Broker-dealers are required to use the Branch Office Registration Form (Form BR) to register their branch offices with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, the New York Stock Exchange and participating states via the Central Registration Depository system. Form BR enables a firm to: (1) register its branch office(s), either by notice filing or approval, as required by the relevant jurisdiction or self-regulatory organization (SRO), (2) amend a registration; (3) close or terminate a registration; or (4) withdraw a filing in the appropriate participating jurisdiction and SRO.  The Securities and Exchange Commission approved amendments to Form BR to: (1) eliminate Section 6 of the existing Form BR, which was required only for firms seeking to register branch offices with the NYSE; (2) add questions relating to space sharing arrangements and the location of books and records that are currently only in

Section 6 and make them applicable to all firms; (3) modify existing questions and instructions to provide more detailed selections for describing the types of activities conducted at the branch office; (4) add an optional question to identify a branch office as an “Office of Municipal Supervisory Jurisdiction,” as defined under the rules of the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board; and (5) make other technical changes to adopt uniform terminology and clarify questions and instructions.

The implementation date for the revised Form BR is April 7, 2014. Firms registering or notice filing new branch offices will be required to use the revised Form BR on or after the implementation date. Firms with existing registered branch offices will not be required to file the revised Form BR for such existing offices immediately upon the implementation date. Instead, firms will be required to provide the new information elicited on the revised Form BR for each existing registered branch office whenever an amendment is otherwise required, in the ordinary course, to update existing information items that have become inaccurate or incomplete.