Instructions for the Form MA Series

Form MA: Application for Municipal Advisor Registration 

Form MA-I: Information Regarding Natural Persons Who Engage in Municipal Advisory Activities

Form MA-NR: Designation of U.S. Agent for Service of Process for Non-Residents

Form MA-W: Notice of Withdrawal from Registration as a Municipal Advisor

General Instructions

Read these General Instructions carefully before filing Form MA, Form MA-I, Form MA-NR, or 

Form MA-W. Specific instructions for certain items in Forms MA and MA-I, and General 

Instructions to Form MA-NR appear after these General Instructions. Failure to follow 

instructions or properly complete any of the forms may result in your registration being delayed 

or your application rejected. 

Italicized terms are defined or described in the Glossary of Terms appended at the end of these 

instructions. 

1. Where can an applicant obtain more information on Form MA, Form MA-I, Form

MA-NR, Form MA-W, and electronic filing of these forms with the SEC?

The Commission provides information about its rules with respect to municipal advisors

and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as well as the submission of these forms, on its

website at: http://www.sec.gov/info/municipal.shtml. A comprehensive explanation of

the requirements in these forms is provided in the release issued by the Commission on

______, 2013, in adopting the rules relating to municipal advisor registration, which can

be viewed at http://www.sec.gov.

2. Who should file these forms?

a. Form MA

A partnership, corporation, trust, limited liability company, limited liability partnership, 

sole proprietorship, or other organized entity that engages in municipal advisory activities

(i.e., a municipal advisory firm) must register with the Commission on Form MA. The 

same form is also used to amend a previously submitted Form MA, and to file the 

required annual update described in General Instruction 8 below.

b. Form MA-I

A municipal advisory firm must complete and file Form MA-I with respect to each 

natural person associated with the firm and engaged in municipal advisory activities on 

the firm’s behalf, including employees of the firm. Independent contractors are included 

in the definition of “employee” for these purposes. The same form is also used to amend 

a previously submitted Form MA-I. A natural person doing business as a sole proprietor 

must complete and file Form MA-I in addition to Form MA and must amend each form 

whenever applicable, as described below. 

1
c. Form MA-NR

Every municipal advisory firm that is a non-resident of the United States must file a 

completed and executed Form MA-NR together with its initial application for registration 

on Form MA and submit a new Form MA-NR when required by filing an amendment to 

Form MA with the new Form MA-NR attached. See “General Instructions to Form MANR,” Instruction 4, below. A sole proprietor should file Form MA-NR as an attachment 

to his or her Form MA. 

In addition, a municipal advisory firm must file a separately completed and executed 

Form MA-NR for (i) every general partner and/or managing agent of the firm that is a 

non-resident, and (ii) every non-resident natural person associated with the firm and 

engaged in municipal advisory activities on the firm’s behalf. Form MA-NR must be 

completed and executed by these persons regardless of whether the firm itself is 

domiciled in the United States or is a non-resident filing a Form MA-NR on its own 

behalf. Form MA-NR for general partners and/or managing agents is filed by the firm 

together with the firm’s Form MA. Form MA-NR for natural persons associated with the 

firm and engaged in municipal advisory activities on the firm’s behalf is filed by the firm 

together with the Form MA-I relating to the natural person associated with the firm. 

Unlike the other forms in the Form MA series, which are completed online and signed 

electronically, Form MA-NR must be printed out and signed manually by both the nonresident and the person designated as agent for service of process. Each of the signatures 

must be separately notarized, and a scanned copy of the signed and notarized form must 

then be attached as a PDF file to the Form MA or Form MA-I being submitted. 

However, it is the obligation of the municipal advisory firm, not the obligation of the 

general partner, managing agent, or natural person associated with the firm, to file the 

executed Form MA-NR with the Commission as an attachment to Form MA or Form 

MA-I, as applicable.

Failure to attach a signed and notarized Form MA-NR, where required, for a nonresident municipal advisor or for any non-resident general partner or managing agent 

of a municipal advisory firm or non-resident natural person associated with the 

municipal advisory firm and engaged in municipal advisory activities on behalf of the 

firm, may delay SEC consideration of the municipal advisor’s application for 

registration.

d. Form MA-W

A business entity (including a sole proprietorship) that is registered as a municipal 

advisor but is no longer required to be registered must file Form MA-W to withdraw its 

registration. Specific instructions for completing Form MA-W are included on the form. 

(When a natural person with respect to whom a municipal advisory firm filed Form MA-I 

is no longer associated with the firm or no longer engaged in municipal advisory 

2
activities on behalf of the firm, the firm must file an amendment to the Form MA-I to 

indicate this change.)

3. How is Form MA organized?

The main body of Form MA asks a number of questions about the municipal advisor, the

municipal advisor’s business practices, the persons who own and control the municipal

advisor, and the persons who engage in municipal advisory activities on behalf of the

municipal advisor. All items must be completed except where otherwise indicated.

Form MA also contains several supplemental schedules that must be completed where

applicable:

• Schedule A asks for information about the municipal advisor’s direct owners and

executive officers.

• Schedule B asks for information about the municipal advisor’s indirect owners.

• Schedule C is used to amend information on either Schedule A or Schedule B.

• Schedule D asks for additional information on certain items and provides space for

explanations.

Form MA also contains Disclosure Reporting Pages (“DRPs”), which require further 

details about events and proceedings involving the municipal advisor and/or the 

municipal advisor’s associated persons that the applicant was required to report on the 

main body of the form. These include Criminal Action DRPs, Regulatory Action DRPs, 

and Civil Judicial Action DRPs. 

