What does FINRA require for retaining broker-dealer communications like emails and text messages?

FINRA (the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority) requires broker-dealers to capture, retain, and supervise the business-related communications they send and receive — regardless of the channel or device used. The core principle is content over channel: if a communication relates to the firm’s securities business, it is a record that must be preserved, whether it travels by email, text message, chat, or social media.

What Must Be Retained

FINRA rules, together with the underlying SEC recordkeeping requirements they implement, generally require firms to:

• Retain business communications sent to or received from customers and others relating to the firm’s business as a broker-dealer.
• Preserve records in a non-rewriteable, non-erasable format (often described as “WORM” — write once, read many) so records cannot be altered or deleted during the retention period.
• Keep records readily accessible and producible to regulators on request, with appropriate indexing.

Retention periods are set by SEC books-and-records rules; many communication records must be kept for a period of years (commonly several years), with a portion of that time in an easily accessible location. Firms should confirm the exact period for each record type against the current SEC and FINRA rule text.

Supervision and Review

Capturing communications is not enough. FINRA requires firms to maintain written supervisory procedures and to review correspondence and internal communications for compliance. This means having systems to monitor the channels representatives actually use — including text and messaging apps — and to evidence that review took place.

Off-Channel Communications

A major enforcement focus has been “off-channel” communications — business conducted on personal devices, personal text messages, or unapproved messaging platforms that the firm cannot capture. Firms are expected to define which channels are approved, prohibit business use of uncaptured channels, and enforce that policy. Failure to preserve such messages has led to significant penalties.

Practical Governance Takeaways

• Inventory every channel where business communications may occur, then either capture it or prohibit its use.
• Apply consistent retention and legal-hold rules across all channels, not just email.
• Document supervisory review and keep records tamper-evident and retrievable.

These obligations reflect broad recordkeeping principles also seen in standards-based programs. For related concepts, see the information governance topic hub. Always verify specific retention periods and formats against the current SEC and FINRA rules, as requirements are periodically updated.