How Do I Get My FINRA Record Expunged? What Are the Requirements?
FINRA expungement is a rules-driven process, not a routine clean-up request. It generally requires an arbitration award containing expungement relief, specific findings, and court confirmation. Educational, not legal advice.
Educational guide · Last reviewed August 7, 2026
By Dontay Phillips, Founder & Principal Attorney, ClearScope Counsel
A customer complaint or arbitration disclosure on your CRD and BrokerCheck profile can follow you from firm to firm, client conversation to client conversation, and licensing review to licensing review. For brokers, registered representatives, financial advisors, and wealth advisors across Missouri, Indiana, Iowa, and the broader Midwest, the question is often straightforward: can I get this FINRA record expunged, and what do I have to prove?
The answer is more disciplined than many advisors expect. FINRA states that Rules 12805 and 13805 identify a narrow set of circumstances in which expungement of customer dispute information is appropriate, and that FINRA will expunge customer dispute information from CRD only if it receives a court order directing expungement or a court confirms an arbitration award authorizing it. (FINRA)
Investor and claimant representation is the practice priority at ClearScope Counsel. Expungement matters are accepted selectively and screened for conflicts with the current investor-side docket.
FINRA expungement is a legal and regulatory navigation issue
A FINRA disclosure can affect far more than a public profile. It may shape recruiting conversations, transition opportunities, client trust, due diligence by custodians or broker-dealers, and state registration reviews. That does not mean every disclosure can be removed. It means the record deserves a careful, evidence-based review.
Expungement is most commonly discussed in connection with customer dispute information reported through CRD and displayed through BrokerCheck. FINRA explains that customer dispute information includes disclosure reporting pages about customer arbitrations, civil litigations, or customer complaints reported through uniform registration forms such as Forms U4, U5, and U6. (FINRA)
What do you have to prove?
To obtain an award containing expungement relief, the arbitrator or panel must determine that one of three narrow grounds has been established:
- The claim, allegation, or information is factually impossible or clearly erroneous.
- The registered person was not involved in the alleged investment-related sales practice violation, forgery, theft, misappropriation, or conversion of funds.
- The claim, allegation, or information is false.
Rules 12805 and 13805 require unanimous findings by the panel before an award containing expungement relief may issue. (FINRA)
This is why successful expungement work is built around evidence, not frustration. It is not enough to say the complaint was unfair, settled for business reasons, or has hurt your career. The case must be organized around documents, testimony, chronology, product records, account notes, supervision records, client communications, and the specific reason the disclosure meets the standard.
The key requirements
1. The request must follow the correct rule
FINRA revised Rules 12800, 12805, and 13805 effective October 16, 2023. Each addresses a different procedural setting. (FINRA)
Rule 12800 — simplified customer arbitrations. Governs investment-related, customer-initiated arbitrations involving $50,000 or less, exclusive of interest and expenses, ordinarily decided by one public arbitrator. Unless the customer requests a hearing, the underlying case is decided on the pleadings. When expungement is requested, the arbitrator must follow the procedures referenced in Rules 12800(d) through (f), including the applicable Rule 12805 hearing requirements. (FINRA)
Rule 12805 — non-simplified customer arbitrations. Governs expungement requested during a customer-initiated arbitration not administered as a simplified case. Under Rule 12401, claims of more than $50,000 but not more than $100,000 ordinarily have one arbitrator unless the parties agree in writing to three; claims exceeding $100,000, claims with an unspecified amount, and non-monetary claims ordinarily have three. (FINRA)
Rule 13805 — straight-in requests. Applies when an associated person files a separate request after the customer matter, against the member firm where the person was associated when the dispute arose. A three-person panel randomly selected from FINRA’s Special Arbitrator Roster must decide it, and all three must agree. (FINRA)
For a broker named in a pending customer arbitration, the request may need to be raised in that arbitration. FINRA’s FAQ states that an associated person named in a customer arbitration must request expungement during it, if not otherwise barred, or forfeit the ability to seek expungement of that information later. (FINRA)
2. The request must include required information
For a straight-in request, Rule 13805 requires the filing fee, the CRD number of the person seeking expungement, each CRD occurrence number at issue, the case name and docket number if applicable, and an explanation of whether expungement of the same information was previously requested and how it was decided. (FINRA)
For requests during a non-simplified customer arbitration, the request generally must be included in the answer or in a separate pleading filed no later than 60 days before the first scheduled hearing unless an extension is requested. (FINRA)