Form MA also includes an “Execution Page” where the form is signed. More detail on 

the Execution Page is provided below. 

4. How is Form MA-I organized?

The main body of Form MA-I asks a number of questions about a sole proprietor and

natural person associated with a municipal advisory firm and engaged in municipal

advisory activities on the firm’s behalf, including the residential history and employment

history, and other businesses in which such person is engaged. All items must be

completed except where otherwise indicated.

Form MA-I also contains DRPs that require further details of events and proceedings

involving the sole proprietor and natural person associated with a municipal advisory firm

and engaged in municipal advisory activities on the firm’s behalf that the filer was

required to report on the main body of the form. These include DRPs for reportable

instances of Criminal Action, Regulatory Action, Investigations, Terminations,

3
Judgments/Liens, Civil Judicial Action, and Customer Complaint/Arbitration/Civil 

Litigation. 

5. Who must sign Form MA or MA-I?

The individual who signs the form depends upon the municipal advisor’s form of

organization:

• For a sole proprietorship, the sole proprietor (both forms);

• For a partnership, a general partner;

• For a corporation, an authorized principal officer; or

• For all others, an authorized individual who participates in managing or directing the

municipal advisor’s affairs.

For purposes of these electronic forms, the signature is a typed name.

6. Where does an applicant sign Form MA?

The municipal advisor must sign the appropriate Execution Page – either the:

• Domestic Municipal Advisor Execution Page, if the municipal advisory firm

(including a sole proprietor) is a resident of the United States; or

• Non-Resident Municipal Advisor Execution Page, if the municipal advisory firm

(including a sole proprietor) is not a resident of the United States. Non-Resident

municipal advisors must also file Form MA-NR as specified in General Instruction

2.c. above.

7. Where does a municipal advisory firm sign Form MA-I?

The municipal advisory firm must sign Form MA-I in Item 7 of the form.

8. When does Form MA need to be updated or amended?

Every municipal advisory firm must renew Form MA each year by filing an annual

update within 90 days after the end of its fiscal year (calendar year for sole proprietors).

In addition to the annual update, a municipal advisor must promptly file an amendment

to its Form MA whenever a material event has occurred that changes the information

provided in the form.

Each time a firm accesses its Form MA after its initial filing of the form, the information

from the firm’s most recent previous filing will appear. Only the information that has

changed will need to be amended; the applicant will not need to complete the entire form

again.

4
For purposes of Form MA, a material event will be deemed to have occurred if: 

• Information provided in response to Item 1 (Identifying Information), Item 2 (Form

of Organization), or Item 9 (Disclosure Information) becomes inaccurate in any way;

or

• Information provided in response to Item 3 (Successions), Item 7 (Participation or

Interest of Applicant or Associated Persons of Applicant in Municipal Advisory

Client or Solicitee Transactions), or Item 8 (Owners, Officers, and Other Control

Persons) becomes materially inaccurate.

Note: If submitting an amendment between annual updates, a municipal advisor is not 

required to update the responses to Item 4 (Information About Applicant’s Business), 

Item 5 (Other Business Activities), Item 6 (Financial Industry and Other Related 

Affiliations of Associated Persons), or Item 10 (Small Businesses) even if the responses 

to those items have become inaccurate. 

A non-resident municipal advisory firm must promptly file an amendment to Form MA 

to attach an updated opinion of counsel – see General Instruction 13 below – after any 

changes in the legal or regulatory framework or the firm’s physical facilities that would 

impact the ability of the municipal advisory firm, as a matter of law, to provide the 

Commission with access to its books and records or to inspect and examine the municipal 

advisory firm. 

Failure to amend or update Form MA as required by this instruction is a violation of 

SEC rule 15Ba1-5 and could lead to the revocation of registration. See Securities 

Exchange Act of 1934 section 15B(c)(2), 15 U.S.C. 78o-4(c)(2).

9. When does Form MA-I need to be updated or amended?

Form MA-I must promptly be amended whenever any information previously provided

on Form MA-I becomes inaccurate.

10. How does a municipal advisor file a Form MA, MA-I, MA-NR, or MA-W?

A municipal advisor must complete and submit the relevant form, including any required

attachments, electronically. Form MA is considered “filed” with the Commission upon

submission of a completed Form MA, together with all required additional documents,

including required filings of Form MA-I, to the Commission’s Electronic Data Gathering,

Analysis, and Retrieval (“EDGAR”) system. See more at General Instruction 14 below.

When a municipal advisor’s submitted Form MA is accepted by the Commission, the

municipal advisor will receive an SEC file number with an 867- prefix. As used in the

forms, the terms “MA Registration Number” and “Municipal Advisor Registration

Number” refer to this same SEC file number.

5
Form MA-NR, which must be printed out, signed, and notarized before being filed, is 

submitted in PDF format as an attachment to Form MA or Form MA-I, as applicable. 

11. How does an applicant start the process of filing electronically?

Each form of the Form MA series, to be filed, must be submitted electronically to

EDGAR. General information about EDGAR is available at

http://www.sec.gov/info/edgar.shtml, where the EDGAR Filer Manual can also be

accessed. We recommend that applicants read this filer manual before they begin using

the system.

If you are already a filer on the EDGAR system: You may proceed directly to the

Commission’s primary EDGAR filing website at https://www.edgarfiling.sec.gov and

navigate the links to the Form MA series. Then, you will be given a choice of which

form in the series to access and complete.

