Sec. 

240.21F-1 General.

240.21F-2 Whistleblower status and retaliation protections. 

240.21F-3 Payment of award. 

240.21F-4 Other definitions. 

240.21F-5 Amount of award. 

240.21F-6 Criteria for determining amount of award. 

240.21F-7 Confidentiality of submissions.
 

240.21F-8 Eligibility.
 

240.21F-9 Procedures for submitting original information. 

240.21F-10 Procedures for making a claim for a whistleblower award in 

SEC actions that result in monetary sanctions in excess of $1,000,000 

240.21F-11 Procedures for determining awards based upon a related action.

240.21F-12 Materials that may be used as the basis for an award 

determination and that may comprise the record on appeal. 

240.21F-13 Appeals. 

240.21F-14 Procedures applicable to the payment of awards. 

240.21F-15 No amnesty. 

240.21F-16 Awards to whistleblowers who engage in culpable conduct.
 

240.21F-17 Staff communications with whistleblowers.

***** 
§ 240.21F-1 General. 

Section 21F of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (“Exchange Act”) (15 U.S.C. 

78u-6), entitled “Securities Whistleblower Incentives and Protection,” requires the 

Securities and Exchange Commission (“Commission”) to pay awards, subject to certain 

limitations and conditions, to whistleblowers who provide the Commission with original 

information about violations of the federal securities laws. These rules describe the 

whistleblower program that the Commission has established to implement the 

provisions of Section 21F, and explain the procedures you will need to follow in order to 

be eligible for an award. You should read these procedures carefully because the failure 

to take certain required steps within the time frames described in these rules may 

disqualify you from receiving an award for which you otherwise may be eligible. Unless 

expressly provided for in these rules, no person is authorized to make any offer or 

promise, or otherwise to bind the Commission with respect to the payment of any award 

or the amount thereof. The Securities and Exchange Commission’s Office of the 

Whistleblower administers our whistleblower program. Questions about the program or 

these rules should be directed to the SEC Office of the Whistleblower, 100 F Street, N.E., 

Washington, DC 20549-5631. 

§ 240.21F-2 Whistleblower status and retaliation protection. 

(a) Definition of a whistleblower. (1) You are a whistleblower if, alone or jointly 

with others, you provide the Commission with information pursuant to the procedures 

set forth in § 240.21F-9(a) of this chapter, and the information relates to a possible 

violation of the federal securities laws (including any rules or regulations thereunder) 

that has occurred, is ongoing, or is about to occur. A whistleblower must be an 

individual. A company or another entity is not eligible to be a whistleblower. 

(2) To be eligible for an award, you must submit original information to the 

Commission in accordance with the procedures and conditions described in §§240.21F4, 240.21F-8, and 240.21F-9 of this chapter. 

(b) Prohibition against retaliation: (1) For purposes of the anti-retaliation 

protections afforded by Section 21F(h)(1) of the Exchange Act (15 U.S.C. 78u-6(h)(1)), 

you are a whistleblower if: 
(i) You possess a reasonable belief that the information you are providing relates 

to a possible securities law violation (or, where applicable, to a possible violation of the 

provisions set forth in 18 U.S.C. 1514A(a)) that has occurred, is ongoing, or is about to 

occur, and; 

(ii) You provide that information in a manner described in Section 21F(h)(1)(A) 

of the Exchange Act (15 U.S.C. 78u-6(h)(1)(A)). 

The anti-retaliation protections apply whether or not you satisfy the 

requirements, procedures and conditions to qualify for an award. 

(2) Section 21F(h)(1) of the Exchange Act (15 U.S.C. 78u-6(h)(1)), including any 

rules promulgated thereunder, shall be enforceable in an action or proceeding brought 

by the Commission. 

§ 240.21F-3 Payment of awards. 

(a) Commission actions: Subject to the eligibility requirements described in 

§§240.21F-2, 240.21F-8, and 240.21F-16 of this chapter, the Commission will pay an 

award or awards to one or more whistleblowers who: 

(1) Voluntarily provide the Commission 

(2) With original information 

(3) That leads to the successful enforcement by the Commission of a federal 

court or administrative action 

(4) In which the Commission obtains monetary sanctions totaling more than 

$1,000,000. 

The terms voluntarily, original information, leads to successful enforcement, action, and 

monetary sanctions are defined in § 240.21F-4 of this chapter. 

(b) Related actions: The Commission will also pay an award based on amounts 

collected in certain related actions. 

(1) A related action is a judicial or administrative action that is brought by: 

(i) The Attorney General of the United States; 

(ii) An appropriate regulatory authority; 

(iii) A self-regulatory organization; or 
(iv) A state attorney general in a criminal case, and is based on the same original 

information that the whistleblower voluntarily provided to the Commission, and that led 

the Commission to obtain monetary sanctions totaling more than $1,000,000. 

The terms appropriate regulatory authority and self-regulatory organization are 

defined in § 240.21F-4 of this chapter. 

(2) In order for the Commission to make an award in connection with a related 

action, the Commission must determine that the same original information that the 

whistleblower gave to the Commission also led to the successful enforcement of the 

related action under the same criteria described in these rules for awards made in 

connection with Commission actions. The Commission may seek assistance and 

confirmation from the authority bringing the related action in making this 

determination. The Commission will deny an award in connection with the related 

action if: 

(i) The Commission determines that the criteria for an award are not satisfied; or 

(ii) The Commission is unable to make a determination because the Office of the 

Whistleblower could not obtain sufficient and reliable information that could be used as 

the basis for an award determination pursuant to § 240.21F-12(a) of this chapter. 

Additional procedures apply to the payment of awards in related actions. These 

procedures are described in §§ 240.21F-11 and 240.21F-14 of this chapter. 

(3) The Commission will not make an award to you for a related action if you 

have already been granted an award by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission 

(“CFTC”) for that same action pursuant to its whistleblower award program under 

Section 23 of the Commodity Exchange Act (7 U.S.C. 26). Similarly, if the CFTC has 

previously denied an award to you in a related action, you will be precluded from 

relitigating any issues before the Commission that the CFTC resolved against you as part 

of the award denial. 
§ 240.21F-4 Other definitions. 

