Investment Adviser Representative Continuing Education FAQs
Investment adviser representatives (IARs) need to follow continuing education (IAR CE) requirements set by the state securities regulators where they’re registered. These requirements match the NASAA Model Rule on Investment Adviser Representative Continuing Education. The rule applies to IARs from both state-registered and SEC-registered investment adviser firms in states that have adopted it.
When an investment adviser representative (IAR) registers with an IAR CE jurisdiction for the first time, they need to complete the annual IAR CE requirements by the end of the first full calendar year after their initial registration. Keep in mind, this grace period only applies to IARs who are registering for the first time. Those who already have active registrations and simply add a new state registration must meet the IAR CE requirements for the current year in all states where they are registered.
• California (effective 2024)
• Colorado (effective 2024)
• Florida (effective 2024)
• Hawaii (effective 2024)
• Kentucky (effective 2023)
• Maryland (effective 2022)
• Michigan (effective 2023)
• Minnesota (effective 1/1/2025)
• Mississippi (effective 2022)
• Nebraska (effective 2025)
• Nevada (effective 2024)
• New Jersey (effective 2025)
• North Dakota (effective 2024)
• Oklahoma (effective 2023)
• Oregon (effective 2023)
• Rhode Island (effective 2025)
• South Carolina (effective 2023)
• Tennessee (effective 2024)
• Vermont (effective 2022)
• Washington, D.C. (effective 2023)
• Wisconsin (effective 2023)
• U.S. Virgin Islands (effective 2025)
NASAA’s Model Rule on IAR CE requires that IARs complete a total of twelve IAR CE courses by December 31 of each year. Of these twelve courses, six must be in the Products & Practice category, and six must be in the Ethics & Professional Responsibility category. A seventh course taken in either category will not count towards an IAR’s requirement.
No. Twelve IAR CE credits will satisfy the IAR CE requirements of all states in which an IAR is registered.
No. IARs will need to take new courses each year. IAR CE courses will only count once towards an IAR’s regulatory requirement.
No. However, NASAA permits continuing education providers to offer courses that satisfy multiple CE requirements, including those for IARs and certain professional designations.
To the extent that FINRA continuing education (“FINRA CE”) is found satisfactory by NASAA, dually registered investment adviser representatives/registered representatives (“IARs/RR”) can count FINRA CE toward the IAR CE Products and Practice credits. A dually registered IAR/RR would still need to complete at least six credits of Ethics and Professional Responsibility IAR CE approved by NASAA.
If an investment adviser representative (“IAR”) does not fulfill the annual continuing education requirement by the end of the calendar year, the IAR’s registration status on WebCRD will be set to “CE Inactive,” which will be viewable by state securities regulators and by the general public on IAPD and Broker Check. The CE Inactive status will remain until the deficiencies are corrected or action is taken by the applicable state securities regulator(s). If the CE Inactive status persists through the close of the following calendar year, the IAR will be ineligible to renew their registration or to initiate a new IAR registration via WebCRD until the deficiency is corrected.
No, credits earned in excess of the annual continuing education (“CE”) requirement will be recorded on the transcript of an investment adviser representative (“IAR”) but cannot be used to satisfy the CE requirement in subsequent years. In the event an IAR has a CE deficiency from a prior year, any credits earned will be first applied to the prior year deficiency before being used to satisfy a current year’s CE requirement.
No. Only the representative that is licensed in a state that has adopted an IAR CE rule must comply with the requirement. However, the investment adviser firm should ensure it has adopted IAR CE compliance policies and procedures (i) to support its representative’s compliance with the requirement, and (ii) to monitor IAR CE requirements for all representatives as new states continue to adopt the model IAR CE rule.
Yes, the investment adviser representative (“IAR”) must correct any continuing education (“CE”) deficiency prior to re-registering as an IAR or, alternatively, the IAR can retake the Series 65 or Series 66 exam (or satisfy an applicable state securities regulator’s exam waiver).
CE4Advisers.com FAQs
Our IAR CE courses consist of one-hour video presentations that must be watched in their entirety. During the video, the instructor will provide two halves of a six-character attendance code, which must be recorded by the attendee. After the video, the attendee will need to provide the six-character code to advance to the next section of the course. This next section consists of a course evaluation and a final assessment. Once the assessment has been passed, the attendee will be asked to certify their attendance by providing their full name, the date, and their individual CRD number. Once all of these steps have been completed, a certificate of attendance will be generated for the attendee’s records.
The final assessment for each course consists of 10 randomized questions. A passing score is 70%, and an attendee will have a total of three attempts to receive a 70% score. If an attendee fails the assessment three times, they will need to repeat the entire course from the beginning.
According to NASAA’s Model Rule, it is the responsibility of course providers to report course completion results to the regulators. Generally, CE4Advisers.com submits course completion results once per week.
Courses are accessed from the “My Courses” section of the “My Account” page. You will also receive a direct link to a purchased course in the receipt emailed to you after making a purchase.
RIA Compliance Consultants’ Annual Compliance Program packages provide some IAR CE credits at no additional charge. The list below shows how many credits are available through each package:
• Value, Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum: 6 credits
• Bronze+ : 12 credits
• Silver+ : 16 credits
• Gold+ : 20 credits
• Platinum+ : 24 credits
• Titanium: 28 credits
No, CE4Advisers.com requires separate login credentials from ria-compliance-consultants.com. An account will automatically be created for you during checkout.