§ 202.3a Instructions for filing fees. ( a ) *General instructions for remittance of filing fees.* Payment of filing fees specified by the following sections shall be made according to the directions listed in this section: §§ 230.111, 240.0-9, and 270.0-8 of this chapter. All such fees are to be paid through the U.S. Treasury designated lockbox depository or system and may be paid by wire transfer, debit card, or credit card or via the Automated Clearing House Network (“ACH”) pursuant to the specific instructions set forth in paragraph (b) of this section. Checks will not be accepted for payment of fees. To ensure proper posting, all filers must include their Commission-assigned Central Index Key (CIK) number (also known as the Commission-assigned registrant or payor account number) on fee payments. If a third party submits a fee payment, the fee payment must specify the account number to which the fee is to be applied.
( b ) *Instructions for payment of filing fees.* Except as provided in paragraph (c) of this section, these instructions provide direction for remitting fees specified in paragraph (a) of this section. You may contact the Filing Fees Branch in the Office of Financial Management at (202) 551-8900 or go to *https://www.sec.gov/paymentoptions* for additional information if you have questions. ( 1 ) *Instructions for payment of fees by wire transfer (FEDWIRE).* U.S. Bank, N.A. in St. Louis, Missouri, is the U.S. Treasury designated financial agent for Commission filing fee payments. The hours of operation at U.S. Bank for wire transfers are each day, except Saturdays, Sundays, and Federal holidays, 8:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time or Eastern Daylight Savings Time, whichever is currently in effect. Any bank or wire transfer service may initiate wire transfers of filing fee payments through the FEDWIRE system to U.S. Bank. A filing entity does not need to establish an account at U.S. Bank in order to remit filing fee payments. ( i ) To ensure proper credit and prompt filing acceptance, in all wire transfers of filing fees to the Commission, you must include: ( A ) The Commission's account number at U.S. Bank (850000001001); and
( B ) The payor's CIK number.
( ii ) You may refer to the examples found on the Commission's website at *https://www.sec.gov/paymentoptions* for the proper format.
( 2 ) *Instructions for payment of fees by debit card or credit card or via the Automated Clearing House Network (ACH).* To remit a filing fee payment by debit card or credit card or via ACH, please go to the Commission's EDGAR system. Note 1 to paragraph (b):
Wire transfers and debit card, credit card, and ACH payments are not instantaneous. The time required to process a wire transfer through the FEDWIRE system, from origination to receipt by U.S. Bank, varies substantially. Debit card and credit card payments generally are expected to become available to the Commission the next day. ACH payments generally are expected to become available to the Commission within one to three business days. Specified filings, such as registration statements pursuant to section 6(b) of the Securities Act of 1933 that provide for the registration of securities and mandate the receipt of the appropriate fee payment upon filing, and transactional filings pursuant to the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, such as many proxy statements involving extraordinary business transactions, will not be accepted if sufficient funds have not been received by the Commission at the time of filing.
Note 2 to paragraph (b):
You should obtain the reference number of the wire transfer from your bank or wire transfer service. Having this number can greatly facilitate tracing the funds if any problems occur. If a wire transfer of filing fees does not contain the required information in the proper format, the Commission may not be able to identify the payor and the acceptance of filings may be delayed. To ensure proper credit, you must provide all required information to the sending bank or wire transfer service. Commission data must be inserted in the proper fields. The most critical data are the Commission's account number at U.S. Bank and the payor CIK, the Commission-assigned account number identified as the CIK number.
( c ) *Special instructions for §§ 230.462(b) and 230.110(d) of this chapter .* Notwithstanding paragraphs (a) and (b) of this section, for registration statements filed pursuant to §§ 230.462(b) and § 230.110(d) of this chapter, payment of filing fees for the purposes of this section may be made by: ( 1 ) The registrant or its agent instructing its bank or a wire transfer service to transmit to the Commission the applicable filing fee by a wire transfer of such amount from the issuer's account or its agent's account to the U.S. Treasury designated lockbox depository as soon as practicable, but no later than the close of the next business day following the filing of the registration statement; and
( 2 ) The registrant submitting with the registration statement at the time of filing a certification that: ( i ) The registrant or its agent has so instructed its bank or a wire transfer service;
( ii ) The registrant or its agent will not revoke such instructions; and
( iii ) The registrant or its agent has sufficient funds in such account to cover the amount of such filing fee. Note to paragraph ( c
):
Such instructions may be sent on the date of filing the registration statement after the close of business of such bank or wire transfer service, provided that the registrant undertakes in the certification sent to the Commission with the registration statement that it will confirm receipt of such instructions by the bank or wire transfer service during regular business hours on the following business day.
( d ) *Filing fee accounts.* A filing fee account is maintained for each filer who submits a filing requiring a fee on the Commission's EDGAR system or who submits funds to the U.S. Treasury designated depository in anticipation of paying a filing fee. Account statements are regularly prepared and provided to account holders. Account holders must maintain a current account address with the Commission to ensure timely access to these statements. Note to paragraph ( d
):
The deposit of money into a filing fee account does not constitute payment of a filing fee. Payment of the filing fee occurs at the time the filing is made, commensurate with the drawing down of the balance of the fee account.
( e ) *Return of funds from inactive accounts.* Funds held in any filing fee account in which there has not been a deposit, withdrawal or other adjustment for more than three years will be returned to the account holder, and account statements will not be sent again until a deposit, withdrawal or other adjustment is made with respect to the account. Filers must maintain a current account address to assure the timely return of funds. It may not be possible to return funds from inactive accounts if the Commission is unable to identify a current account address of an account holder after making reasonable efforts to do so.
Note to paragraph ( e
):
A company must update its account and other addresses using the EDGAR Web site. This method ensures data integrity and the timeliest update. Simply changing an address in the text of the cover page of a filing made on the EDGAR system will not be sufficient to update the Commission's account address records.
[73 FR 6013, Feb. 1, 2008, as amended at 76 FR 28890, May 19, 2011; 86 FR 70197, Dec. 9, 2021]