New York streamlines and modernizes Regulation D filing procedures
December 21, 2020
Authored by: Vicki Westerhaus and Katherine Ashton
New York recently adopted new rules to, among other things, eliminate its cumbersome and confusing Form 99 blue sky notification filing requirement for many Regulation D offerings and instead require electronic notice filings on Form D for those offerings. New York’s Martin Act previously required companies to manually file an originally-signed Form 99 before offering or selling private placement securities to New York investors.
Effective December 2, 2020, New York’s new Regulation D filing procedures are now generally consistent with the 1996 National Securities Market Improvement Act and with procedures in other states, which allow companies selling “covered securities” under Rule 506 of Regulation D to provide notice to the state through the North American Association of Securities Administrators (“NASAA”) Electronic Filing Depository (“EFD”). The Form D now is required to be filed with New York on the same schedule as federal and other state filings—within 15 days of the first sale of any securities to an investor in New York.
In a press release announcing the change, New York Attorney General Letitia James stated, “By moving to standardized electronic filings and payments, our systems will be more resilient to disruption in the future and will be better equipped to protect investors from frauds, especially critical as we have seen an exponential rise in these types of scams as a result of COVID-19.” The press release also provides that the new rules are the “latest step in Attorney General James’ ongoing efforts to streamline and enhance the oversight