If you are new to EDGAR: Before you can electronically file with the SEC on

EDGAR, you must become an EDGAR filer with authorized access codes. To do so, log

on to the following website: https://www.filermanagement.edgarfiling.sec.gov/.

Through this website, you will be able to create a “Form ID” and submit it to the SEC for

authorization.

Upon accessing the site, you will see a screen with a warning about use of government

websites for unauthorized purposes, followed by some brief instructions. At the bottom

of the screen, you will see a button that says “Press Here to Begin,” through which you

can access Form ID. Make sure that you specify municipal advisors, where indicated,

when accessing the form. Complete the form online and submit it to the SEC. When the

form is accepted, you will receive, via e-mail, a unique CIK (Central Index Key) number.

After receiving your CIK number, return to the same website

(https://www.filermanagement.edgarfiling.sec.gov/). Use your CIK and a passphrase to

create your EDGAR access codes. Once you have your access codes, you will be able to

use EDGAR. Log on to the primary EDGAR filing website at

https://www.edgarfiling.sec.gov/ and navigate the links to the Form MA series. Then,

you will be given a choice of which form in the series to access and complete.

12. What other legal designations and representations are made in signing the

Execution Page of Form MA and Form MA-I?

Form MA: By signing the Execution Page of Form MA, if you are an authorized

signatory of a domestic municipal advisory firm (see General Instruction 5 above), you

are appointing on behalf of your firm the Secretary of State or other legally designated

officer of the state in which the firm maintains its principal office and place of business

as the firm’s agent to receive service of process. You are also attesting to the truth and

correctness of the information provided in the form. In addition, you are declaring on

behalf of the firm that the firm’s books and records will be preserved and available for

6
inspection and that any person having custody of the books and records is authorized to 

make them available to federal regulators. 

If you are signing Form MA on behalf of a non-resident municipal advisory firm, you 

must use the version of the Execution Page that is specifically required for such firms. 

(See General Instruction 6.) On this page, you are attesting to the truth and correctness of 

the information the firm is providing on the form and making the same representations as 

a U.S. firm regarding books and records. Additionally, the signatory is agreeing on 

behalf of the firm to provide, at the firm’s own expense, current, correct, and complete 

copies of the firm’s books and records to the SEC upon request. A non-resident 

municipal advisory firm must designate its agent for service of process, however, on a 

separate form, Form MA-NR. 

Form MA-I: If you are an authorized signatory of a domestic municipal advisory firm 

filing Form MA-I with respect to a natural person associated with the firm and engaged 

in municipal advisory activities on behalf of the firm, by signing the Execution Page of 

Form MA-I, you are attesting to the truth and correctness of the information provided in 

the form. You are also attesting that the municipal advisory firm has obtained and 

retained written consent from the natural person associated with the firm that service of 

any civil action brought by, or notice of any proceeding before, the SEC or any selfregulatory organization in connection with the individual’s municipal advisory activities 

may be given by registered or certified mail to the individual’s address given in Item 1 of 

the form. 

If you are filing Form MA-I as a sole proprietor, by signing the Execution Page of Form 

MA-I, you are consenting that service of process may be given to you by registered or 

certified mail to the address you have supplied in Item 1of the form. You are also 

attesting to the truth and correctness of the information you have provided in the form. 

13. What is the opinion of counsel that is required to be filed by a non-resident

municipal advisory firm?

A non-resident municipal advisory firm must attach to the Execution Page of its Form

MA an opinion of counsel that the municipal advisor can, as a matter of law, provide the

Commission with access to its books and records and that the municipal advisor can, as a

matter of law, submit to inspection and examination by the Commission.

14. In what circumstances must additional documents be attached to Form MA or

Form MA-I?

As already noted, an applicant filing a Form MA or a municipal advisory firm filing Form

MA-I must complete the entire form online, including, where applicable, Schedules A, B,

C, and D (in the case of Form MA) and any DRPs that are required. Note that these

schedules and the DRPs comprise the form itself, and are not considered attachments.

The signatures that are required on Form MA and Form MA-I are executed

electronically; thus no paper document must be copied and attached to evidence a

signature.

7
In certain circumstances, however, a filing requires the attachment of a copy (or copies) 

of an additional document (or documents) when the online Form MA or Form MA-I is 

submitted. Such copies must be filed in PDF format. Filers will be prompted to attach 

each such document at the appropriate place in the relevant online form. Filings that 

require such PDF attachments include:

• Documents relating to criminal actions. The Criminal Action DRPs of Form MA and

Form MA-I require that applicable court documents (e.g., criminal complaint,

information or indictment as well as judgment of conviction or sentencing

documents) and other supporting documentation must be attached to, and filed

electronically with, the form in conjunction with the DRPs.

• Manually-signed Form MA-NR (for non-residents). Form MA-NR is accessed

electronically via links within Form MA and Form MA-I, and the information

requested by the form may be entered online. However, the form must be printed out

and signed manually – both by the non-resident (an authorized signatory in the case

of a firm) and by the designated agent for service of process – and each of the

signatures must be notarized. After the signatures and notarizations are completed,

Form MA-NR must be attached in PDF format to the Form MA or Form MA-I.

• Written authorization to sign a Form MA-NR. When a Form MA-NR is signed on

behalf of a municipal advisory firm or a natural person (whether a general partner,

managing agent, or person associated with the firm and engaged in municipal

advisory activities on the firm’s behalf) pursuant to a written authorization (e.g., a

board resolution or power of attorney), a copy of the authorization must be attached

in PDF format together with the signed and notarized Form MA-NR.

