Is Your RIA Ready for the 2026 Annual IARD Renewal?
The 2025 annual IARD renewal period is officially underway, and now is the time to start preparing—for both your firm and your investment adviser representatives. Staying on top of your registrations and renewal fees is critical to avoid any disruption in your firm’s or your representatives’ status. This includes making sure all fees are paid to the appropriate regulators and that your registration or notice filing is current. If you’re SEC-registered, that means checking that your firm is notice-filed in every state where it’s required. If you’re state-registered, make sure your firm is properly registered in all required states.
At the firm level, registration or notice filing is generally required if your firm has a physical office in a state or exceeds that state’s de minimis exemption. Every state has its own rules, so it’s important to review them before conducting business there. Licensing for investment adviser representatives is handled at the state level, and it’s up to your firm to confirm that every representative is properly licensed before conducting business in that state.
Don’t forget that some states require investment advisor representatives to complete continuing education coursework, even if they live in a state that doesn’t require continuing education. For example, if an investment advisor representative lives and works in New York but is also registered in Florida, they must complete the continuing education coursework as a condition of renewing their Florida registration.
Even if you keep everything up to date throughout the year, the annual renewal period is a great opportunity to double-check your registrations and filings. Take a moment to review your firm’s registration or notice filing status and verify that each representative’s license — and continuing education coursework (if applicable) – is current. Doing so now ensures your firm and representatives remain properly registered, notice-filed, and licensed.
Don’t forget to check your branch offices as well. If any of your locations require branch registration, make sure those filings are completed. Starting Monday, October 13, 2025, you can submit post-dated Form U5s and Form BR Closing/Withdrawals through the IARD or Web CRD. All post-dated forms should be dated December 31, 2025.
Important Dates to Keep in Mind:
- November 10, 2025 – Preliminary Renewal Statements and reports will be available for viewing and printing.
- December 8, 2025 – Full payment of preliminary renewal statements is mandatory. Late payments will incur fees and may result in business ineligibility in certain jurisdictions.
- December 26, 2025 – Year-end CRD and IARD system shutdown and filing deadline begins at 6 pm ET.
- January 2, 2026 – Final renewal statements will be available in E-Bill.
- January 23, 2026 – Final payment and discrepancy reporting deadline.
How Advisor Guidance Can Help You
Preparing early for the annual renewal can save you a lot of stress. Preliminary Renewal Statements must be paid in full by Monday, December 8, 2025. Because payments can take a couple of days to post to your IARD account, we recommend sending them so they arrive no later than Wednesday, December 3, 2025. Missing the deadline could result in your firm’s registration, notice filing, or your representatives’ licenses being terminated as of December 31, 2025. Late or improper renewals can also result in fines or additional regulatory action.
That’s where we come in. At Advisor Guidance, we can help make this process as smooth as possible. We’ll review your firm’s registration and notice filing status, help ensure all your representatives are properly licensed, and guide you through payment timing and submissions. When the time comes, we can also assist with preparing and filing your Form ADV annual update amendment. With two decades of experience helping advisers like you, we make sure nothing slips through the cracks so you can focus on your clients instead of paperwork.
