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 1 995 (44 U.S.C.§ 3501 et seq. (“PRA”), the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC” or “Commission”) is submitting to the Office of Management and Budget (“OMB”) this request for extension of the proposed and collection of information provided for in Rule 15b9-1 (17 CFR 240.15b9-1), under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (“Act”) (15 U.S.C. 78a et seq.).

Section 15(b)(8) of the Act requires any broker or dealer registered with the Commission to become a member of a registered national securities association (“Association”) unless the broker or dealer effects transactions in securities solely on an exchange of which it is a member. This statutory provision sets forth a complementary self-regulatory organization (“SRO”) oversight structure pursuant to which exchange SROs historically have overseen their own exchanges and The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (“FINRA”) (the only Association currently) historically has overseen cross-exchange and off-exchange securities trading activity.^[1] Section 15(b)(9) of the Act provides the Commission with authority to exempt any broker or dealer from Section 15(b)(8), if that exemption is consistent with the public interest and the protection of investors.^[2] The Commission adopted amendments to Rule 15b9-1 ^[3] that require a broker or dealer to join an Association if it effects transactions in securities elsewhere than on an exchange to which it belongs as a member, unless it can rely upon one of the amended rule's narrow, contemporary-market-appropriate exceptions from Section 15(b)(8).^[4] Conversely, a broker or dealer would not need to become a member of an Association if it effects securities transactions only on an exchange of which it is a member.

Specifically, Rule 15b9-1, as amended, permits an exemption from Association membership only where a broker or dealer that does not carry customer accounts effects securities transactions otherwise than on a national securities exchange of which it is a member that: (1) result solely from orders that are routed by a national securities exchange of which the broker or dealer is a member to comply with Rule 611 of Regulation NMS or the Options Order Protection and Locked/Crossed Market Plan; or (2) are solely for the purpose of executing the stock leg of a stock-option order (“stock-option order exemption”).

For purposes of relying on the stock-option order exemption provided by Rule 15b9-1(c)(2), a broker or dealer must establish, maintain and enforce written policies and procedures reasonably designed to ensure and demonstrate that such transactions are solely for the purpose of executing the stock leg of a stock-option order. The broker or dealer is required to preserve a copy of its policies and procedures in a manner consistent with 17 CFR 240.17a-4 until three years after the date the policies and procedures are replaced with updated policies and procedures. These requirements associated with the stock-option order exemption constitute “collection of information requirements” within the meaning of the PRA.

The collection of information is designed to provide the Commission with enhanced oversight capabilities, consistent with the public interest and protection of investors, by requiring written policies and procedures in connection with the stock-option exemption in paragraph (c)(2) of the amended rule. This requirement helps facilitate exchange SRO supervision of brokers and dealers relying on the stock-option order exemption by providing an efficient and effective way for the relevant options exchange to assess its members' compliance with the terms of the exemption, as set forth in amended Rule 15b9-1.

The Commission estimates that the total initial reporting burden for those broker-dealers that may rely upon the stock-option order exemption provided for under Rule 15b9-1 would be approximately 8.01 hours per year (annualized over a three-year period) and the total ongoing reporting burden would be approximately 144 hours per year. The Commission estimates that 3 non-FINRA brokers or dealers would rely on the stock-option order exemption.^[5]

The Commission estimates that it would take a broker or dealer approximately 8 hours to establish written policies and procedures as required under Rule 15b9-1.^[6] Annualized over a three-year period, this amounts to an initial burden of approximately 2.67 hours per broker or dealer, per year ^[7] and an aggregate, initial burden of approximately 8.01 hours per year.^[8]

The Commission estimates that the ongoing burden of maintaining and enforcing such policies and procedures, and ensuring that such policies and procedures are reasonably designed to ensure and demonstrate that such transactions are solely for the purpose of executing the stock leg of a stock-option order, would be approximately 48 hours for each broker or dealer per year.^[9]

Based on an estimated annual burden of 48 hours per broker or dealer, the Commission estimates that the aggregate, ongoing burden to maintain and enforce written policies and procedures as required under Rule 15b9-1 would be 144 hours per year.^[10] As a result, the total industry burden, including the initial burden and the ( printed page 58237) ongoing burden, would be approximately 152.01 hours per year.^[11]

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.

The public may view and comment on this information collection request at: www.reginfo.gov/​public/​do/​PRAViewICR?​ref_​nbr=​202606-3235-015 or email comment to MBX.OMB.OIRA.SEC_desk_officer@omb.eop.gov within 30 days of the day after publication of this notice, by October 15, 2026.