Form Custody

Section 17(a)(1) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78a et seq.) (“Exchange Act”) provides that broker-dealers registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“Commission”) must make and keep records, furnish copies of the records, and make and disseminate reports as the Commission, by rule, prescribes. Pursuant to this authority, the Commission adopted Rule 17a-5 (17 CFR 240.17a-5), which is one of the primary financial and operational reporting rules for broker-dealers. Paragraph (a)(5) of Rule 17a-5 requires every broker-dealer registered with the Commission to file Form Custody (17 CFR 249.639) with its designated examining authority (“DEA”) within 17 business days after the end of each calendar quarter and within 17 business days after the end of the broker-dealer’s fiscal year if that date is not the end of a calendar quarter. Form Custody is designed to elicit information about whether a broker-dealer maintains custody of customer and non-customer assets, and, if so, how such assets are maintained. The purpose of Form Custody is to provide information about the custodial activities of broker-dealers that can serve as a starting point for Commission and DEA examiners to undertake more in-depth reviews of these activities as they deem appropriate.

The latest form for Form Custody expires 2028-09-30 and can be found here.