• Written contractual agreements relating to a Form MA-NR. When a written

contractual agreement or other written document exists that evidences (a) the

designation and appointment of the U.S. agent for service of process by the nonresident for whom a Form MA-NR is being filed, and/or (b) the agent’s acceptance of

such designation and appointment, a copy of the document must also be attached in

PDF format together with the signed and notarized Form MA-NR.

• Opinion of Counsel for non-resident municipal advisory firms. As described in

General Instruction 13, a non-resident municipal advisory firm must attach to its

Form MA an opinion of counsel that the municipal advisor can comply with certain

requirements. A copy of the opinion must be attached in PDF file format.

15. What if the deadline for submitting an initial filing, an annual update, or

amendment to a form falls on a day on which the Commission is not open for

business?

If the deadline for submitting an initial filing, annual update, or amendment to a form

occurs on a Saturday, Sunday, or holiday on which the Commission is not open for

business, then the deadline shall be the next business day.

8
Federal Information Law and Requirements

Section 15B(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 [15 U.S.C. 78o-4(a)] authorizes the SEC

to collect the information required by Forms MA, MA-I, MA-NR, and MA-W. The SEC collects 

the information for regulatory purposes. Filing Form MA and Form MA-I (where applicable) is 

mandatory for municipal advisors who are required to register with the SEC. Filing Form MAW is mandatory for a municipal advisor that has a Form MA on file but is no longer required to 

be registered. Filing Form MA-NR is mandatory for each non-resident municipal advisor, nonresident general partner or non-resident managing agent of a municipal advisor, and nonresident natural person who is a person associated with the municipal advisor and engaged in 

municipal advisory activities on its behalf. The SEC maintains the information submitted on 

these forms and, unless otherwise specified, makes it publicly available. The SEC will not 

accept forms that do not include the required information. 

SEC’s Collection of Information

An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of 

information unless it displays a currently valid control number. The Securities Exchange Act of 

1934 authorizes the SEC to collect the information on Form MA from applicants and on Form 

MA-I from municipal advisory firms. See 15 U.S.C. 78o-4. Filing of the form is mandatory. 

The main purpose of Form MA is to enable the SEC to register municipal advisors. Every 

applicant for registration with the SEC as a municipal advisor must file Form MA electronically 

with the SEC. See 17 CFR 240.15Ba1-2(a). The purpose of Form MA-I is to enable the SEC to 

collect information about natural persons associated with a municipal advisory firm and engaged 

in municipal advisory activities on behalf of the firm. 

When an applicant for registration successfully transmits a Form MA and/or Form MA-I to the 

SEC’s electronic systems, the SEC does not make a finding that the form has been completed or 

submitted correctly. Form MA must be updated annually by every municipal advisory firm, no 

later than 90 days after the end of its fiscal year (calendar year for sole proprietors). Form MA 

also must be amended promptly during the year to reflect changes as described in these 

instructions. Form MA-I must be filed by every municipal advisory firm with respect to each 

natural person associated with the firm and engaged in municipal advisory activities on behalf of 

the firm. Form MA-I also must be amended promptly whenever any information previously 

provided becomes inaccurate. The SEC maintains the information on the forms and, unless 

otherwise specified, makes it publicly available through the SEC website.

Anyone may send the SEC comments on the accuracy of the burden estimate on page 1 of the 

forms, as well as suggestions for reducing the burden. The Office of Management and Budget 

has reviewed this collection of information under 44 U.S.C. 3507. 

The information contained in the forms is part of a system of records subject to the Privacy Act of 

1974, as amended. The SEC has published in the Federal Register the Privacy Act System of 

Records Notice for these records. 

9
Intentional misstatements or omissions of fact constitute federal criminal violations. 

See 18 U.S.C. 1001 and 15 U.S.C. 78ff(a) 

10
Specific Instructions for Certain Items in Form MA

These instructions provide further detail and explain how to complete certain items in Form MA. 

1. Item 3: Successions

If the applicant (i) is not currently registered as a municipal advisor and has taken over

the business of a registered municipal advisor or (ii) was registered as a municipal

advisor but has changed its structure or legal status (e.g., form of organization,

composition of a partnership, or date or state of incorporation), a new organization has

been created that has its own registration obligations under the Exchange Act. The

applicant in these situations must file in accordance with the instructions below. In

addition, the applicant may rely on special registration provisions in the SEC’s rules for

“successors” to registered municipal advisors that are designed to ease the transition to

the successor municipal advisor’s registration.

In situation (i), follow the instructions below under: “Succession by Application.” In

situation (ii), follow the instructions below under “Succession by Amendment.”

a. Succession by Application. If the applicant is not registered with the SEC as a

municipal advisor, and is acquiring or assuming substantially all of the assets and

liabilities of the advisory business of a registered municipal advisor, file a new initial

application for registration on Form MA. The applicant will receive a new SEC file

number. The applicant must file the new application within 30 calendar days after the

succession. On the application, make sure to check “Yes” to Item 3, enter the date of

the succession in Item 3, and complete Section 3 of Schedule D.