(a) Voluntary submission of information. (1) Your submission of information is 

made voluntarily within the meaning of §§ 240.21F-1 through 240.21F-17 of this chapter 

if you provide your submission before a request, inquiry, or demand that relates to the 

subject matter of your submission is directed to you or anyone representing you (such as 

an attorney): 

(i) By the Commission; 

(ii) In connection with an investigation, inspection, or examination by the Public 

Company Accounting Oversight Board, or any self-regulatory organization; or 

(iii) In connection with an investigation by the Congress, any other authority of 

the federal government, or a state Attorney General or securities regulatory authority. 

(2) If the Commission or any of these other authorities direct a request, inquiry, 

or demand as described in paragraph (1) of this section to you or your representative 

first, your submission will not be considered voluntary, and you will not be eligible for 

an award, even if your response is not compelled by subpoena or other applicable law. 

However, your submission of information to the Commission will be considered 

voluntary if you voluntarily provided the same information to one of the other 

authorities identified above prior to receiving a request, inquiry, or demand from the 

Commission. 

(3) In addition, your submission will not be considered voluntary if you are 

required to report your original information to the Commission as a result of a preexisting legal duty, a contractual duty that is owed to the Commission or to one of the 

other authorities set forth in paragraph (1) of this section, or a duty that arises out of a 

judicial or administrative order.

 (b) Original information. (1) In order for your whistleblower submission to be 

considered original information, it must be: 

(i) Derived from your independent knowledge or independent analysis; 

(ii) Not already known to the Commission from any other source, unless you are 

the original source of the information; 

(iii) Not exclusively derived from an allegation made in a judicial or 

administrative hearing, in a governmental report, hearing, audit, or investigation, or 

from the news media, unless you are a source of the information; and 
 

(iv) Provided to the Commission for the first time after July 21, 2010 (the date of 

enactment of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act). 

(2) Independent knowledge means factual information in your possession that is 

not derived from publicly available sources. You may gain independent knowledge from 

your experiences, communications and observations in your business or social 

interactions. 

(3) Independent analysis means your own analysis, whether done alone or in 

combination with others. Analysis means your examination and evaluation of 

information that may be publicly available, but which reveals information that is not 

generally known or available to the public. 

(4) The Commission will not consider information to be derived from your 

independent knowledge or independent analysis in any of the following circumstances: 

(i) If you obtained the information through a communication that was subject to 

the attorney-client privilege, unless disclosure of that information would otherwise be 

permitted by an attorney pursuant to § 205.3(d)(2) of this chapter, the applicable state 

attorney conduct rules, or otherwise; 

(ii) If you obtained the information in connection with the legal representation 

of a client on whose behalf you or your employer or firm are providing services, and you 

seek to use the information to make a whistleblower submission for your own benefit, 

unless disclosure would otherwise be permitted by an attorney pursuant to § 

205.3(d)(2) of this chapter, the applicable state attorney conduct rules, or otherwise; or 

(iii) In circumstances not covered by paragraphs (b)(4)(i) or (b)(4)(ii) of this 

section, if you obtained the information because you were: 

(A) An officer, director, trustee, or partner of an entity and another person 

informed you of allegations of misconduct, or you learned the information in connection 

with the entity’s processes for identifying, reporting, and addressing possible violations 

of law; 

(B) An employee whose principal duties involve compliance or internal audit 

responsibilities, or you were employed by or otherwise associated with a firm retained to 

perform compliance or internal audit functions for an entity; 

(C) Employed by or otherwise associated with a firm retained to conduct an 

inquiry or investigation into possible violations of law; or 
(D) An employee of, or other person associated with, a public accounting firm, 

if you obtained the information through the performance of an engagement required of 

an independent public accountant under the federal securities laws (other than an audit 

subject to §240.21F-8(c)(4) of this chapter), and that information related to a violation 

by the engagement client or the client’s directors, officers or other employees. 

(iv) If you obtained the information by a means or in a manner that is 

determined by a United States court to violate applicable federal or state criminal law; 

or 

(v) Exceptions. Paragraph (b)(4)(iii) of this section shall not apply if: 

(A) You have a reasonable basis to believe that disclosure of the information to 

the Commission is necessary to prevent the relevant entity from engaging in conduct 

that is likely to cause substantial injury to the financial interest or property of the entity 

or investors; 

(B) You have a reasonable basis to believe that the relevant entity is engaging in 

conduct that will impede an investigation of the misconduct; or 

(C) At least 120 days have elapsed since you provided the information to the 

relevant entity’s audit committee, chief legal officer, chief compliance officer (or their 

equivalents), or your supervisor, or since you received the information, if you received it 

under circumstances indicating that the entity’s audit committee, chief legal officer, 

chief compliance officer (or their equivalents), or your supervisor was already aware of 

the information. 

(vi) If you obtained the information from a person who is subject to this section, 

unless the information is not excluded from that person’s use pursuant to this section, 

or you are providing the Commission with information about possible violations 

involving that person. 

(5) The Commission will consider you to be an original source of the same 

information that we obtain from another source if the information satisfies the 

definition of original information and the other source obtained the information from 

you or your representative. In order to be considered an original source of information 

that the Commission receives from Congress, any other authority of the federal 

government, a state Attorney General or securities regulatory authority, any selfregulatory organization, or the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, you must 
 

have voluntarily given such authorities the information within the meaning of these 

rules. You must establish your status as the original source of information to the 

Commission’s satisfaction. In determining whether you are the original source of 

information, the Commission may seek assistance and confirmation from one of the 

other authorities described above, or from another entity (including your employer), in 

the event that you claim to be the original source of information that an authority or 

another entity provided to the Commission. 

(6) If the Commission already knows some information about a matter from 

other sources at the time you make your submission, and you are not an original source 

of that information under paragraph (b)(5) of this section, the Commission will consider 

you an original source of any information you provide that is derived from your 

independent knowledge or analysis and that materially adds to the information that the 

Commission already possesses. 

