The registration of municipal advisors' frequently asked questions webpage was updated to provide more clarity regarding municipal advisor registration and recordkeeping requirements, the Securities and Exchange Commission's Office of Municipal Securities said on Friday.
The update to the
The FAQs update also offers additional clarity to Form MA and MA-I filers mulling which remote work locations where MA-related business is conducted must be disclosed as an "office," the release said. The update also adds clarity for MAs weighing the scope of their recordkeeping requirements when providing advice on the pricing of a new issue of muni securities, according to the release.
"Municipal securities touch so many parts of our lives, helping pay for schools, hospitals, water systems, and so much more," Dave Sanchez, director of the Office of Municipal Securities, said in the release, adding, the SEC "is tasked with ensuring transparency and accountability" in the muni market.
"This update will help municipal advisors — including those who provide advice to state and local governments on the issuance of municipal securities in the P3 market — understand and follow regulations that keep the market transparent, fair, and reliable," Sanchez said. "The final rules for municipal advisor registration have been in place since 2013, but it is never too late to come into compliance and register."
The update includes a new FAQ regarding how to register as a municipal advisor, the release noted.
Susan Gaffney, executive director of the National Association of Municipal Advisors, said the updated FAQs supply "important insights about recordkeeping requirements related to new-issue pricing," which MA firms should review carefully.
"This includes the discussion on 'written communications,' which may help MA firms better understand the scope of communications covered by general recordkeeping obligations within the MA Rule," Gaffney said Monday.
Clarifications regarding when a home office does or does not need to be included as a firm address are helpful, as is the MA registration guidance and information addressing when P3 consultants may be engaging in MA activity and consequently need to register, she added.
The SEC's website lists two municipal securities enforcement actions for 2026 so far, both of which involved allegations of unregistered municipal advisory activity.