Until the SEC declares the new registration effective, the applicant may rely on the

registration of the acquired municipal advisor, but only if the acquired municipal

advisor is no longer engaged in municipal advisory activities. Once the new

registration is effective, a Form MA-W must be filed with the SEC to withdraw the

registration of the acquired municipal advisor.

b. Succession by Amendment. If a new municipal advisor is formed solely as a result

of a change in form of organization, composition of a partnership, or date or state of

incorporation of an existing registered municipal advisor, and there has been no

practical change in control or management, the new municipal advisor may file an

amendment to the Form MA of the predecessor municipal advisor to reflect these

changes rather than file a new, initial application. The new municipal advisor will

keep the same SEC file number, and no Form MA-W should be filed. On the

amendment, make sure to check “Yes” to Item 3, enter the date of the succession in

Item 3, and complete Section 3 of Schedule D. The amendment must be submitted

within 30 calendar days after the change or reorganization.

2. Item 4: Information About Applicant’s Business

11
Guidance for Newly-Formed Municipal Advisors: Several questions in Item 4 that ask 

about municipal advisory activities assume that the municipal advisor has been in 

existence for some time. For newly-formed municipal advisors, responses to these 

questions should reflect the applicant’s current municipal advisory activities (i.e., 

activities at the time of filing of the Form MA), with the following exceptions: 

• Applicant should base responses to Item 4-I, J, and K on the types of compensation

the applicant expects to accept; and

• Applicant should base responses to Item 4-L on the types of municipal advisory

activities in which the applicant expects to engage during the next year.

3. Additional Information

Complete the final section of Schedule D – “Miscellaneous” – if any response to an item

in Form MA requires further explanation or if the applicant wishes to provide additional

information.

Specific Instructions for Certain Items in Form MA-I 

These instructions provide further detail and explain how to complete certain items in Form MA-I.

1. Item 1: Identifying Information

A. The Individual

CRD Number. Some individuals may have an assigned number, known as a CRD 

Number, in the CRD system for the registration of broker-dealers and broker-dealer 

representatives or in the IARD system for investment advisers and investment adviser 

representatives. You are not required to provide an individual’s CRD number if the 

individual does not have one.

Until EDGAR has been updated to remove the field, enter 000-00-0000 in the Social 

Security Number Field when preparing Form MA-I for transmission to EDGAR. 

B. Municipal Advisory Firms Where the Individual Is Employed

Office. The phrase “office from which the individual is or will be supervised” in 

subsection (2) of Item 1-B requires you to provide the information requested even if the 

individual does not work at that location.

2. Item 2: Other Names

This item requires you to enter – besides the full legal name you provided in Item 1 – any

other name that the individual has used or is using, or by which the individual is known

12
or has been known, since the age of 18. Be certain to include, for example, nicknames, 

aliases, and names used before or after marriage. 

3. Item 3: Residential History

You must provide all the addresses at which the individual has resided for the past 5

years, leaving no gaps greater than 3 months between addresses. Post office boxes are

not acceptable. This information is needed for regulatory purposes. However, the

version of completed Form MA-I that will be available for viewing by the public will not

show the private residential addresses that you enter.

4. Item 4: Employment History

You must provide the individual’s entire employment history for the past 10 years,

leaving no gap greater than 3 months between entries. All entries must include beginning

and end dates of employment. Account for full-time and part-time employment, selfemployment, military service, and homemaking. Unemployment, full-time education,

extended travel, and other, similar statuses must also be included, and entered on the line

provided for “Name of Municipal Advisor or Company.”

5. Item 5: Other Business

Provide information regarding any other business in which the individual is currently

engaged, whether as a proprietor, partner, officer, director, employee (including

independent contractor), trustee, agent, or otherwise. If you do not know exactly the

number of hours the individual devotes to this business, give a reasonable estimate. If the

number of hours per week or month varies, provide an average.

6. Item 6: Disclosure Questions

Note that an affirmative answer to certain disclosure questions may make an individual

subject to statutory disqualification as defined in Section 3(a)(39) and Section 15B(c) of

the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

7. Item 7: Signature

Signature is effected by typing a name in the designated signature field. By typing a

name in this field, the signatory acknowledges and represents that the entry constitutes in

every way, use, or aspect, his or her legally binding signature. Submit the signed form

electronically with the Commission. Note that if the individual is a non-resident, you

must attach a manually-signed Form MA-NR to the form.

General Instructions to Form MA-NR

1. When must a Form MA-NR be filed?

13
Form MA-NR must be filed for each non-resident municipal advisory firm and each nonresident general partner and/or managing agent of a municipal advisor at the time of the 

municipal advisory firm’s initial application for registration on Form MA as an 

attachment to the form. In addition, a municipal advisory firm must file Form MA-NR as 

an attachment to each Form MA-I filed by the firm for a non-resident natural person 

associated with the firm and engaged in municipal advisory activities on the firm’s behalf 

when the firm initially files the Form MA-I.

2. Must more than one Form MA-NR be filed per municipal advisory firm?

In certain circumstances, yes. When you are filing a Form MA on behalf of a municipal

advisory firm, and one or more general partners and/or managing agents of the firm is a

non-resident, you must attach a separate Form MA-NR designating an agent for U.S.

service of process for each such person, signed by that person and the designated agent.

This requirement applies even when the firm itself is a non-resident and you are attaching

a Form MA-NR on the firm’s own behalf. You must attach a Form MA-NR for each

such other person even if the person has previously designated an agent for service of

process on a Form MA-NR filed by another municipal advisor. If you are filing Form

MA-I, you must attach a Form MA-NR for every non-resident natural person associated

with the firm and engaged in municipal advisory activities on behalf of the firm.

3. Must a Form MA-NR be filed at any time other than a municipal advisor’s initial

registration?

