Division Announces 2026 Examination Priorities
Preparing for an exam can feel overwhelming, but the Division’s recently released 2026 Examination Priorities can help! This resource highlights areas staff plans to focus on based on commonly identified and/or high-risk deficiencies revealed during examinations. The key areas staff encourages advisers to consider in 2026 include:
- Written suitability information;
- Annual compliance obligations;
- Use of Client Login Credentials; and
- Procedures for the use of AI
Read the 2026 Examination Priorities.
Notice of Adoption of Rules
On November 20, 2025, the Colorado Securities Commissioner adopted new rules under the Colorado Securities Act. Regulations that have been adopted, but are not yet effective, can be found on the Division's website at Rule Making Notices and Opinions.
A summary of the more significant changes include the adoption, amendment or repeal of the following rules:
- Rules 51-4.3 was amended to adopt FINRA's Maintaining Qualifications Program (MQP) to extend the validity of licensing exams to five years if certain criteria are met and clarify licensing requirements for sales representatives;
- Rule 51-4.4(IA) was amended to add the Certified Investment Management
Analyst (CIMA) designation and remove the Chartered Investment Counselor
(CIC) designation from the alternative qualifications for licensing as an investment adviser representative; - Rule 51-4.4.2(IA) was proposed to adopt the NASAA Investment Adviser
Representative Exam Validity Extension Program (EVEP) to extend the validity of licensing exams to five years if certain criteria are met for investment adviser representatives; and - Forms DT-1 and DT-2 were repealed in response to the
legislative repeal of the Digital Token Act
Notice of Fee Changes
The Colorado Division of Securities adjusted licensing fees in November to keep the Division in compliance with statutory requirements to maintain sufficient revenue. This year, the fees have increased slightly but continue to be some of the lowest in the nation. The Division remains committed to keeping fees as low as possible.
Effective November 1, 2025, the annual and the renewal fees will be:
- $15 for individual licensees, including sales representatives and investment adviser representatives
- $80 for firms, including broker dealers and investment advisers (SEC notice filed and state licensed)
View the Division's Forms and Fees. For questions about fee changes or license renewals, please email the Division of Securities at Dora_SecuritiesWebsite@state.co.us or call 303-894-2320.
IAR CE Deadline Approaching
Investment adviser representatives (IARs) are required to complete 12 continuing education (CE) credits by December 31 annually. The 12 CE credits include 6 credits of IAR Regulatory and Ethics Content and 6 credits of IAR Products and Practice Content.
When trying to meet the CE deadlines, IARs should be aware of the CE processing delays below and plan accordingly:
- CRD/IARD will be offline from December 26-31, so all credits must be reported before December 26 to be credited to you this year.
- This is a CRD/IARD system software timeline and the Division is not able to make manual adjustments.
- Your CE course provider has to report your credits before December 26 for you to be credited in this year: note, some providers are slower than others in reporting.
Please Note: IAR CE Courses offered and/or hosted on the North American Securities Administrators Association website that are completed by midnight Eastern Time on December 22, 2025, will be submitted for processing before the CRD system shutdown begins on December 26, 2025, at 4 p.m. ET. Courses taken after December 22, 2025, will not be processed until the system comes back online on January 2, 2026.
How to Track CE Credits and Verify Course Completion Reporting: To manage course completion and monitor CE status, IARs must establish an account on FINRA's Financial Professional Gateway (FinPro). Visit the FinPro website.
Visit the Division's website for additional information about IAR CE requirements.
Law Enforcement Outreach Initiative
To help combat rising securities fraud, the Division is offering presentations about how to identify and report investment scams. In 2025, the Division expanded its outreach strategy to include presentations for law enforcement departments throughout the state.
During these presentations to law enforcement, Division Investigator Jennifer Grounds explains how a call about a scam could be a securities case, how to send that case to the Division to investigate, how we can help criminally prosecute these cases and how to reach out to the Division for more information.
If you're interested in learning more about the Division's law enforcement outreach or other outreach efforts, please contact Division Public Information Officer Annelise Grygiel at Annelise.Grygiel@state.co.us.