SEC Exam Handbook
SEC Form 2389 (09-26)
The SEC Exam Handbook: A Practical Guide on Process and Engagement
Read the current text at the source ↗Guide: The RIA Chief Compliance Officer: Duties, Authority and Liability
Guide: Books and Records Requirements for Investment Advisers (Rule 204-2)
Guide: How to Respond to an SEC Deficiency Letter
- Applies to
- SEC-registered investment adviser
- Effective
- October 1, 2026
When this applies
Division of Examinations staff guidance, with its own caveat: the handbook “represents the views of EXAMS staff and is not a rule, regulation, or statement of the Commission” and “has no legal force or effect: it does not alter or amend applicable law, and it creates no new or additional obligations for any person.” It describes how examinations are run, not what the law requires.
What the rule says
A description of the source text.
The Division of Examinations' guide to how an examination runs, published 1 October 2026 as SEC Form 2389 and replacing the examination brochure that every request letter enclosed. It walks through the process from start to finish: how firms are selected, the call that announces an exam, the information request, requests to custodians and other third parties, interviews and on-site visits, the exit conference, the disposition letter, the firm's response and the staff's comments. It ends with a two-column table of what firms can expect from the staff and what the staff expects from firms, and the Examination Hotline (202-551-EXAM, examhotline@sec.gov), which also confirms that someone claiming to be examination staff is.
What it requires
Luna's plain-English reading, not the Commission's words.
- 01Records should be available within 24 hours in most circumstances, the handbook says; in practice the initial request usually allows two weeks.
- 02Withholding anything as privileged needs a privilege log: who created it, everyone who received it or learned its substance, its date, a description, the privilege claimed, and the request it answers. Redactions need the same.
- 03The disposition letter comes within 180 days of the later of the end of any on-site work and receipt of all requested records (15 U.S.C. 78d-5(b)), extendable once by 180 days in limited cases.
- 04A deficiency letter typically asks for a written response within 30 days. Ask for an extension as soon as you know you need one. The staff aims to comment on a response within 60 days.
- 05Most examinations end with a deficiency letter. A letter that does not mention an activity is not a statement that the activity complies.
- 06The staff does not record or transcribe meetings, and does not consent to recording, transcription or AI notetaking tools in them.
- 07When the staff uses a firm's or a service provider's website or system holding its records, it does not agree to that system's terms or conditions.
- 08The reason for an examination is non-public, and being selected is not, in itself, a sign that something is wrong.
Topics
Source last checked against the regulator's copy on October 14, 2026. That date is written by an automated check, not by hand.
Luna Compliance is software, not a law firm. This page is not legal advice and reading it creates no attorney-client relationship. Where this page and the regulator's copy differ, the regulator's governs.