(7) If you provide information to the Congress, any other authority of the federal 

government, a state Attorney General or securities regulatory authority, any selfregulatory organization, or the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, or to an 

entity’s internal whistleblower, legal, or compliance procedures for reporting allegations 

of possible violations of law, and you, within 120 days, submit the same information to 

the Commission pursuant to § 240.21F-9 of this chapter, as you must do in order for you 

to be eligible to be considered for an award, then, for purposes of evaluating your claim 

to an award under §§ 240.21F-10 and 240.21F-11 of this chapter, the Commission will 

consider that you provided information as of the date of your original disclosure, report 

or submission to one of these other authorities or persons. You must establish the 

effective date of any prior disclosure, report, or submission, to the Commission’s 

satisfaction. The Commission may seek assistance and confirmation from the other 

authority or person in making this determination. 

(c) Information that leads to successful enforcement. The Commission will 

consider that you provided original information that led to the successful enforcement 

of a judicial or administrative action in any of the following circumstances: 

(1) You gave the Commission original information that was sufficiently specific, 

credible, and timely to cause the staff to commence an examination, open an 

investigation, reopen an investigation that the Commission had closed, or to inquire 
concerning different conduct as part of a current examination or investigation, and the 

Commission brought a successful judicial or administrative action based in whole or in 

part on conduct that was the subject of your original information; or 

(2) You gave the Commission original information about conduct that was 

already under examination or investigation by the Commission, the Congress, any other 

authority of the federal government, a state Attorney General or securities regulatory 

authority, any self-regulatory organization, or the PCAOB (except in cases where you 

were an original source of this information as defined in paragraph (b)(4) of this 

section), and your submission significantly contributed to the success of the action. 

(3) You reported original information through an entity’s internal whistleblower, 

legal, or compliance procedures for reporting allegations of possible violations of law 

before or at the same time you reported them to the Commission; the entity later 

provided your information to the Commission, or provided results of an audit or 

investigation initiated in whole or in part in response to information you reported to the 

entity; and the information the entity provided to the Commission satisfies either 

paragraph (c)(1) or (c)(2) of this section. Under this paragraph (c)(3), you must also 

submit the same information to the Commission in accordance with the procedures set 

forth in §240.21F-9 within 120 days of providing it to the entity. 

(d) An action generally means a single captioned judicial or administrative 

proceeding brought by the Commission. Notwithstanding the foregoing: 

(1) For purposes of making an award under § 240.21F-10 of this chapter, the 

Commission will treat as a Commission action two or more administrative or judicial 

proceedings brought by the Commission if these proceedings arise out of the same 

nucleus of operative facts; or 

(2) For purposes of determining the payment on an award under § 240.21F-14 of 

this chapter, the Commission will deem as part of the Commission action upon which 

the award was based any subsequent Commission proceeding that, individually, results 

in a monetary sanction of $1,000,000 or less, and that arises out of the same nucleus of 

operative facts. 

(e) Monetary sanctions means any money, including penalties, disgorgement, 

and interest, ordered to be paid and any money deposited into a disgorgement fund or 
other fund pursuant to Section 308(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (15 U.S.C. 

7246(b)) as a result of a Commission action or a related action. 

(f) Appropriate regulatory agency means the Commission, the Comptroller of the 

Currency, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Federal Deposit 

Insurance Corporation, the Office of Thrift Supervision, and any other agencies that may 

be defined as appropriate regulatory agencies under Section 3(a)(34) of the Exchange 

Act (15 U.S.C. 78c(a)(34)). 

(g) Appropriate regulatory authority means an appropriate regulatory agency 

other than the Commission. 

(h) Self-regulatory organization means any national securities exchange, 

registered securities association, registered clearing agency, the Municipal Securities 

Rulemaking Board, and any other organizations that may be defined as self-regulatory 

organizations under Section 3(a)(26) of the Exchange Act (15 U.S.C. 78c(a)(26)). 

§ 240.21F-5 Amount of award. 

(a) The determination of the amount of an award is in the discretion of the 

Commission. 

(b) If all of the conditions are met for a whistleblower award in connection with a 

Commission action or a related action, the Commission will then decide the percentage 

amount of the award applying the criteria set forth in § 240.21F-6 of this chapter and 

pursuant to the procedures set forth in §§ 240.21F-10 and 240.21F-11 of this chapter. 

The amount will be at least 10 percent and no more than 30 percent of the monetary 

sanctions that the Commission and the other authorities are able to collect. The 

percentage awarded in connection with a Commission action may differ from the 

percentage awarded in connection with a related action. 

(c) If the Commission makes awards to more than one whistleblower in 

connection with the same action or related action, the Commission will determine an 

individual percentage award for each whistleblower, but in no event will the total 

amount awarded to all whistleblowers in the aggregate be less than 10 percent or greater 

than 30 percent of the amount the Commission or the other authorities collect. 
§ 240.21F-6 Criteria for determining amount of award. 

 In exercising its discretion to determine the appropriate award percentage, the 

Commission may consider the following factors in relation to the unique facts and 

circumstances of each case, and may increase or decrease the award percentage based 

on its analysis of these factors. In the event that awards are determined for multiple 

whistleblowers in connection an action, these factors will be used to determine the 

relative allocation of awards among the whistleblowers. 

(a) Factors that may increase the amount of a whistleblower’s award. In 

determining whether to increase the amount of an award, the Commission will consider 

the following factors, which are not listed in order of importance. 

(1) Significance of the information provided by the whistleblower. The 

Commission will assess the significance of the information provided by a whistleblower 

to the success of the Commission action or related action. In considering this factor, the 

Commission may take into account, among other things: 

(i) The nature of the information provided by the whistleblower and how it 

related to the successful enforcement action, including whether the reliability and 

completeness of the information provided to the Commission by the whistleblower 

resulted in the conservation of Commission resources; 

(ii) The degree to which the information provided by the whistleblower 

supported one or more successful claims brought in the Commission or related action. 