3. The matter must not be barred
Under Rule 13805 a straight-in request is barred if, among other things, a panel already held a hearing on the merits of an expungement request for the same information, a court previously denied expungement of it, the related matter has not closed, a panel or court previously found the associated person liable, or the same conduct was the basis of a final regulatory action. Timing limits also apply: two years after the close of a customer arbitration or civil litigation, and three years after a customer complaint was initially reported to CRD where no arbitration or litigation was associated with it. (FINRA)
A transitional provision applies to older disclosures. Subject to Rule 13206’s six-year eligibility requirement, the transition period for arbitrations or civil cases closed on or before October 16, 2023 ran through October 16, 2025. For certain customer complaints reported on or before October 16, 2023, the transition period runs through October 16, 2026. Because these deadlines are date-sensitive, eligibility should be confirmed against the rule in effect when the request is prepared. (FINRA)
4. Customers and regulators may participate
In Rule 12805 proceedings, customers whose disputes are the subject of the request are entitled to attend and participate, submit a written position, introduce evidence, testify, call witnesses, object to evidence, cross-examine witnesses, and present argument where permitted. (FINRA)
In straight-in requests, the associated person must serve customers with the statement of claim and answers within the required periods, and FINRA notifies state securities regulators, who may also attend and participate on proper notice. (FINRA)
Even when a customer does not appear, the panel cannot treat silence as proof. FINRA’s rules state the panel must not give evidentiary weight to a customer’s or regulator representative’s decision not to attend or participate. (FINRA)
5. A recorded hearing is required
FINRA rules require one or more recorded hearing sessions on the request. The associated person whose CRD information is at issue must appear in person or by video conference, with the panel deciding the method. (FINRA)
In settled cases the panel must review settlement documents, consider the amounts and terms, and consider whether any settlement was conditioned on an agreement not to oppose expungement. (FINRA)
6. The panel must issue specific findings
A panel cannot grant expungement on a general sense that the advisor is credible or that the complaint settled commercially. Rules 12805 and 13805 require the panel to identify the specific ground relied on, provide a written explanation, and identify the documentary, testimonial, or other evidence relied upon. (FINRA)
7. Court confirmation is generally required
Even after a panel grants relief, the process is not finished. Rule 2080 requires those seeking expungement of customer dispute information from CRD to obtain an order from a court of competent jurisdiction directing expungement or confirming the award, and requires FINRA to be named as an additional party and served unless it waives that requirement. (FINRA)
This step is where state-specific practice matters. The FINRA rules supply the regulatory framework, but the court petition must still be handled correctly under the applicable jurisdiction’s procedures.
It also determines who can act for you. FINRA arbitration is a private forum, but a confirmation petition is filed in court and is governed by that court’s admission rules. ClearScope Counsel handles the arbitration for advisors registered in Missouri, Iowa, and Indiana, and files confirmation petitions in Missouri. Outside Missouri the confirmation step would require separate counsel of your choosing; this firm does not arrange local counsel.
8. A settlement cannot be conditioned on non-opposition
Rule 2081 prohibits conditioning, or seeking to condition, settlement of a customer dispute on the customer’s agreement to consent to or not oppose expungement, and prohibits otherwise compensating a customer for that agreement. (FINRA)
Which path applies to you?
Named in a pending customer arbitration. You may need to request expungement during that arbitration. The timing of your answer, the hearing schedule, and the 60-day deadline for separate pleadings can be decisive. (FINRA)
The customer arbitration settled or closed. A straight-in request may be available, but only if not barred and filed within the applicable limitations period. (FINRA)
You were not named. In some circumstances a party to the customer arbitration may request expungement on behalf of an unnamed person with written consent. Otherwise the unnamed person may need to evaluate a separate Rule 13805 request. (FINRA)
The disclosure relates to a regulatory action. Expungement of customer dispute information is not the same as removing regulatory findings or disciplinary history, and Rule 13805 bars certain requests where the same conduct is the basis of a final regulatory action. (FINRA)
What cannot be expunged through FINRA arbitration
The customer-dispute process is not a general procedure for clearing every disclosure. FINRA’s arbitrator training identifies several categories that are not eligible. (FINRA arbitrator training)
Civil judicial actions that enjoined the associated person in connection with investment-related activity, found a violation of an investment-related statute or regulation, or were dismissed pursuant to a settlement of an action brought by a state or foreign financial regulatory authority.