Yes. An SEC-registered municipal advisory firm that becomes a non-resident after the

municipal advisor firm’s initial application has been submitted must file a Form MA-NR

within 30 days of becoming a non-resident. The same applies when a general partner or

managing agent of a municipal advisory firm becomes a non-resident. A municipal

advisory firm must also file Form MA-NR within 30 days of the date that a non-resident

becomes a general partner or managing agent of a municipal advisory firm if this occurs

after the firm initially registers on Form MA. In such cases, the municipal advisor must

file an amendment to Form MA, with the new Form MA-NR attached.

A municipal advisory firm must file a Form MA-NR together with Form MA-I if, after

the firm’s initial registration, a non-resident natural person becomes associated with the

firm and engages in municipal advisory activities on the firm’s behalf. In addition, a

municipal advisory firm must file a Form MA-NR if a natural person associated with the

firm and engaged in municipal advisory activities on behalf of the firm becomes a nonresident after the firm has filed a Form MA-I relating to that individual. The firm must

file the Form MA-NR within 30 days of such individual becoming a non-resident.

Note: As discussed elsewhere in these instructions, a non-resident municipal advisory

firm that is filing a Form MA must also comply with two further requirements. In

addition to completing Form MA-NR, the firm must (a) complete the special execution

page of Form MA required for non-residents, which includes an undertaking regarding

books and records (see General Instruction 12); and (b) attach to Form MA an opinion of

14
counsel that the municipal advisory firm, as a matter of law, can provide the Commission 

with access to its books and records and can submit to inspection and examination by the 

Commission (see General Instruction 13).

4. When must a new Form MA-NR be filed?

A new Form MA-NR must be filed promptly if a previously-filed Form MA-NR becomes

invalid or the information in it becomes inaccurate. (This is accomplished by submitting

an amendment to Form MA with the new MA-NR attached. No other changes to any

information in Form MA need be made in the amendment if not otherwise required.)

This includes any change to the name or address of the non-resident municipal advisory

firm, general partner, managing agent, or natural person associated with the firm and

engaged in municipal advisory activities on the firm’s behalf, as well as any change to the

name or address of the agent for service of process of the municipal advisory firm,

general partner, managing agent, or natural person associated with the firm. Each nonresident municipal advisory firm, general partner, managing agent, and natural person

associated with the firm and engaged in municipal advisory activities on the firm’s behalf

must promptly appoint a successor agent for service of process and the municipal advisor

must file a new Form MA-NR if the non-resident municipal advisor, general partner,

managing agent, or natural person associated with the firm discharges its identified agent

for service of process or if its agent for service of process becomes unwilling or unable to

accept service on behalf of the non-resident municipal advisor, general partner,

managing agent, or natural person associated with the firm.

15
GLOSSARY OF TERMS

1. Affiliate, affiliated, affiliation: An affiliate of a person is (i) all the person’s officers,

partners, or directors (or any person performing similar functions); (ii) all persons directly or

indirectly controlling or controlled by the person; and (iii) all of the person’s current

employees (other than employees performing only clerical, administrative, support or similar

functions).

2. Annual Update: Within 90 calendar days after a municipal advisory firm’s fiscal year end

(calendar year for sole proprietors), the municipal advisory firm must file an “annual update,”

which is an amendment to the municipal advisor firm’s Form MA that updates the responses

to any item for which the information is no longer accurate.

3. Associated Person or Associated Person of a Municipal Advisor: Any partner, officer,

director, or branch manager of a municipal advisor (or any person occupying a similar status

or performing similar functions); any other employee of such municipal advisor who is

engaged in the management, direction, supervision, or performance of any municipal

advisory activities relating to the provision of advice to or on behalf of a municipal entity or

obligated person with respect to municipal financial products or the issuance of municipal

securities (other than employees who are performing solely clerical, administrative, support

or similar functions); and any person directly or indirectly controlling, controlled by, or

under common control with such municipal advisor.

4. Charge, charged: Being accused of a crime in a formal complaint, information, or indictment

(or equivalent formal criminal charge).

5. CFTC: Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

6. Chief Compliance Officer: The officer in charge of the municipal advisor’s compliance

program.

7. Client or Municipal Advisory Client: Any of the municipal advisor’s clients. This term

includes clients from which the municipal advisor receives no compensation. If the municipal

advisor also engages in activities that are not municipal advisory activities, this term does not

include clients on behalf of whom those activities are conducted.

8. Contingent Fees: Any fee or payment for services provided where the fee is payable upon a

condition to be satisfied.

9. Control: The power, directly or indirectly, to direct the management or policies of a person,

whether through ownership of securities, by contract, or otherwise.

• Each of the municipal advisor’s officers, partners, or directors exercising executive

responsibility (or persons having similar status or functions) is presumed to control the

municipal advisor.

• A person is presumed to control a corporation if the person: (i) directly or indirectly has

16
the right to vote 25 percent or more of a class of the corporation’s voting securities; or (ii) 

has the power to sell or direct the sale of 25 percent or more of a class of the corporation’s 

voting securities. 

• A person is presumed to control a partnership if the person has the right to receive upon

dissolution, or has contributed, 25 percent or more of the capital of the partnership.

• A person is presumed to control a limited liability company (“LLC”) if the person: (i)

directly or indirectly has the right to vote 25 percent or more of a class of the interests of

the LLC; (ii) has the right to receive upon dissolution, or has contributed, 25 percent or

more of the capital of the LLC; or (iii) is an elected manager of the LLC.

• A person is presumed to control a trust if the person is a trustee or managing agent of the

trust.

10. CRD: The Web Central Registration Depository (“CRD”) system operated by FINRA for the

registration of broker-dealers and broker-dealer representatives.