(2) Assistance provided by the whistleblower. The Commission will assess the 

degree of assistance provided by the whistleblower and any legal representative of the 

whistleblower in the Commission action or related action. In considering this factor, the 

Commission may take into account, among other things: 

(i) Whether the whistleblower provided ongoing, extensive, and timely 

cooperation and assistance by, for example, helping to explain complex transactions, 

interpreting key evidence, or identifying new and productive lines of inquiry; 

(ii) The timeliness of the whistleblower’s initial report to the Commission or to 

an internal compliance or reporting system of business organizations committing, or 

impacted by, the securities violations, where appropriate; 

(iii) The resources conserved as a result of the whistleblower’s assistance; 
(iv) Whether the whistleblower appropriately encouraged or authorized others to 

assist the staff of the Commission who might otherwise not have participated in the 

investigation or related action; 

(v) The efforts undertaken by the whistleblower to remediate the harm caused by 

the violations, including assisting the authorities in the recovery of the fruits and 

instrumentalities of the violations; and 

(vi) Any unique hardships experienced by the whistleblower as a result of his or 

her reporting and assisting in the enforcement action. 

(3) Law enforcement interest. The Commission will assess its programmatic 

interest in deterring violations of the securities laws by making awards to 

whistleblowers who provide information that leads to the successful enforcement of 

such laws. In considering this factor, the Commission may take into account, among 

other things: 

(i) The degree to which an award enhances the Commission’s ability to enforce 

the federal securities laws and protect investors; and 

(ii) The degree to which an award encourages the submission of high quality 

information from whistleblowers by appropriately rewarding whistleblowers’ 

submission of significant information and assistance, even in cases where the monetary 

sanctions available for collection are limited or potential monetary sanctions were 

reduced or eliminated by the Commission because an entity self-reported a securities 

violation following the whistleblower’s related internal disclosure, report, or 

submission. 

(iii) Whether the subject matter of the action is a Commission priority, whether 

the reported misconduct involves regulated entities or fiduciaries, whether the 

whistleblower exposed an industry-wide practice, the type and severity of the securities 

violations, the age and duration of misconduct, the number of violations, and the 

isolated, repetitive, or ongoing nature of the violations; and 

(iv) The dangers to investors or others presented by the underlying violations 

involved in the enforcement action, including the amount of harm or potential harm 

caused by the underlying violations, the type of harm resulting from or threatened by 

the underlying violations, and the number of individuals or entities harmed. 
 

(4) Participation in internal compliance systems. The Commission will assess 

whether, and the extent to which, the whistleblower and any legal representative of the 

whistleblower participated in internal compliance systems. In considering this factor, 

the Commission may take into account, among other things: 

(i) Whether, and the extent to which, a whistleblower reported the possible 

securities violations through internal whistleblower, legal or compliance procedures 

before, or at the same time as, reporting them to the Commission; and 

(ii) Whether, and the extent to which, a whistleblower assisted any internal 

investigation or inquiry concerning the reported securities violations. 

(b) Factors that may decrease the amount of a whistleblower’s award. In 

determining whether to decrease the amount of an award, the Commission will consider 

the following factors, which are not listed in order of importance. 

(1) Culpability. The Commission will assess the culpability or involvement of the 

whistleblower in matters associated with the Commission’s action or related actions. In 

considering this factor, the Commission may take into account, among other things: 

(i) The whistleblower’s role in the securities violations; 

(ii) The whistleblower’s education, training, experience, and position of 

responsibility at the time the violations occurred; 

(iii) Whether the whistleblower acted with scienter, both generally and in 

relation to others who participated in the violations; 

(iv) Whether the whistleblower financially benefitted from the violations; 

(v) Whether the whistleblower is a recidivist; 

(vi) The egregiousness of the underlying fraud committed by the whistleblower; 

and 

(vii) Whether the whistleblower knowingly interfered with the Commission’s 

investigation of the violations or related enforcement actions. 

(2) Unreasonable reporting delay. The Commission will assess whether the 

whistleblower unreasonably delayed reporting the securities violations. In considering 

this factor, the Commission may take into account, among other things: 

(i) Whether the whistleblower was aware of the relevant facts but failed to take 

reasonable steps to report or prevent the violations from occurring or continuing; 
(ii) Whether the whistleblower was aware of the relevant facts but only reported 

them after learning about a related inquiry, investigation, or enforcement action; and 

(iii) Whether there was a legitimate reason for the whistleblower to delay 

reporting the violations. 

(3) Interference with internal compliance and reporting systems. The 

Commission will assess, in cases where the whistleblower interacted with his or her 

entity’s internal compliance or reporting system, whether the whistleblower 

undermined the integrity of such system. In considering this factor, the Commission 

will take into account whether there is evidence provided to the Commission that the 

whistleblower knowingly: 

(i) Interfered with an entity’s established legal, compliance, or audit procedures 

to prevent or delay detection of the reported securities violation; 

(ii) Made any material false, fictitious, or fraudulent statements or 

representations that hindered an entity’s efforts to detect, investigate, or remediate the 

reported securities violations; and 

(iii) Provided any false writing or document knowing the writing or document 

contained any false, fictitious or fraudulent statements or entries that hindered an 

entity’s efforts to detect, investigate, or remediate the reported securities violations. 

§ 240.21F-7 Confidentiality of submissions. 

(a) Section 21F(h)(2) of the Exchange Act (15 U.S.C. 78u-6(h)(2)) requires that 

the Commission not disclose information that could reasonably be expected to reveal 

the identity of a whistleblower, except that the Commission may disclose such 

information in the following circumstances: 

(1) When disclosure is required to a defendant or respondent in connection with 

a federal court or administrative action that the Commission files or in another public 

action or proceeding that is filed by an authority to which we provide the information, as 

described below; 

(2) When the Commission determines that it is necessary to accomplish the 

purposes of the Exchange Act (15 U.S.C. 78a) and to protect investors, it may provide 

your information to the Department of Justice, an appropriate regulatory authority, a 

self regulatory organization, a state attorney general in connection with a criminal 
investigation, any appropriate state regulatory authority, the Public Company 

Accounting Oversight Board, or foreign securities and law enforcement authorities. 

