|
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) |
General Questions
OTCBB Company Contact/Profile
Information
Listing and Eligibility Requirements
Filing Information
Trading Symbols
Form 211 (SEC Rule 15c2-11)
Trade Halts
Press Releases
Quotes
Trade Data/Reports/Downloads
Email Subscription
OTCBB.com Links
GLOSSARY
- How do I buy or sell stock in a company that is
quoted on the OTC Bulletin Board® (OTCBB)?
The process of buying or selling OTCBB stock is the same
as buying or selling any other stock. You must open an
account with a broker (a party that executes buy and
sell orders). You cannot buy OTCBB stock directly from
the OTCBB or the OTCBB.com.
- Can a security be traded on the OTCBB and NASDAQ®
at the same time?
No. The OTCBB is a quotation service for securities
which are not listed or traded on NASDAQ or a national
securities exchange.
- What are some of the differences between
companies quoted by an OTC quotation service and
companies listed on a stock market?
Stock markets (including NASDAQ and the registered
exchanges, such as NYSE or AMEX) have specific
quantitative and qualitative listing and maintenance
standards, which are stringently monitored and enforced.
Companies listed on a stock market have reporting
obligations to the market, and an on-going regulatory
relationship exists between the market and its listed
companies. OTC quotation services (OTCBB, Pink Sheets)
facilitate quotation of unlisted securities. As such,
any regulatory relationship between an OTC quotation
service and the issuers may be relatively limited or
non-existent.
- What is the difference between OTC, other-OTC and
OTC Bulletin Board (OTCBB)? And where do the Pink Sheets
fit in?
An over-the-counter (OTC) security is generally
considered to be any equity security that is not listed
on NASDAQ, NYSE or Amex. The OTCBB and the Pink Sheets
are both quotation services for OTC securities. NASDAQ
operates the OTCBB service and permits FINRA members to
quote any OTC security that is current in certain
required regulatory filings (see
Listing Requirements). The Pink Sheets is a
privately owned company that permits FINRA members to
quote any OTC security and does not maintain regulatory
filing requirements. An OTC security can be dually
quoted on both the OTCBB and the Pink Sheets. As well,
there are many OTC securities that are not quoted on
either the OTCBB or the Pink Sheets; however, they have
trading symbols assigned to them so FINRA members can
comply with trade reporting obligations and report
transactions in these securities. These securities are
sometimes said to be on the "gray market".
Other-OTC/NBB. Any OTC security that is not
quoted on the OTCBB but is eligible for trade reporting
to the Trade Reporting Facility, is categorized as
"other-OTC" or non-Bulletin Board (NBB). You will see
both of these terms throughout the OTCBB.com website.
This includes, but is not limited to, securities quoted
on the Pink Sheets. Because other-OTC securities are not
quoted on the OTCBB, you will not be able to access
quotes on these stocks through the OTCBB.com website,
the NASDAQ Workstation, or any other NASDAQ product. If
they are quoted on the Pink Sheets, you may be able to
obtain quotes for other-OTC securities on the Pink
Sheets website at www.pinksheets.com.
- What is the correct way
to refer to the OTCBB or securities quoted on the OTCBB?
Correct and accurate terminology when referencing the
OTC Bulletin Board are as follows:
- OTC Bulletin Board
- quoted on the OTC Bulletin Board
Any reference to the OTC Bulletin Board should never
include the word "NASDAQ®". OTC Bulletin
Board, should you wish, may be abbreviated OTCBB.
- Where can I get a list of the
Market Makers?
The symbol directory on OTCBB.com will allow you to:
- Where can I get a list of all the securities
currently quoted on the OTCBB?
The symbol directory on OTCBB.com will allow you to:
- How do I stop receiving email spam, unwanted
faxes and pop-up ads promoting OTCBB securities?
Please see the
Help Section of OTCBB.com for prevention tips
and reporting these incidents to the proper authorities.
- Where can I get phone and address information for
an OTCBB issuer?
OTCBB issuers are not required to maintain current
address and phone information with The NASDAQ Stock
Market, Inc. or FINRA. This information is available,
however, for many OTCBB issuers. Contact information for
individual OTCBB issuers is accessible through the
Symbol Directory area of this Web site. You
can purchase the
OTCBB Company Directory, a file containing
the available address and phone information for all
OTCBB issuers, from the Trading Activity Reports section
of OTCBB.com.
- How do I update an OTCBB company's address, phone
or other profile information?
- You may email updated address, phone and company
website information to the OTCBB at
OTCBBFeedback@finra.org.
- All other information, including management,
outstanding shares, business summary, industry and
transfer agent, is provided to OTCBB.com by a data
vendor. To update this information, please go to the
Contact Page and see
OTCBB Company Profile Update.
- What are the "listing" requirements for the
OTCBB?
Because the OTCBB is a quotation service for FINRA
Market Makers, not an issuer listing service or
securities market, there are no listing
requirements that must be met by an OTCBB issuer.
Accordingly, there are no financial requirements and
there is no minimum bid price requirement.
- Are OTCBB companies considered to be "listed"?
No, the OTCBB is not an issuer listing service, and
there is no listing agreement between either the OTCBB
or NASDAQ and the issuer. There are, however, certain
requirements an issuer must meet in order for its
securities to be eligible for a market maker to enter a
quotation on the OTCBB.
- What are the eligibility requirements for the
OTCBB?
In order for a security to be eligible for quotation by
a market maker on the OTCBB, the security must be
registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission
(SEC) or other federal regulatory authority that has
proper jurisdiction (see below) and the issuer must be
current in its required filings with such federal
authority.
