On October 1, 2026, the SEC’s Division of Examinations published The SEC Exam Handbook: A Practical Guide on Process and Engagement, a short, plain-language description of how an examination is opened, conducted, and closed, and what the staff expects from the firm on the other side of the table. SEC Press Release No. 2026-99 (Oct. 1, 2026). It replaces the two-page examination brochure that preceded it and carries the form number, SEC 2389, that the Commission’s exam brochure has borne since 1995. The handbook is a staff document. It is not a rule, it creates no obligations, and its disclaimer says so. Its value is different: the Division has written down, in one place and in more detail than before, the deadlines it holds itself to, the conduct it will and will not accept during interviews, and the order of events a firm should plan around. A registered adviser or broker-dealer that has never been examined should read it before the phone rings. One that has should read it to see what has changed.
How a firm is chosen, and what the staff does before calling
The Division selects firms on risk. The handbook lists the factors, among them prior examination history, disciplinary history of personnel or affiliates, tips and complaints, time since the last exam, products and conflicts, changes in leadership, news coverage, and whether the firm holds or can reach client assets. The reason a particular firm was selected is non-public and the staff will usually not disclose it; being selected is not a signal that something is wrong. Before the first call, the staff reviews the firm’s filings and website. The handbook says plainly that current and accurate filings make an exam more efficient and can reduce findings, which is a polite way of saying that a stale Form ADV or a website that does not match it is where many exams start.
One sentence here has teeth. When the staff accesses a firm’s or a vendor’s systems to review records, it does not agree to any terms of use, including choice-of-law provisions, and nothing the staff does binds the Commission in contract. Firms whose records live on third-party platforms should arrange access that does not depend on a click-through agreement.
The information request and the two-week reality
Most exams begin with a call to the chief compliance officer, followed by a letter and an initial request for information issued under the firm’s examination authority, which for advisers is Section 204(a) of the Advisers Act. 15 U.S.C. § 80b-4(a). The handbook states the Commission’s expectation that records be available within 24 hours and the staff’s practice of allowing two weeks for the initial production. Supplemental requests follow throughout the exam, with deadlines that vary. Extensions and rolling productions are available where appropriate; the handbook asks firms to communicate questions about a request promptly rather than let a deadline pass. Initial request lists in adviser exams commonly run to dozens of categories, so a firm that has not organized its records before the call will spend its two weeks finding them rather than reviewing them.
If a firm withholds documents as privileged, the handbook specifies what the privilege log must contain: the identity and position of the document’s creator and of every recipient or person told its substance, the creation date, a brief description including subject matter, the specific privilege claimed, and the request the document responds to. Redacted portions of produced documents must be logged as well. Information produced is presumed confidential, and a firm may request confidential treatment under Rule 83 against a later Freedom of Information Act request. The staff may share what it receives with other Commission divisions and other regulators, and will not say whether it has done so.
Interviews, site visits, and what the staff will not allow
The staff interviews the chief compliance officer early to understand the business and set the scope, then schedules interviews with employees through the compliance officer as the exam proceeds. The handbook asks firms to prepare knowledgeable people for those meetings, which it says shortens the exam. It also says what it will not permit. The staff does not record or transcribe interviews, instructs participants not to, and does not consent to recording, transcription, artificial intelligence note-taking tools, or similar technology. A firm that has an AI assistant joining every video call needs to turn it off for these. For in-person visits, the staff gives notice of the start date, presents credentials on request, and may ask for a tour. A firm that doubts whether a caller or an email is from the Commission can verify identity through the Examination Hotline at 202-551-EXAM.
The exit conference and the three deadlines
After analysis, the staff typically holds an exit conference to walk through the issues it has identified. Supervisory staff may attend, and the handbook says the Division typically asks that senior management or the board attend as well, to underline the importance of the findings. The firm may respond, correct the record, and describe steps already taken.
Three deadlines then govern. By statute, the firm receives a disposition letter within 180 days of the later of the end of any on-site work or receipt of all requested records; in limited cases the staff may extend that by a further 180 days. 15 U.S.C. § 78d-5(b). The letter will say that the exam has concluded, that it concluded without findings, or that the staff requests corrective action, which is the deficiency letter that most exams end with. A deficiency letter identifies potential violations and other findings; it does not grade the firm or mandate a specific remedy beyond compliance with the law, and its silence on a topic is not approval. The firm responds in writing within 30 days of the letter’s date, describing what it has done or will do; extensions should be requested early. The staff then aims to deliver any further comments within 60 days of the response, or to tell the firm when it will. Absence of comment is not concurrence, and the staff generally will not opine on whether proposed corrective action is adequate. When the staff has nothing further, the exam is closed; a firm that wants confirmation should ask the exam team. None of the three outcomes prevents enforcement, and the staff may refer a matter to the Division of Enforcement or another regulator, in exigent cases without an exit conference or a deficiency letter at all.
The 180-day clock runs from the later of two dates, and the firm controls one of them. When production is complete, tell the exam team so in writing. That fixes the date, resolves any dispute about completeness, and gives the firm a target date for the disposition letter.
What is new, and why it matters
The 1995 version of the brochure covered the same ground in two pages and promised a letter within 90 days of fieldwork. The handbook replaces that with the statutory 180-day period, adds the 30-day and 60-day marks, and spells out the privilege log, the no-recording rule, the refusal to accept platform terms, and a feedback channel through the Office of Chief Counsel and the Office of Inspector General, with anonymity available. The two-column “Working Together” page at the back is the part worth printing: on one side what the firm can expect from the staff, on the other what the staff expects from the firm, including designated points of contact, notice of other regulatory inquiries that could slow responses, productions that follow the Division’s data delivery guidance, and transparency about known compliance issues within the scope of the exam. Prompt and appropriate correction of findings, the handbook says, may weigh against an enforcement referral. It is not dispositive, but it is the one lever the firm holds after the deficiency letter arrives.
For more information. Evans Law, PC represents investment advisers and broker-dealers before and during SEC and FINRA examinations, including document production, privilege review, interview preparation, and deficiency letter responses. See our Investment Adviser Services and Broker-Dealer Services pages, and our September update on the staff’s annual compliance review findings. To prepare for an examination or respond to one, contact Evans Law, PC.