Each of these entities other than foreign securities and law enforcement authorities is 

subject to the confidentiality requirements set forth in Section 21F(h) of the Exchange 

Act (15 U.S.C. 78u-6(h)). The Commission will determine what assurances of 

confidentiality it deems appropriate in providing such information to foreign securities 

and law enforcement authorities. 

(3) The Commission may make disclosures in accordance with the Privacy Act of 

1974 (5 U.S.C. 552a). 

(b) You may submit information to the Commission anonymously. If you do so, 

however, you must also do the following: 

(1) You must have an attorney represent you in connection with both your 

submission of information and your claim for an award, and your attorney’s name and 

contact information must be provided to the Commission at the time you submit your 

information; 

(2) You and your attorney must follow the procedures set forth in § 240.21F-9 of 

this chapter for submitting original information anonymously; and 

(3) Before the Commission will pay any award to you, you must disclose your 

identity to the Commission and your identity must be verified by the Commission as set 

forth in § 240.21F-10 of this chapter. 

§ 240.21F-8 Eligibility. 

(a) To be eligible for a whistleblower award, you must give the Commission 

information in the form and manner that the Commission requires. The procedures for 

submitting information and making a claim for an award are described in § 240.21F-9 

through § 240.21F-11 of this chapter. You should read these procedures carefully 

because you need to follow them in order to be eligible for an award, except that the 

Commission may, in its sole discretion, waive any of these procedures based upon a 

showing of extraordinary circumstances. 

(b) In addition to any forms required by these rules, the Commission may also 

require that you provide certain additional information. You may be required to: 
 

(1) Provide explanations and other assistance in order that the staff may evaluate 

and use the information that you submitted; 

(2) Provide all additional information in your possession that is related to the 

subject matter of your submission in a complete and truthful manner, through follow-up 

meetings, or in other forms that our staff may agree to; 

(3) Provide testimony or other evidence acceptable to the staff relating to 

whether you are eligible, or otherwise satisfy any of the conditions, for an award; and 

(4) Enter into a confidentiality agreement in a form acceptable to the Office of 

the Whistleblower, covering any non-public information that the Commission provides 

to you, and including a provision that a violation of the agreement may lead to your 

ineligibility to receive an award. 

(c) You are not eligible to be considered for an award if you do not satisfy the 

requirements of paragraphs (a) and (b) of this section. In addition, you are not eligible 

if: 

(1) You are, or were at the time you acquired the original information provided to 

the Commission, a member, officer, or employee of the Commission, the Department of 

Justice, an appropriate regulatory agency, a self-regulatory organization, the Public 

Company Accounting Oversight Board, or any law enforcement organization; 

(2) You are, or were at the time you acquired the original information provided 

to the Commission, a member, officer, or employee of a foreign government, any 

political subdivision, department, agency, or instrumentality of a foreign government, or 

any other foreign financial regulatory authority as that term is defined in Section 

3(a)(52) of the Exchange Act (15 U.S.C. 78c(a)(52)); 

(3) You are convicted of a criminal violation that is related to the Commission 

action or to a related action (as defined in § 240.21F-4 of this chapter) for which you 

otherwise could receive an award; 

(4) You obtained the original information that you gave the Commission through 

an audit of a company’s financial statements, and making a whistleblower submission 

would be contrary to requirements of Section 10A of the Exchange Act (15 U.S.C. 78j-a). 

(5) You are the spouse, parent, child, or sibling of a member or employee of the 

Commission, or you reside in the same household as a member or employee of the 

Commission; 
(6) You acquired the original information you gave the Commission from a 

person: 

(i) Who is subject to paragraph (c)(4) of this section, unless the information is 

not excluded from that person’s use, or you are providing the Commission with 

information about possible violations involving that person; or 

(ii) With the intent to evade any provision of these rules; or 

(7) In your whistleblower submission, your other dealings with the Commission, 

or your dealings with another authority in connection with a related action, you 

knowingly and willfully make any false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement or 

representation, or use any false writing or document knowing that it contains any false, 

fictitious, or fraudulent statement or entry with intent to mislead or otherwise hinder 

the Commission or another authority. 

§ 240.21F-9 Procedures for submitting original information. 

(a) To be considered a whistleblower under Section 21F of the Exchange Act (15 

U.S.C. 78u-6(h)), you must submit your information about a possible securities law 

violation by either of these methods: 

(1) Online, through the Commission’s website located at www.sec.gov; or 

(2) By mailing or faxing a Form TCR (Tip, Complaint or Referral) (referenced in 

§ 249.1800 of this chapter) to the SEC Office of the Whistleblower, 100 F Street NE, 

Washington, DC 20549-5631, Fax (703) 813-9322. 

(b) Further, to be eligible for an award, you must declare under penalty of perjury 

at the time you submit your information pursuant to paragraph (a)(1) or (2) of this 

section that your information is true and correct to the best of your knowledge and 

belief. 

(c) Notwithstanding paragraphs (a) and (b) of this section, if you are providing 

your original information to the Commission anonymously, then your attorney must 

submit your information on your behalf pursuant to the procedures specified in 

paragraph (a) of this section. Prior to your attorney's submission, you must provide 

your attorney with a completed Form TCR (referenced in §249.1800 of this chapter) 

that you have signed under penalty of perjury. When your attorney makes her 

submission on your behalf, your attorney will be required to certify that he or she: 
 

 

(1) Has verified your identity; 

(2) Has reviewed your completed and signed Form TCR (referenced in §249.1800 

of this chapter) for completeness and accuracy and that the information contained 

therein is true, correct and complete to the best of the attorney's knowledge, 

information and belief; 

(3) Has obtained your non-waivable consent to provide the Commission with 

your original completed and signed Form TCR (referenced in §249.1800 of this chapter) 

in the event that the Commission requests it due to concerns that you may have 

knowingly and willfully made false, fictitious, or fraudulent statements or 

representations, or used any false writing or document knowing that the writing or 

document contains any false fictitious or fraudulent statement or entry; and 

(4) Consents to be legally obligated to provide the signed Form TCR (referenced 

in §249.1800 of this chapter) within seven (7) calendar days of receiving such request 

from the Commission. 

