What is SEC Form U-5S

SEC Form U-5S is a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that had to be filed annually by every registered holding company. The form had to contain information on the parent holding company and all statutory subsidiaries, number of common shares owned, percentage of voting power and book value of shares, as well as summaries of acquisitions, sales, officers and directors, contributions, contracts, and financial statements. The SEC used this information to monitor the holdings, financings and operations of the registered public utility system.

BREAKING DOWN SEC Form U-5S

Form U-5S, which is also known as an "annual report," was required under section five, rule one of the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935, which was repealed on August 8, 2005, with the passing of the Energy Policy Act of 2005. The act regulated the holding companies of electric and natural gas utilities. Since the act was repealed, this form is now obsolete.

The Function of SEC Form U-5S

SEC Form U-5 was the Uniform Termination Notice for Securities Industry Registration. Broker-dealers, investment advisers, or issuers of securities had to use this form to terminate the registration of an individual in the appropriate jurisdictions and/or self-regulatory organizations (SROs). 

Filers had to answer all questions and submit all requested information, unless otherwise directed in the specific instructions for each element of the form. Only Section 2 (current residential address), Section 7 (disclosure questions) and disclosure reporting pages could be amended on Form U-5. If the form had been completed for a full termination, a copy of the form had to be provided to the terminated individual.

Three Types of Form U5 Filings

  1. A full Form U5 was used when terminating an individual from a firm. All registrations with SROs and jurisdictions would be terminated.
  2. A partial Form U5 was used to terminate individuals from selected SROs and jurisdictions. The reason for termination and disclosure questions were not included on partial Form U5 filings. Residential addresses could be updated. Branch office address information could not be updated.
  3. An amendment Form U5 was used to update or amend disclosure, date of termination, reason for termination, and residential information on an individual already terminated from a firm. Terminated individuals were required to update any residential address changes for two years following an individual’s termination date.

Sections of SEC Form U-5

  1. General information
  2. Current residential address
  3. Full termination
  4. Date terminated
  5. Partial termination
  6. SRO partial termination
  7. Jurisdiction partial termination
  8. Disclosure questions (Full Terminations and Amendments Only)
  9. Investigation disclosure (Question 7A)
  10. Internal review disclosure (Question 7B)
  11. Criminal disclosure (Question 7C)
  12. Regulatory action disclosure (Question 7D)
  13. Customer complaint/arbitration/civil litigation disclosure (Question 7E)
  14. Termination disclosure (Question 7F)
  15. Signature
  16. Firm acknowledgement
  17. Individual acknowledgment and consent disclosure reporting pages (DRPs U5) (Full Terminations and Amendments Only), Criminal DRP, Customer complaint litigation DRP, internal review DRP, regulatory action DRP, Termination DRP