Deadline reference
Custody rule: independent verification by surprise examination
17 CFR 275.206(4)-2(a)(4). SEC, United States (federal). Recurring; binding rule.
Not legal advice. The period or date below is quoted from the official source with its conditions; whether and how it applies depends on your firm's facts and your actual regulatory correspondence. Confirm it in the official source.
Status: Active. Last checked 2026-11-09. All references.
Who it applies to
SEC-registered investment advisers.
Investment advisers registered or required to be registered with the SEC under the Advisers Act that have custody of client funds or securities, except as the rule provides. The registration condition sits in the rule's introductory text, which is not quoted here.
Sources: [1] § 275.206(4)-2, introductory text and (a)(4)
Exclusions
The paragraph itself says except as provided below; the rule's exceptions are not reproduced here and need to be read in the rule.
Sources: [1] § 275.206(4)-2(a)(4)
The published period or date
- Official text
- The client funds and securities of which you have custody are verified by actual examination at least once during each calendar year, except as provided below, by an independent public accountant
- Type
- Recurring
- Recurrence
- At least once during each calendar year, at a time the accountant chooses without prior notice and that is irregular from year to year.
- Legal status
- Binding rule.
- Effective
- Not stated to present
- Conditions and transitions
- A written agreement with the accountant is required; the rule's further conditions on the agreement are not reproduced here.
- Sources and locators
- [1] § 275.206(4)-2(a)(4)
No due date is computed here. The toolkit does not interpret event-relative periods, count business days or hold a holiday calendar.
Cite
Cite the official source first. Then: Taft Compliance Group, Exam-prep toolkit (draft), deadline reference dl-ria-custody-independent-verification, https://taftcompliance.com/resources/exam-prep-toolkit/deadlines/dl-ria-custody-independent-verification, last checked 2026-11-09.
Sources
Office of the Federal Register, eCFR, 17 CFR 275.206(4)-2 Custody of funds or securities of clients by investment advisers. rule. § 275.206(4)-2(a)(3) and (a)(4).
https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-17/chapter-II/part-275/section-275.206(4)-2
Checked 2026-11-09.
Supporting passage
(3) Account statements to clients. You have a reasonable basis, after due inquiry, for believing that the qualified custodian sends an account statement, at least quarterly, to each of your clients for which it maintains funds or securities, identifying the amount of funds and of each security in the account at the end of the period and setting forth all transactions in the account during that period. (4) Independent verification. The client funds and securities of which you have custody are verified by actual examination at least once during each calendar year, except as provided below, by an independent public accountant, pursuant to a written agreement between you and the accountant, at a time that is chosen by the accountant without prior notice or announcement to you and that is irregular from year to year.
Changes to this reference
No released changes.