Under Commodity Futures Trading Commission regulations, any person claiming an exemption or exclusion from commodity pool operator (CPO) or commodity trading advisor (CTA) registration pursuant to CFTC Regulations 4.5, 4.13(a)(1), 4.13(a)(2), 4.13(a)(3), 4.13(a)(5) or 4.14(a)(8) must annually reaffirm this exemption within 60 days of the end of each calendar year. National Futures Association (NFA) Bylaw 1101 and Compliance Rule 2-36(d) require NFA members that carry accounts for or transact business with any unregistered person to confirm that such person has filed a notice with NFA reaffirming the exemption on an annual basis. 

Recognizing that it may be difficult to conclusively determine whether a person that was previously relying upon the foregoing exemptions or exclusions has filed such notice with NFA, NFA has stated that NFA members will not be charged with violating NFA Bylaw 1101 or Compliance Rule 2-36(d) if they do business with such persons between January 1 and March 31, 2014. If an NFA member learns that a person does not intend to file a notice affirming an exemption within the 60-day period, it must obtain a satisfactory written explanation or put a plan in place to cease transacting business with such person. 

The NFA Notice to Members is available here.