Criminal and financial matters, including charges and convictions for felonies and reportable misdemeanors such as offenses involving fraud or bribery, compromises with creditors and bankruptcies within the past 10 years, and unsatisfied judgments or liens. (FINRA arbitrator training)
Investigations and regulatory actions by domestic or foreign government bodies and self-regulatory organizations with jurisdiction over investment-related activity.
CRD expungement and BrokerCheck disclosure are different questions
An event that cannot be expunged from CRD may, in limited circumstances, stop appearing publicly on BrokerCheck. That is not the same as deleting it from CRD. FINRA states that judgments or liens that have been satisfied are no longer disclosed through BrokerCheck. (FINRA)
CRD is the regulatory registration database used by regulators and firms; BrokerCheck makes specified CRD information public. A disclosure review should ask both questions separately.
What evidence supports a request?
- The original customer complaint, statement of claim, or civil litigation pleading.
- The exact language appearing in CRD and BrokerCheck.
- Account opening documents, risk tolerance forms, investment objectives, and product disclosures.
- Emails, notes, call logs, CRM entries, and correspondence.
- Trade confirmations, account statements, performance records, and allocation records.
- Supervisory approvals, exception reports, and compliance correspondence.
- Internal investigation materials, where available and discoverable.
- Settlement agreements and payment allocation information.
- Testimony from the advisor, supervisors, branch personnel, or other witnesses.
- Prior arbitration pleadings, awards, or dismissal documents.
The goal is to match evidence to the legal standard. If the argument is that the allegation is false, the record should show why. If the argument is that the advisor was not involved, the record should demonstrate it through roles, timelines, account assignments, communication history, and supervision records.
Common mistakes
- Waiting too long. Strict timing limits on straight-in requests mean delay can be fatal. A broker who waits until a recruiting opportunity or book transition may find the path closed.
- Assuming settlement means removal. Settlement alone does not prove a disclosure is false, clearly erroneous, or factually impossible.
- Treating nonparticipation as consent. A customer’s failure to appear carries no evidentiary weight.
- Negotiating non-opposition improperly. Rule 2081 prohibits conditioning settlement on, or compensating a customer for, agreeing not to oppose expungement.
- Filing in the wrong posture. Straight-in requests are filed against the member firm, and an associated person may not file a separate request against a customer outside the customer arbitration.
What a first review covers
A focused consultation should give you a clearer view of the road ahead. An initial review typically asks for your CRD number, the occurrence number or BrokerCheck disclosure at issue, the date the complaint was reported, whether an arbitration or civil litigation was filed and its posture, whether you were named or only referenced, whether any prior expungement request was filed, whether there was any customer payment or settlement contribution, whether a regulator has acted on the same conduct, and your current registration and states of business.
From there the review can identify whether the matter fits Rule 12800, 12805, or 13805, whether deadlines are a concern, and what evidence must be gathered before filing.
Eligibility: is this the type of customer dispute information the rules allow to be expunged? Timing: is the request still within the applicable deadline? Proof: can the evidence establish a recognized ground?
Frequently asked questions
Under FINRA Rules 12805 and 13805 a panel must find, unanimously, that the claim or information is factually impossible or clearly erroneous, that the registered person was not involved in the alleged sales practice violation, forgery, theft, misappropriation or conversion, or that the claim is false.
Rule 13805 imposes a two-year limit after the close of a related customer arbitration or civil litigation, and a three-year limit after a customer complaint was first reported to CRD where no arbitration or litigation followed. Transitional deadlines apply to older disclosures, so eligibility should be confirmed against the rule in effect when the request is prepared.
No. Settlement alone does not prove the disclosure is false, clearly erroneous or factually impossible. FINRA rules require the panel to review the settlement documents and to consider the amount and terms, including whether settlement was conditioned on an agreement not to oppose expungement.
Usually not on its own. Rule 2080 requires a court order directing expungement or confirming the award, and FINRA must be named as a party and served unless it waives that requirement.
No. The customer-dispute process under Rules 12800, 12805 and 13805 does not reach investigations, regulatory actions, reportable criminal matters, unsatisfied judgments or liens, or specified civil judicial actions. Those require a different analysis.
Primary sources and further reading:
Have the disclosure reviewed before a deadline decides it.
ClearScope Counsel reviews the occurrence, the procedural posture, and the applicable deadline, then says plainly whether a recognized ground is supportable. See the FINRA expungement service page for scope and flat-fee pricing.