NFA Seeks to Ease Member Requirements Regarding Annual Questionnaire Filings and Branch Office Supervision

The National Futures Association (NFA) submitted two new proposals to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC or the Commission) on June 1, 2026, which will affect NFA Member firms across multiple registration categories. The first proposal addresses who may review, sign, and submit the NFA Member Questionnaire under Compliance Rule 2-52. The second proposal updates the branch office supervision framework under Interpretive Notice 9002. Both proposals were unanimously approved by NFA’s Board of Directors on May 21, 2026, and NFA invoked the “ten-day” provision of Section 17(j) of the Commodity Exchange Act, meaning these changes could take effect as early as ten days after the CFTC receives the submitted proposals, unless the Commission elects to conduct a formal review. For firms navigating compliance obligations, these are welcome and practical changes worth understanding.

Proposed Amendments to Compliance Rule 2-52 and Interpretive Notice 9082: Who Must Submit the Member Questionnaire

Under the current version of NFA Compliance Rule 2-52(c), all Member categories (other than swap dealers (SDs)) are required to have a registered associated person who is also a listed principal review, sign, and submit the annual Member Questionnaire.[1] NFA’s Board originally adopted this requirement in 2024 to “ensure that the individual responsible for completing the Questionnaire was sufficiently knowledgeable about a NFA member firm’s ongoing business operations.”

However, since the requirement was implemented, NFA member firms have raised concerns that the person most qualified to complete the Member Questionnaire, often the chief compliance officer (CCO) or a deputy CCO, is frequently not a registered associated person. As such persons are not typically involved in soliciting customer orders or supervising those who do, there is no substantive regulatory reason to require them to sit for the Series 3 examination and register as an associated person. Particularly at larger firms, the most operationally knowledgeable person may be another senior-level individual who is not a listed principal.

The Member Questionnaire amendments address these concerns directly. Under the revised NFA Compliance Rule 2-52(c), a listed principal of the member firm or any other senior-level individual who is “sufficiently knowledgeable about the [m]ember's ongoing business operations” may now review, sign, and submit the Member Questionnaire. The proposed amendments also eliminate the separate provision that previously applied exclusively to SDs, consolidating the requirement into a single, uniform standard for all membership categories. To ensure uniformity, similar changes are proposed in the related NFA Interpretive Notice 9082, which provides guidance on filing the Member Questionnaire. 

Proposed Amendments to Interpretive Notice 9002: Increased Flexibility for Designated Branch Office Managers

NFA Interpretive Notice 9002 currently requires each NFA member firm (excluding SDs) to list its branch offices on Form 7-R and to designate a branch office manager for each location. The branch office manager must be an individual who has passed the Series 30 Branch Manager Examination and is registered as an associated person. In 2021, NFA amended the Interpretive Notice to address remote work locations, allowing associated persons working from home or another remote location to avoid listing that location as a branch office under certain conditions. 

Following a request from the Futures Industry Association (FIA), NFA’s Board approved and proposed these further amendments to permit branch office managers to supervise more than one branch office location and to do so remotely, on either a full-time or part-time basis. FIA explained that advances in technology have made it possible for experienced branch office managers to effectively carry out their supervisory responsibilities remotely, including in situations where they oversee multiple locations.

The branch office amendments come with added guardrails. Members must implement supervisory procedures “reasonably designed to ensure a branch office manager can effectively supervise” its associated persons’ activities at each location. Member firms must also develop policies and procedures specifically tailored to remote supervisory work arrangements. Importantly, if a member firm becomes aware of any “indicia of irregularities or misconduct involving a branch office," such as disciplinary actions, trends in customer complaints that appear bona fide, or significant operational issues, the member firm must reassess whether the designated branch office manager can effectively continue supervising multiple locations and/or doing so remotely. NFA’s Board noted that these amendments align NFA’s branch office manager requirements with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority’s, thereby reducing the regulatory burden on dually registered Members.

Key Takeaways 

NFA’s two recent proposals represent pragmatic updates to its compliance framework that should benefit NFA member firms of all sizes. Given that both NFA proposals could become effective as early as mid-June, member firms should not delay in reviewing their internal processes and discussing these changes with their compliance teams. 

For the questionnaire amendments, NFA member firms should evaluate whether their current filing arrangement still makes operational sense or whether a different senior-level individual would be better positioned to handle Member Questionnaire filing going forward. Members are no longer required a knowledgeable individual to maintain an associated person registration solely for the purpose of completing the Member Questionnaire, which eliminates a compliance friction point many firms have raised.

For the branch office amendments, NFA member firms with multiple locations should review their supervisory procedures to ensure they can demonstrate that any multi-office and/or remote office manager arrangement is appropriate under the circumstances. Documentation is key. Firms should formalize policies that address how supervision of remote office managers will function, establish surveillance mechanisms, and create protocols for reassessing remote supervision if red flags emerge. 

Katten’s team is available to provide further guidance regarding these NFA rule changes and their implications.