Books and Records Retention Requirements
Chapters in this video
- 0:00 The SEC recordkeeping framework and WORM storage
- 1:57 The 6-year bucket: firm-level records and account foundations
- 3:19 The 3-year bucket: transactions, communications, and trickier triggers
- 5:10 Pause-and-answer: where account statements really belong
- 6:14 Exam traps and oddballs: complaints, charters, and life-of-the-firm records
- 7:16 The MSRB plot twist: municipal complaints at 6 years, confirmations at 4
- 8:26 Rapid-fire exam recap
What this video covers
- Why the 6-year bucket holds firm-level operations and account-opening terms, and how blotters fit here despite recording transactions
- What separates account cards and new account forms (6 years after account closure) from account statements and written agreements (3 years)
- When the 3-year clock actually starts for written supervisory procedures (WSPs), advertising, and associated person records like U4/U5 and fingerprints
- Why regular written complaints are 4 years under the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) customer-complaint recordkeeping rule, not 3 or 6
- Which records never expire: corporate charters, articles of incorporation, bylaws, partnership agreements, and minute books
- How the MSRB rearranges the retention map: municipal complaints jump to 6 years and municipal confirmations land at 4 years for standard municipal securities dealers
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