Upon Written Request, Copies Available From: Securities and Exchange Commission, Office of FOIA Services, 100 F Street NE, Washington, DC 20549-2736

Notice is hereby given that, pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. § 3501 et seq.), the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC” or “Commission”) is soliciting comments on the proposed collection of information provided for in Rule 17f-2(e) (17 CFR 240.17f-2(e)), under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78a et seq.).

Section 17(f)(2) requires, in pertinent part, that every member of a national securities exchange, broker, dealer, registered transfer agent, and registered clearing agency (collectively, “covered entities”) require that each of their partners, directors, officers, and employees be fingerprinted and submit (or cause to be submitted) such fingerprints to the U.S. Attorney General for identification and appropriate processing.^[1] Section 17(f)(2) also authorizes the Commission, by rule, to exempt from the fingerprinting requirements of Section 17(f)(2) upon specified terms, conditions, and periods, any class of partners, directors, officers, and employees of a covered entity, if the Commission finds that such action is not inconsistent with the public interest or the protection of investors. Rule 17f-2 promulgated under Section 17(f)(2) provides for certain exemptions from the fingerprinting requirement of Section 17(f)(2).^[2] Under Rule 17f-2, a covered entity may claim an exemption from the fingerprint requirements of Rule 17f-2 provided they make and keep current a statement entitled “Notice Pursuant to Rule 17f-2” containing the information specified in Rule 17f-2(e)(1) to support their claim of exemption (“Notice”).^[3] Rule 17f-2(e)(2) requires covered entities to keep a copy of the Notice in an easily accessible place at the organization's principal office and at the office employing the persons for whom exemptions are claimed, and to make the Notice available for inspection upon request by the Commission, appropriate regulatory agency (if not the Commission), or other designated examining authority. Notices prepared pursuant to Rule 17f-2(e) must be maintained for different lengths of time depending on the type of entity maintaining the Notice. Under Rule 240.17a-1, every registered clearing agency must keep and preserve at least one copy of all documents made or received by it in the course of its business for a period of not less than five years. Under Rule 240.17a-4 certain members of national securities exchanges, brokers, and dealers must maintain the Notice during the life of their enterprise. Under Rule 240.17Ad-7, registered transfer agents must maintain the Notice in an easily accessible place. The recordkeeping requirement under Rule 17f-2(e) assists the Commission and other regulatory agencies with helping ensure compliance with Rule 17f-2.

Based on the Commission's experience with Rule 17f-2(e), we estimate that approximately 75 respondents will incur an average burden of 30 minutes per year to comply with this rule, which represents the time it takes for a staff person at a covered entity to properly document a claimed exemption from the fingerprinting requirements of Rule 17f-2 in the required Notice (0.4 hours, constituting a reporting type of burden) and to properly retain the Notice according to the entity's record retention policies and procedures (0.1 hours, constituting a recordkeeping type of burden). The estimated aggregate annual burden for all covered entities is approximately 38 hours (75 entities × 0.5 hours, rounded up).

An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB Control Number.

Written comments are invited on: (a) whether this proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the SEC, including whether the information will have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the SEC's estimate of the burden imposed by the proposed collection of information, including the validity of the methodology and the assumptions used; (c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on respondents, including through the use of automated, electronic collection techniques or other forms of information technology.

Please direct your written comments on this 60-Day Collection Notice to Austin Gerig, Director/Chief Data Officer, Securities and Exchange Commission, c/o Tanya Ruttenberg via email to PaperworkReductionAct@sec.gov by September 21, 2026.