FINRA Files to Extend CE Deadlines for Brokers on a Break

By Melanie Waddell

News May 02, 2024 at 12:33 PM

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FINRA sign in lobby at Brookfield Place in New York.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority is proposing to give brokers who left the industry more time to complete continuing education requirements under FINRA's Maintaining Qualifications Program, or MQP.

In a proposed rule change filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, FINRA states that individuals enrolled in MQP in both 2022 and 2023 who did not complete their prescribed 2022 and 2023 continuing ed content as of March 31, 2024, "shall be able to complete such content" between May 22, 2024 and July 1, 2024, to be eligible to continue their participation in the program.

MQP allows eligible individuals to maintain their qualifications for up to five years by completing CE annually.

FINRA's rule change also states that "any such individuals who will have completed their prescribed 2022 and 2023 continuing education content between March 31, 2024, and May 22, 2024, shall be deemed to have completed such content by July 1, 2024."

The CE requirements consist of a Regulatory Element and a Firm Element.

FINRA reported last October that more than 900 individuals have returned to the securities industry using MQP.

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