11. Discretionary Authority: The municipal advisor has discretionary authority or manages

assets on a discretionary basis if it has the authority to decide which securities to purchase

and sell for a client. The municipal advisor also has discretionary authority if it has the

authority to decide which investment advisers to retain on behalf of a client.

12. Employee: This term includes an independent contractor who engages in municipal

advisory activities on the municipal advisor’s behalf.

13. Enjoined: This term includes being subject to a mandatory injunction, prohibitory injunction,

preliminary injunction, or a temporary restraining order.

14. Federal Banking Agency: This term includes any Federal banking agency as defined in

Section 3 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act (12 U.S.C. 1813(q)).

15. Federal Regulatory Agency: This term includes any Federal banking agency and the

National Credit Union Administration.

16. Felony: For jurisdictions that do not differentiate between a felony and a misdemeanor, a

felony is an offense punishable by a sentence of at least one year imprisonment and/or a fine of

at least $1,000. This term also includes a general court martial.

17. FINRA: Financial Industry Regulatory Authority.

18. Foreign Financial Regulatory Authority: This term includes (i) a foreign securities

regulatory authority; (ii) another governmental body or foreign equivalent of a self-regulatory

organization empowered by a foreign government to administer or enforce its laws relating to

the regulation of municipal advisor-related activities; and (iii) a foreign membership

organization, a function of which is to regulate the participation of its members in the

municipal advisor-related activities.

19. Found: This term includes adverse final actions, including consent decrees in which the

17
respondent has neither admitted nor denied the findings, but does not include agreements, 

deficiency letters, examination reports, memoranda of understanding, letters of caution, 

admonishments, and similar informal resolutions of matters.

20. Guaranteed Investment Contract: This term includes any investment that has specified

withdrawal or reinvestment provisions and a specifically negotiated or bid interest rate, and

also includes any agreement to supply investments on 2 or more future dates, such as a forward

supply contract; provided, however, that the contract relates to investments of proceeds of

municipal securities or municipal escrow investments.

21. IARD: The Investment Adviser Registration Depository (“IARD”) system operated by FINRA

for the registration of investment advisers and investment adviser representatives.

22. Investigation: This term includes: (i) grand jury investigations; (ii) SEC investigations after

the “Wells” notice has been given; (iii) FINRA investigations after the “Wells” notice has

been given or after a “person associated with a member,” as such term is defined by The

FINRA By-Laws, has been advised by the staff that it intends to recommend formal

disciplinary action; (iv) NYSE Regulation investigations after the “Wells” notice has been

given or after a person over whom NYSE Regulation has jurisdiction, as defined in the

applicable rules, has been advised by NYSE Regulation that it intends to recommend formal

disciplinary action; (v) formal investigations by other SROs; or (vi) actions or procedures

designated as investigations by other federal, state, or local jurisdictions. The term

investigation does not include subpoenas, preliminary or routine regulatory inquiries or

requests for information, deficiency letters, “blue sheet” requests or other trading

questionnaires, or examinations.

23. Investment Adviser: As defined in Section 202(a)(11) of the Investment Advisers Act of

1940.

24. Investment-Related: Activities that pertain to securities, commodities, banking, insurance, or

real estate (including, but not limited to, acting as or being associated with an investment

adviser, broker-dealer, municipal securities dealer, government securities broker or dealer,

issuer, investment company, futures sponsor, bank, or savings association).

25. Investment Strategies: The term includes plans or programs for the investment of proceeds

of municipal securities that are not municipal derivatives or guaranteed investment contracts,

and the recommendation of and brokerage of municipal escrow investments.

26. Involved: Engaging in any act or omission, aiding, abetting, counseling, commanding,

inducing, conspiring with, or failing reasonably to supervise another in an act.

27. Managing Agent: Any person, including a trustee, who directs or manages, or who

participates in directing or managing, the affairs of any unincorporated organization or

association other than a partnership.

28. Minor Rule Violation: A violation of a self-regulatory organization rule that has been

designated as “minor” pursuant to a plan approved by the SEC. A rule violation may be

designated as “minor” under a plan if the sanction imposed consists of a fine of $2,500 or less,

18
and if the sanctioned person does not contest the fine. (Check with the appropriate selfregulatory organization to determine if a particular rule violation has been designated as 

“minor” for these purposes.)

29. Misdemeanor: For jurisdictions that do not differentiate between a felony and a misdemeanor,

a misdemeanor is an offense punishable by a sentence of less than one year imprisonment

and/or a fine of less than $1,000. This term also includes a special court martial.

30. MSRB or Board: Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board.

31. Municipal Advisor: Absent the availability of an exclusion under 17 CFR 240.15Ba1-

1(d)(2) or an exemption under 17 CFR 240.15Ba1-1(d)(3), this term means a person (who is

not a municipal entity or an employee of a municipal entity) that (i) provides advice to or on

behalf of a municipal entity or obligated person with respect to municipal financial products

or the issuance of municipal securities, including advice with respect to the structure, timing,

terms, and other similar matters concerning such financial products or issues; or (ii)

undertakes a solicitation of a municipal entity or obligated person.

32. Municipal Advisor-Related: Conduct that pertains to municipal advisory activities

(including, but not limited to, acting as, or being an associated person of, a municipal

advisor).

