A firm files the U4 to register a person. It captures identity, employment history for the past ten years, residential history, examinations, and a long list of disclosure questions covering criminal charges, regulatory actions, customer complaints, arbitrations, terminations, bankruptcies, liens and unsatisfied judgments.
Answers must be updated promptly when circumstances change, and the data feeds the public finra-brokercheck record. Deliberately omitting a disclosure is itself a common enforcement charge, often more damaging than the underlying event.
When someone leaves a firm, a companion Form U5 reports the reason for termination. A U5 marked as terminated after allegations follows the person for years and is frequently the subject of expungement proceedings.
Related: finra-brokercheck, registered-representative, series-7, finra-arbitration