To get a CRD number, you need a FINRA member firm to sponsor you: the firm files Form U4 on your behalf through the FINRA Gateway after you pass the required qualification exams, and the system assigns your permanent CRD number once the filing and background check clear. There is no way to apply on your own. The number then stays with you for your entire career in the securities industry.
You Cannot Register Yourself
A CRD (Central Registration Depository) number is issued through FINRA’s licensing database, and the filing has to come from a registered broker-dealer. A firm must complete its own registration before it can sponsor anyone, and it receives its own CRD number when it files Form BD with the SEC and FINRA.1FINRA. Form BD If you want an individual CRD number, your first practical step is finding a member firm willing to hire and sponsor you.
FINRA requires everyone working in the securities business at a member firm to register in a category matching their responsibilities, which covers people who execute trades, give investment advice, supervise representatives, or handle securities offerings.2FINRA. FINRA Rule 1210 – Registration Requirements
One boundary worth knowing up front: investment adviser representatives register through a related system called IARD rather than the broker-dealer CRD path, though FINRA operates both and both assign CRD numbers.3NASAA. CRD and IARD If your intended role is on the advisory side only, the process described here is not the one you follow.
Pass the Qualification Exams
Registration requires exams. The first is the Securities Industry Essentials (SIE), which covers basic securities knowledge, market structure, and regulation. Passing the SIE alone does not qualify you to work in the industry; you also need a representative-level exam that matches your intended role.4FINRA. Securities Industry Essentials (SIE) Exam
Common representative-level exams include:
- Series 7 (General Securities Representative), the broadest license and the one that allows sale of most securities types
- Series 6 (Investment Company Representative), covering mutual funds, variable annuities, and similar products
- Series 79 (Investment Banking Representative)
- Series 57 (Securities Trader)
You can sit for the SIE without any firm affiliation, but you must be sponsored by a FINRA member firm to take any representative-level exam. In 2026, the SIE fee is $100 and the Series 7 fee is $395.5FINRA. FINRA Fee Adjustment Schedule
What Your Firm Files on Your Behalf
The sponsoring firm files Form U4, the Uniform Application for Securities Industry Registration or Transfer, electronically. FINRA member firms are required to submit this form for every person they want to register.6FINRA. Form U4 The information you provide includes:
- Residential history for the past five years, with no gaps
- Employment history for the past ten years, including full- and part-time jobs, self-employment, military service, periods of unemployment, and full-time education
- Legal name, Social Security number, date of birth, and citizenship status
If you have never been registered before, or you have not been registered with a FINRA member firm in the past 30 days, every section of the form has to be completed from scratch. Someone transferring within a 30-day window carries certain sections forward from the prior filing.6FINRA. Form U4
The Disclosure Section
Form U4 asks about your legal, regulatory, and financial history. You have to disclose criminal charges and convictions, regulatory actions, customer complaints, investment-related civil lawsuits, and terminations from prior firms. Financial disclosures include bankruptcies, compromises with creditors, bond payouts or revocations, and unsatisfied judgments or liens.7FINRA. Form U4 Uniform Application for Securities Industry Registration or Transfer Accuracy is not optional. Omitting a required disclosure can lead to disciplinary action, up to a permanent bar from the industry.
Fingerprints
Federal law requires broker-dealers to submit fingerprints on their personnel for an FBI criminal background check.8FINRA. Frequently Asked Questions About Fingerprint Processing Firms use either physical fingerprint cards or electronic scanning. The FBI charges $10 per submission whether it arrives electronically or on paper.9FINRA. Fingerprint Fees
How the Filing Reaches FINRA
Registration filings go through the FINRA Gateway. Each firm designates a Super Account Administrator who manages user accounts and permissions for the compliance staff who prepare submissions.10FINRA. FINRA Entitlement Program – Super Account Administrators Fees are paid out of the firm’s Flex-Funding Account, which the firm loads by check, ACH, or wire.11FINRA. Regulatory Fees and Payment Options The system will not process an application until the account has enough funds to cover the fees.
Once the filing is submitted and the background check clears, the system assigns a permanent CRD number. The firm is notified through the online dashboard, and that number becomes your lifelong identifier in the securities industry.12FINRA. Central Registration Depository (CRD) The number persists even if you change firms or leave the industry temporarily.
What It Costs
FINRA charges $125 for each initial Form U4 filing. If the filing carries new disclosure information, an additional $155 disclosure processing fee applies.13FINRA. Schedule of Registration and Exam Fees
Each state where you plan to conduct business charges its own jurisdiction fee. These range from $0 in Kansas to $190 in New Jersey. FINRA also charges a tiered system processing fee based on how many jurisdictions you register in:
- 1–5 jurisdictions: $70
- 6–20 jurisdictions: $95
- 21–40 jurisdictions: $110
- 41 or more: $125
The full schedule is set out in FINRA’s SRO/Jurisdiction Fee and Setting Schedule.14FINRA. SRO/Jurisdiction Fee and Setting Schedule In practice, a representative registering in a handful of states should expect several hundred dollars in initial costs before exam fees are counted. Most firms pay these costs for their sponsored representatives.
Things That Can Block Registration
Certain events in your background can make you ineligible to register, a status called statutory disqualification. Under Section 3(a)(39) of the Securities Exchange Act, disqualifying events include:
- All felony convictions and certain misdemeanor convictions within the past ten years
- Temporary or permanent court injunctions related to securities violations, regardless of when issued
- Bars or suspensions by FINRA, the SEC, the CFTC, or another securities regulator
- Findings that you made false statements in applications or proceedings before a regulator
- Findings by the SEC, CFTC, or an SRO that you willfully violated federal securities or commodities laws
- Final orders from state securities, banking, or insurance regulators that bar association or are based on fraudulent conduct
Statutory disqualification is not always permanent. A firm can sponsor a disqualified individual by filing an MC-400 Application, which starts an eligibility proceeding under FINRA’s Rule 9520 series. The application requires a detailed supervisory plan, the firm’s reasons for backing the candidate, and any restrictions on the individual’s duties. The MC-400 processing fee is $5,000, and a required hearing adds $2,500.15FINRA. General Information on Statutory Disqualification and FINRA Eligibility Proceedings