Introduction

Welcome to Associated Person Registration: the rules that decide which individuals working for a broker-dealer must register, what background checks the firm has to run, how Forms U4 and U5 move people in and out of the system, and how continuing education keeps a registration active.

Exam Weight: Part of 6% (~9 questions across Function 1)

What You'll Learn

In this unit, you'll cover:

• Associated Person (AP) Definition and Registration Framework: Who counts as an "associated person" under FINRA By-Laws Article I(rr), the two-tier associated-person registration test, and the two-principal minimum
• Pre-Hire Screening and Background Investigation: Background-investigation duties under the supervisory-system requirement, the SEC fingerprinting requirement, and the Form U4 disclosure history requirements
• Forms U4 and U5: Filing mechanics on the Central Registration Depository (CRD), the 30-day Form U5 termination filing, the 10-day amendment deadline for statutory disqualifying events, and predispute arbitration disclosure
• Registration Categories: Representative-level licenses (Series 6, 7, 79, 86/87, 57, 82, 99) and principal-level licenses (Series 24, 9/10, 27, 28, 4, 16, 26, 14)
• Registration Exemptions: Clerical/ministerial exemption, foreign associates, and the narrow order-taker rule
• Statutory Disqualification (SD) and Eligibility Proceedings: Securities Exchange Act (SEA) statutory-disqualification triggers, Form MC-400 application, the SD relief application requirement (SEC notice), and the FINRA Series 9520 eligibility-proceeding review by the National Adjudicatory Council (NAC)
• Heightened Supervision: When it is required, what terms it includes, and how it integrates with the firm's written supervisory procedures (WSPs)
• Continuing Education: Annual Regulatory Element by December 31, the Firm Element written training plan, and the Maintaining Qualifications Program (MQP) for terminated registrations

Why This Matters

The Series 24 exam tests three principal-level decisions:

• Identifying which individuals must register and which fall into the clerical or foreign-associate exemption
• Spotting when an event triggers statutory disqualification and what 10-day or 30-day filing window applies
• Designing CE programs and heightened-supervision plans that survive FINRA inspection

A 10-day filing missed on a felony conviction or a Form U5 left blank for a "permitted to resign" termination is a textbook regulatory event reporting enforcement case.

Let's start with who counts as an associated person and which of those associated persons must actually register.