(d) If you submitted original information in writing to the Commission after July 

21, 2010 (the date of enactment of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer 

Protection Act) but before the effective date of these rules, your submission will be 

deemed to satisfy the requirements set forth in paragraphs (a) and (b) of this section. If 

you were an anonymous whistleblower, however, you must provide your attorney with a 

completed and signed copy of Form TCR (referenced in §249.1800 of this chapter) 

within 60 days of the effective date of these rules, your attorney must retain the signed 

form in his or her records, and you must provide of copy of the signed form to the 

Commission staff upon request by Commission staff prior to any payment of an award 

to you in connection with your submission. Notwithstanding the foregoing, you must 

follow the procedures and conditions for making a claim for a whistleblower award 

described in §§ 240.21F-10 and 240.21F-11 of this chapter. 
§ 240.21F-10 Procedures for making a claim for a whistleblower 

award in SEC actions that result in monetary sanctions in excess of 

$1,000,000. 

(a) Whenever a Commission action results in monetary sanctions totaling more 

than $1,000,000, the Office of the Whistleblower will cause to be published on the 

Commission’s website a “Notice of Covered Action.” Such Notice will be published 

subsequent to the entry of a final judgment or order that alone, or collectively with other 

judgments or orders previously entered in the Commission action, exceeds $1,000,000; 

or, in the absence of such judgment or order subsequent to the deposit of monetary 

sanctions exceeding $1,000,000 into a disgorgement or other fund pursuant to Section 

308(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. A claimant will have ninety (90) days from 

the date of the Notice of Covered Action to file a claim for an award based on that action, 

or the claim will be barred. 

(b) To file a claim for a whistleblower award, you must file Form WB-APP, 

Application for Award for Original Information Provided Pursuant to Section 21F of 

the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (referenced in § 249.1801 of this chapter). You 

must sign this form as the claimant and submit it to the Office of the Whistleblower by 

mail or fax. All claim forms, including any attachments, must be received by the Office 

of the Whistleblower within ninety (90) calendar days of the date of the Notice of 

Covered Action in order to be considered for an award. 

(c) If you provided your original information to the Commission anonymously, 

you must disclose your identity on the Form WB-APP (referenced in § 249.1801 of this 

chapter), and your identity must be verified in a form and manner that is acceptable to 

the Office of the Whistleblower prior to the payment of any award. 

(d) Once the time for filing any appeals of the Commission’s judicial or 

administrative action has expired, or where an appeal has been filed, after all appeals in 

the action have been concluded, the staff designated by the Director of the Division of 

Enforcement (“Claims Review Staff”) will evaluate all timely whistleblower award claims 

submitted on Form WB-APP (referenced in § 249.1801 of this chapter) in accordance 

with the criteria set forth in these rules. In connection with this process, the Office of 

the Whistleblower may require that you provide additional information relating to your 
 

 

eligibility for an award or satisfaction of any of the conditions for an award, as set forth 

in § 240.21F-(8)(b) of this chapter. Following that evaluation, the Office of the 

Whistleblower will send you a Preliminary Determination setting forth a preliminary 

assessment as to whether the claim should be allowed or denied and, if allowed, setting 

forth the proposed award percentage amount. 

(e) You may contest the Preliminary Determination made by the Claims Review 

Staff by submitting a written response to the Office of the Whistleblower setting forth 

the grounds for your objection to either the denial of an award or the proposed amount 

of an award. The response must be in the form and manner that the Office of the 

Whistleblower shall require. You may also include documentation or other evidentiary 

support for the grounds advanced in your response. 

(1) Before determining whether to contest a Preliminary Determination, you 

may: 

(i) Within thirty (30) days of the date of the Preliminary Determination, request 

that the Office of the Whistleblower make available for your review the materials from 

among those set forth in § 240.21F-12(a) of this chapter that formed the basis of the 

Claims Review Staff’s Preliminary Determination. 

(ii) Within thirty (30) calendar days of the date of the Preliminary 

Determination, request a meeting with the Office of the Whistleblower; however, such 

meetings are not required and the office may in its sole discretion decline the request. 

(2) If you decide to contest the Preliminary Determination, you must submit 

your written response and supporting materials within sixty (60) calendar days of the 

date of the Preliminary Determination, or if a request to review materials is made 

pursuant to paragraph (e)(1) of this section, then within sixty (60) calendar days of the 

Office of the Whistleblower making those materials available for your review. 

(f) If you fail to submit a timely response pursuant to paragraph (e) of this 

section, then the Preliminary Determination will become the Final Order of the 

Commission (except where the Preliminary Determination recommended an award, in 

which case the Preliminary Determination will be deemed a Proposed Final 

Determination for purposes of paragraph (h) of this section). Your failure to submit a 

timely response contesting a Preliminary Determination will constitute a failure to 
exhaust administrative remedies, and you will be prohibited from pursuing an appeal 

pursuant to § 240.21F-13 of this chapter. 

(g) If you submit a timely response pursuant to paragraph (e) of this section, 

then the Claims Review Staff will consider the issues and grounds advanced in your 

response, along with any supporting documentation you provided, and will make its 

Proposed Final Determination. 

(h) The Office of the Whistleblower will then notify the Commission of each 

Proposed Final Determination. Within thirty 30 days thereafter, any Commissioner 

may request that the Proposed Final Determination be reviewed by the Commission. If 

no Commissioner requests such a review within the 30-day period, then the Proposed 

Final Determination will become the Final Order of the Commission. In the event a 

Commissioner requests a review, the Commission will review the record that the staff 

relied upon in making its determinations, including your previous submissions to the 

Office of the Whistleblower, and issue its Final Order. 

(i) The Office of the Whistleblower will provide you with the Final Order of the 

Commission. 

§ 240.21F-11 Procedures for determining awards based upon a related 

action. (a) If you are eligible to receive an award following a Commission action 

that results in monetary sanctions totaling more than $1,000,000, you also may be 

eligible to receive an award based on the monetary sanctions that are collected from a 

related action (as defined in § 240.21F-3 of this chapter). 

