone, including a BD firm, can seek approval to provide CE that meets the criteria established by NASAA.

NASAA will accept the securities industry CE Regulatory Element as an equivalent of the Products and Practices module so long as the FINRA CE content continues to meet certain baseline criteria as determined by NASAA.

No. There are no exemptions or waivers available based on experience or other qualifications. However, see the FAQ immediately below.

Yes, credits from CE courses taken to maintain professional designations can apply to the IAR CE program so long as the provider and course have been approved through Prometric for IAR CE purposes. Providers will likely promote the fact that certain courses qualify for IAR CE so IARs can look for courses that meet the CE requirements for both IAR CE and their professional designations.

If an IAR does not complete the CE requirement by the annual deadline, the IAR will pay the registration renewal fee and CRD will set his or her IAR CE status to “CE Inactive,” which will then appear in the Investment Adviser Public Disclosure (IAPD) and in BrokerCheck. The IAR can continue to do business and their RA registration status in states participating in IAR CE will change to “Approved – Pending IAR CE”. CE Inactive is notice to the IAR that if CE is not completed by the end of year, the IAR will be unable to renew his or her registration.  An IAR that is CE Inactive will hold that status in all states where the CE rule is effective following adoption of the model. If a state has not yet adopted the CE model rule, the CE program will have no impact on the registration status of the IARs registered with that state – the current registration practices will remain the same.

An IAR who fails to comply with CE requirements by the end of a 12-month reporting period will renew as “CE Inactive” at the close of the calendar year until the IAR completes and reports all required IAR CE credits for the reporting period. An IAR who is CE Inactive at the close of the next calendar year is not eligible for IAR registration or renewal of an IAR registration. The IAR will then have a CRD status of Fail to Renew.

Courses completed in the current year will apply to the past year if there is a deficiency to be resolved. Completed IAR CE credits completed in any year will first be applied to the previous year and then to the current year’s requirement.  The IAR’s IAR CE status will be automatically updated to satisfied once the IAR has obtained the required number of CE credits.