All active registered representatives and those associated members who participate in FINRA’s MQP are required to complete firm element and regulatory element training as directed by their firm and/or FINRA.

The Maintain Qualifications Program (MQP) is for individuals who have left the securities industry for non-disciplinary reasons allowing them to re-enter the securities industry within five years without having to re-take registration exams as long as they comply with firm element and regulatory element requirements. To participate individuals must opt in and create a FinPro account with FINRA. This is where you will receive notification of any continuing education (CE) required to keep your registration(s) in compliance with the MQP program.

The FINRA continuing education requirements are composed of two elements:

• Firm element
• Regulatory element

Both components must be completed to stay in compliance with FINRA rules.

There is no requirement for a specific number of hours; the decision on what courses to complete and what topics must be covered is at the discretion of the broker-dealer firm.

FINRA considers annual training on topics relevant to the business of the broker-dealer firm, annual compliance meeting, and anti-money laundering training as components of the firm element training.

Yes, the course selection is at the discretion of the broker-dealer firm. WebCE does review and, when required, update course materials on an annual basis.

Annually

Excess CE hours are not allowed to be carried forward to the next cycle.

Firm element training only counts toward IAR CE if the firm element training materials are approved by NASAA.

Firm element training can be successfully completed through a variety of means, including online courses, in-person meetings, webinars, conferences and other means that can be tracked by the broker-dealer. Firm element training and selected format for that training are at the discretion of the broker-dealer firm.

Each covered person shall complete the Regulatory Element on the occurrence of their second registration anniversary date and every three years thereafter, or as otherwise prescribed by FINRA. On each occasion, the Regulatory Element must be completed within 120 days after the person's registration anniversary date. A person's initial registration date, also known as the "base date," shall establish the cycle of anniversary dates for purposes of this Rule.

Effective January 1, 2023, the regulatory element will be an annual requirement.

Regulatory Element can be completed through FINRA’s FinPro Gateway

FINRA will publish topics to be covered by the regulatory element in October of the previous calendar year.

The regulatory element may be considered an equivalent to the products and practices portion of the IAR CE requirement. Individuals must submit a request to have their regulatory element applied to their IAR CE requirement to FINRA and they must pay the required roster fee of $18.

• WebCE courses are online self-study with non-monitored final exams. Students should read through course material then complete exam.
• Exam passing score: 70%
• If the final exam is not passed on the first attempt, students have an unlimited number of retakes.

12 months from the original date of purchase

WebCE does not report course completions. Course completions are stored in the WebCE system and broker-dealer administrators have access to reports for tracking and audit purposes.

There are a limited number of exemptions and/or waivers for qualification exams and waivers of exams; those are outlined in FINRA Rule 1210.03.