(b) You must also use Form WB-APP (referenced in § 249.1801 of this chapter) 

to submit a claim for an award in a related action. You must sign this form as the 

claimant and submit it to the Office of the Whistleblower by mail or fax as follows: 

(1) If a final order imposing monetary sanctions has been entered in a related 

action at the time you submit your claim for an award in connection with a Commission 

action, you must submit your claim for an award in that related action on the same 

Form WB-APP (referenced in § 249.1801 of this chapter) that you use for the 

Commission action. 

(2) If a final order imposing monetary sanctions in a related action has not been 

entered at the time you submit your claim for an award in connection with a 
Commission action, you must submit your claim on Form WB-APP (referenced in § 

249.1801 of this chapter) within ninety (90) days of the issuance of a final order 

imposing sanctions in the related action. 

(c) The Office of the Whistleblower may request additional information from you 

in connection with your claim for an award in a related action to demonstrate that you 

directly (or through the Commission) voluntarily provided the governmental agency, 

regulatory authority or self-regulatory organization the same original information that 

led to the Commission’s successful covered action, and that this information led to the 

successful enforcement of the related action. The Office of the Whistleblower may, in its 

discretion, seek assistance and confirmation from the other agency in making this 

determination. 

(d) Once the time for filing any appeals of the final judgment or order in a related 

action has expired, or if an appeal has been filed, after all appeals in the action have 

been concluded, the Claims Review Staff will evaluate all timely whistleblower award 

claims submitted on Form WB-APP (referenced in § 249.1801 of this chapter) in 

connection with the related action. The evaluation will be undertaken pursuant to the 

criteria set forth in these rules. In connection with this process, the Office of the 

Whistleblower may require that you provide additional information relating to your 

eligibility for an award or satisfaction of any of the conditions for an award, as set forth 

in § 240.21F-(8)(b) of this chapter. Following this evaluation, the Office of the 

Whistleblower will send you a Preliminary Determination setting forth a preliminary 

assessment as to whether the claim should be allowed or denied and, if allowed, setting 

forth the proposed award percentage amount. 

(e) You may contest the Preliminary Determination made by the Claims Review 

Staff by submitting a written response to the Office of the Whistleblower setting forth 

the grounds for your objection to either the denial of an award or the proposed amount 

of an award. The response must be in the form and manner that the Office of the 

Whistleblower shall require. You may also include documentation or other evidentiary 

support for the grounds advanced in your response. 

(1) Before determining whether to contest a Preliminary Determination, you 

may: 
 

 

(i) Within thirty (30) days of the date of the Preliminary Determination, request 

that the Office of the Whistleblower make available for your review the materials from 

among those set forth in § 240.21F-12(a) of this chapter that formed the basis of the 

Claims Review Staff’s Preliminary Determination. 

(ii) Within thirty (30) days of the date of the Preliminary Determination, request 

a meeting with the Office of the Whistleblower; however, such meetings are not required 

and the office may in its sole discretion decline the request. 

(2) If you decide to contest the Preliminary Determination, you must submit 

your written response and supporting materials within sixty (60) calendar days of the 

date of the Preliminary Determination, or if a request to review materials is made 

pursuant to paragraph (e)(1)(i) of this section, then within sixty (60) calendar days of 

the Office of the Whistleblower making those materials available for your review. 

(f) If you fail to submit a timely response pursuant to paragraph (e) of this 

section, then the Preliminary Determination will become the Final Order of the 

Commission (except where the Preliminary Determination recommended an award, in 

which case the Preliminary Determination will be deemed a Proposed Final 

Determination for purposes of paragraph (h) of this section). Your failure to submit a 

timely response contesting a Preliminary Determination will constitute a failure to 

exhaust administrative remedies, and you will be prohibited from pursuing an appeal 

pursuant to § 240.21F-13 of this chapter. 

(g) If you submit a timely response pursuant to paragraph (e) of this section, 

then the Claims Review Staff will consider the issues and grounds that you advanced in 

your response, along with any supporting documentation you provided, and will make 

its Proposed Final Determination. 

(h) The Office of the Whistleblower will notify the Commission of each Proposed 

Final Determination. Within thirty 30 days thereafter, any Commissioner may request 

that the Proposed Final Determination be reviewed by the Commission. If no 

Commissioner requests such a review within the 30-day period, then the Proposed Final 

Determination will become the Final Order of the Commission. In the event a 

Commissioner requests a review, the Commission will review the record that the staff 

relied upon in making its determinations, including your previous submissions to the 

Office of the Whistleblower, and issue its Final Order. 
 

 

 

(i) The Office of the Whistleblower will provide you with the Final Order of the 

Commission. 

§ 240.21F-12 Materials that may form the basis of an award determination 

and that may comprise the record on appeal. 

(a) The following items constitute the materials that the Commission and the 

Claims Review Staff may rely upon to make an award determination pursuant to §§ 

240.21F-10 and 240.21F-11 of this chapter: 

(1) Any publicly available materials from the covered action or related action, 

including: 

(i) The complaint, notice of hearing, answers and any amendments thereto; 

(ii) The final judgment, consent order, or final administrative order; 

(iii) Any transcripts of the proceedings, including any exhibits; 

(iv) Any items that appear on the docket; and 

(v) Any appellate decisions or orders. 

(2) The whistleblower’s Form TCR (referenced in §249.1800 of this chapter), 

including attachments, and other related materials provided by the whistleblower to 

assist the Commission with the investigation or examination; 

(3) The whistleblower’s Form WB-APP (referenced in §249.1800 of this chapter), 

including attachments, and any other filings or submissions from the whistleblower in 

support of the award application; 

(4) Sworn declarations (including attachments) from the Commission staff 

regarding any matters relevant to the award determination; 

(5) With respect to an award claim involving a related action, any statements or 

other information that the entity provides or identifies in connection with an award 

determination, provided the entity has authorized the Commission to share the 

information with the claimant. (Neither the Commission nor the Claims Review Staff 

may rely upon information that the entity has not authorized the Commission to share 

with the claimant); and 

(6) Any other documents or materials including sworn declarations from thirdparties that are received or obtained by the Office of the Whistleblower to assist the 

Commission resolve the claimant’s award application, including information related to 
the claimant’s eligibility. (Neither the Commission nor the Claims Review Staff may rely 

upon information that the entity has not authorized the Commission to share with the 

claimant). 