33. Municipal Advisory Activities: This term means the following activities that, absent the

availability of an exclusion under 17 CFR 240.15Ba1-1(d)(2) or an exemption under 17 CFR

240.15Ba1-1(d)(3) to the definition of municipal advisor, would cause a person to be a

municipal advisor: (i) providing advice to or on behalf of a municipal entity or obligated

person with respect to municipal financial products or the issuance of municipal securities,

including advice with respect to the structure, timing, terms, and other similar matters

concerning such financial products or issues; or (ii) solicitation of a municipal entity or

obligated person acting in such capacity.

34. Municipal Advisory Firm: Any organized entity that is a municipal advisor, including sole

proprietors.

35. Municipal Derivatives: Any swap (as defined in Section 1a(47) of the Commodity

Exchange Act (7 U.S.C. 1a(47)) and section 3(a)(69) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

(15 U.S.C. 78c(a)(69)), including any rules and regulations thereunder) or security-based

swap (as defined in Section 3(a)(68) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C.

78c(a)(68), including any rules and regulations thereunder) to which (i) a municipal entity is

a counterparty; or (ii) an obligated person, acting in such capacity, is a counterparty.

36. Municipal Entity: Any State, political subdivision of a State, or municipal corporate

instrumentality of a State, including (i) any agency, authority, or instrumentality of the State,

political subdivision, or municipal corporate instrumentality; (ii) any plan, program, or pool

of assets sponsored or established by the State, political subdivision, or municipal corporate

instrumentality or any agency, authority, or instrumentality thereof; and (iii) any other issuer

of municipal securities.

19
37. Municipal Financial Products: Municipal derivatives, guaranteed investment contracts, and

investment strategies.

38. Non-Resident: (i) In the case of an individual, one who resides in or has his principal office

and place of business in any place not subject to the jurisdiction of the United States; (ii) in the

case of a corporation, one incorporated in or that has its principal office and place of business

in any place not subject to the jurisdiction of the United States; or (iii) in the case of a

partnership or other unincorporated organization or association, one having its principal office

and place of business in any place not subject to the jurisdiction of the United States.

39. NYSE Regulation: NYSE Regulation, Inc.

40. Obligated Persons: Any person, including an issuer of municipal securities, who is either

generally or through an enterprise, fund, or account of such person, committed by contract or

other arrangement to support payment of all or part of the obligations of the municipal

securities to be sold in an offering of municipal securities. This term does not include: (i)

providers of municipal bond insurance, letters of credit, or other liquidity facilities; (ii) a

person whose financial information or operating data is not material to a municipal securities

offering, without reference to any municipal bond insurance, letter of credit, liquidity facility,

or other credit enhancement; or (iii) the federal government.

41. Order: A written directive issued pursuant to statutory authority and procedures, including an

order of denial, exemption, suspension, or revocation. Unless included in an order, this term

does not include special stipulations, undertakings, or agreements relating to payments,

limitations on activity, or other restrictions.

42. Person: An individual, sole proprietorship, or a firm. A firm includes any partnership,

corporation, trust, limited liability company (“LLC”), limited liability partnership (“LLP”), or

other organization.

43. Principal Place of Business or Principal Office and Place of Business: The executive office

of the municipal advisor from which the officers, partners, or managers of the municipal

advisor direct, control, and coordinate the activities of the municipal advisor.

44. Proceeding: This term includes a formal administrative or civil action initiated by a

governmental agency, self-regulatory organization or foreign financial regulatory authority; a

felony criminal indictment or information (or equivalent formal charge); or a misdemeanor

criminal information (or equivalent formal charge). This term does not include other civil

litigation, investigations, arrests or similar charges effected in the absence of a formal criminal

indictment or information (or equivalent formal charge).

45. Resign: relates to separation from employment with any employer, is not restricted to

municipal advisor-related or investment-related employments, and would include any

termination in which allegations are a proximate cause of separation, even if the individual

initiated the separation.

46. Self-Regulatory Organization or SRO: Any national securities or commodities exchange,

registered securities association, or registered clearing agency. For example, the Chicago

20
Board of Trade (“CBOT”), FINRA, MSRB, and NYSE Regulation are self-regulatory 

organizations.

47. SEC or Commission: Securities and Exchange Commission.

48. Solicitation or Solicitation of a Municipal Entity or Obligated Person: A direct or indirect

communication with a municipal entity or obligated person made by a person, for direct or

indirect compensation, on behalf of a broker, dealer, municipal securities dealer, municipal

advisor, or investment adviser that does not control, is not controlled by, or is not under

common control with the person undertaking such solicitation for the purpose of obtaining or

retaining an engagement by a municipal entity or obligated person of a broker, dealer,

municipal securities dealer, or municipal advisor for or in connection with municipal financial

products, the issuance of municipal securities, or of an investment adviser to provide

investment advisory services to or on behalf of a municipal entity or obligated person. The

term does not include advertising by a broker, dealer, municipal securities dealer, municipal

advisor, or investment adviser, or solicitation of an obligated person, if such obligated

person is not acting in the capacity of an obligated person or the solicitation of the obligated

person is not in connection with the issuance of municipal securities or with respect to

municipal financial products.

49. Solicitee: A person whom another person has solicited or intends to solicit.

50. State Regulatory Agency: This term includes any State securities commission (or any agency

or officer performing like functions); State authority that supervises or examines banks,

savings associations, or credit unions; or State insurance commission (or any agency or office

performing like functions to the above).

51. Supervised Person: Any of the municipal advisor’s officers, partners, directors (or other

persons occupying a similar status or performing similar functions), or employees, or any other

person who engages in municipal advisory activities on the municipal advisor’s behalf and is

subject to the municipal advisor’s supervision or control.

21