(b) These rules do not entitle claimants to obtain from the Commission any 

materials (including any pre-decisional or internal deliberative process materials that 

are prepared exclusively to assist the Commission in deciding the claim) other than 

those listed in paragraph (a) of this section. Moreover, the Office of the Whistleblower 

may make redactions as necessary to comply with any statutory restrictions, to protect 

the Commission’s law enforcement and regulatory functions, and to comply with 

requests for confidential treatment from other law enforcement and regulatory 

authorities. The Office of the Whistleblower may also require you to sign a 

confidentiality agreement, as set forth in § 240.21F-(8)(b)(4) of this chapter, before 

providing these materials. 

§ 240.21F-13 Appeals. 

(a) Section 21F of the Exchange Act (15 U.S.C. 78u-6) commits determinations of 

whether, to whom, and in what amount to make awards to the Commission’s discretion. 

A determination of whether or to whom to make an award may be appealed within 30 

days after the Commission issues its final decision to the United States Court of Appeals 

for the District of Columbia Circuit, or to the circuit where the aggrieved person resides 

or has his principal place of business. Where the Commission makes an award based on 

the factors set forth in § 240.21F-6 of this chapter of not less than 10 percent and not 

more than 30 percent of the monetary sanctions collected in the Commission or related 

action, the Commission’s determination regarding the amount of an award (including 

the allocation of an award as between multiple whistleblowers, and any factual findings, 

legal conclusions, policy judgments, or discretionary assessments involving the 

Commission’s consideration of the factors in § 240.21F-6 of this chapter) is not 

appealable. 

(b) The record on appeal shall consist of the Preliminary Determination, the 

Final Order of the Commission, and any other items from those set forth in § 240.21F12(a) of this chapter that either the claimant or the Commission identifies for inclusion 

in the record. The record on appeal shall not include any pre-decisional or internal 
 

deliberative process materials that are prepared exclusively to assist the Commission in 

deciding the claim (including the staff's Draft Final Determination in the event that the 

Commissioners reviewed the claim and issued the Final Order). 

§ 240.21F- 14 Procedures applicable to the payment of awards. 

(a) Any award made pursuant to these rules will be paid from the Securities and 

Exchange Commission Investor Protection Fund (the “Fund”). 

(b) A recipient of a whistleblower award is entitled to payment on the award only 

to the extent that a monetary sanction is collected in the Commission action or in a 

related action upon which the award is based. 

(c) Payment of a whistleblower award for a monetary sanction collected in a 

Commission action or related action shall be made following the later of: 

(1) The date on which the monetary sanction is collected; or 

(2) The completion of the appeals process for all whistleblower award claims 

arising from: 

(i) The Notice of Covered Action, in the case of any payment of an award for a 

monetary sanction collected in a Commission action; or 

(ii) The related action, in the case of any payment of an award for a monetary 

sanction collected in a related action. 

(d) If there are insufficient amounts available in the Fund to pay the entire 

amount of an award payment within a reasonable period of time from the time for 

payment specified by paragraph (c) of this section, then subject to the following terms, 

the balance of the payment shall be paid when amounts become available in the Fund, 

as follows: 

(1) Where multiple whistleblowers are owed payments from the Fund based on 

awards that do not arise from the same Notice of Covered Action (or related action), 

priority in making these payments will be determined based upon the date that the 

collections for which the whistleblowers are owed payments occurred. If two or more of 

these collections occur on the same date, those whistleblowers owed payments based on 

these collections will be paid on a pro rata basis until sufficient amounts become 

available in the Fund to pay their entire payments. 
 

 

(2) Where multiple whistleblowers are owed payments from the Fund based on 

awards that arise from the same Notice of Covered Action (or related action), they will 

share the same payment priority and will be paid on a pro rata basis until sufficient 

amounts become available in the Fund to pay their entire payments. 

§ 240.21F-15 No amnesty. 

The Securities Whistleblower Incentives and Protection provisions do not provide 

amnesty to individuals who provide information to the Commission. The fact that you 

may become a whistleblower and assist in Commission investigations and enforcement 

actions does not preclude the Commission from bringing an action against you based 

upon your own conduct in connection with violations of the federal securities laws. If 

such an action is determined to be appropriate, however, the Commission will take your 

cooperation into consideration in accordance with its Policy Statement Concerning 

Cooperation by Individuals in Investigations and Related Enforcement Actions (17 CFR 

§ 202.12). 

§ 240.21F-16 Awards to whistleblowers who engage in culpable conduct. 

In determining whether the required $1,000,000 threshold has been satisfied 

(this threshold is further explained in § 240.21F-10 of this chapter) for purposes of 

making any award, the Commission will not take into account any monetary sanctions 

that the whistleblower is ordered to pay, or that are ordered against any entity whose 

liability is based substantially on conduct that the whistleblower directed, planned, or 

initiated. Similarly, if the Commission determines that a whistleblower is eligible for an 

award, any amounts that the whistleblower or such an entity pay in sanctions as a result 

of the action or related actions will not be included within the calculation of the amounts 

collected for purposes of making payments. 
§ 240.21F-17 Staff communications with individuals reporting possible 

securities law violations. 

(a) No person may take any action to impede an individual from communicating 

directly with the Commission staff about a possible securities law violation, including 

enforcing, or threatening to enforce, a confidentiality agreement (other than agreements 

dealing with information covered by § 240.21F-4(b)(4)(i) and § 240.21F-4(b)(4)(ii) of 

this chapter related to the legal representation of a client) with respect to such 

communications. 

(b) If you are a director, officer, member, agent, or employee of an entity that has 

counsel, and you have initiated communication with the Commission relating to a 

possible securities law violation, the staff is authorized to communicate directly with you 

regarding the possible securities law violation without seeking the consent of the entity’s 

counsel.