Domestic issues quoted on the OTCBB are limited to
the following securities:
- securities of issuers that make current filings
pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934 ("Act");
- securities of depository institutions that are
not required to make filings under the Act, but file
publicly available reports with their appropriate
regulatory authorities;
- securities of registered closed-end investment
companies; and
- securities of insurance companies that are
exempt from registration under Section 12(g)(2)(G)
of the Act.
Foreign issues and ADRs must be registered with the
Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) pursuant to
Section 12 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
See
Filing Information for more information on
filing requirements and how FINRA processes OTCBB
issuers' filings.
- How many market makers are required for a
security to be on the OTCBB?
A minimum of one market maker is needed. Instructions on
how to get a
list of market makers are above.
- What are the listing fees for the OTCBB?
There are no listing fees for the OTCBB. Market makers
do pay a fee for participating in the OTCBB of $6 per
security per month.
- Does the OTCBB have shareholder approval rules?
No. The OTCBB does not have shareholder approval rules.
- Is an OTCBB issuer required to have an audit
committee?
OTCBB issuers may choose to have an audit committee, and
certain OTCBB issuers may be required to have an audit
committee by virtue of an applicable law or rule.
However, the OTCBB rules do not separately require OTCBB
issuers to establish or maintain an audit committee.
- How does a company get on the OTCBB?
An issuer may not submit an application directly to be
quoted on the OTCBB. A market maker must sponsor the
security and demonstrate compliance with
SEC Rule 15c2-11 before it can initiate a
quote in a specific security on the OTCBB. Please visit
our
How To Quote Securities page in Market Maker
Services for detailed information on quoting a security
on the OTCBB.
- How does a security delisted from NASDAQ or
another exchange get on the OTCBB?
For a security being delisted from NASDAQ, NYSE, or
AMEX, a Market Maker must file a
Form 211.
- When can a company be "delisted" or removed from
the OTCBB?
OTCBB issuers that become delinquent in their required
regulatory filings will have their securities removed
from the OTC Bulletin Board. Further, all OTCBB issues
must maintain at least one registered Market Maker to
remain on the OTCBB. When the last Market Maker in a
security withdraws from the stock, the issue is removed
from the OTCBB after 4 days pursuant to Rule 15c2-11. An
issuer cannot voluntarily withdraw from the OTCBB; only
a market maker can voluntarily withdraw its quote from
the OTCBB. If an OTCBB security becomes listed on NASDAQ
or another exchange, it will no longer be eligible and
will be removed from the OTCBB.
- How does the three strikes ineligibility rule
work in practice? Pursuant to NASD Rule 6530(e), any
OTCBB issuer that is delinquent in its reporting
obligations three times in a 24-month period and/or is
actually removed from the OTCBB for failure to file two
times in a 24-month period is ineligible for quotation
on the OTCBB for a period of one year. For a security to
be eligible for quotation on the OTCBB, NASD Rule 6530
requires, in part, that the issuer of the security is
required to file reports with the Commission or that the
issuer of the security is a bank or savings associations
(or holding company for such entities) that is not
required to file reports with the Commission and,
instead, makes filings with its applicable regulator. In
addition to the foregoing, the issuer of the security
must be current in its reporting obligations, subject to
a 30 or 60 day grace period, as applicable. An OTCBB
issuer will be deemed delinquent in its reporting
obligations if the issuer fails to make a required
filing when due or has filed an incomplete filing. In
order for a filing to be complete, it must contain all
required certifications and have been reviewed or
audited as applicable, by an accountant registered with
the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board.
- How does FINRA determine whether an OTCBB
issuer’s periodic financial report was filed timely?
For the purpose of determining the extent to which an
issuer has filed its periodic financial reports in a
timely fashion or has filed its periodic financial
reports within the applicable grace period (in the case
of an issuer that did not meet the initial filing
deadline), the periodic financial report in question
must have been received and time stamped by the
Commission’s EDGAR system no later than 5:30 p.m. EST on
the day the report was due or the last day of the
applicable grace period. For the purpose of determining
an issuer’s eligibility for quotation on the OTCBB, no
exceptions to the 5:30 p.m. EST cut off will be made
absent the existence of extraordinary circumstances in
the sole discretion of SEC staff.
Initial Filing Deadline Delinquency Example:
An OTCBB issuer that fails to file a periodic
financial report on the day it is due by 5:30 p.m.
EST receives a “strike,” even if the filing is made
on the following day. If such a “strike” is the
issuer’s third, the issuer will be removed form the
OTCBB. A hearing request will stay the removal of
the issuer’s securities from the OTCBB, pending the
Hearing Officer’s decision, but only if it is
accompanied by evidence / receipt of a wire transfer
in the amount of $4,000. The stay of removal pending
the Hearing Officer’s decision will not provide the
issuer with additional time in which to cure
ineligibility, if the issuer was, in fact,
delinquent at the time that the filing was due.
Grace Period Filing Deadline Delinquency Example:
An OTCBB issuer that fails to file a periodic
financial report on the day it is due and then
subsequently fails to file the periodic financial
report by 5:30 p.m. EST on the last day of the
applicable grace period (in the case of a first or
second “strike”) will be removed from the OTCBB. A
hearing request will stay the removal of the
issuer’s securities from the OTCBB, pending the
Hearing Officer’s decision, but only if it is
accompanied by evidence / receipt of a wire transfer
in the amount of $4,000. The stay of removal pending
the Hearing Officer’s decision will not provide the
issuer with additional time in which to cure
ineligibility, if the issuer was, in fact,
delinquent at the end of the applicable grace
period.
- Can a company appeal the removal of its
securities from the OTCBB?
The issuer of a security quoted on the OTCBB may appeal
the removal of its securities to a Hearing Officer
appointed by the FINRA Office of Hearing Officers
pursuant to the NASD Rule 9700 Series. The request for
an appeal hearing must be received by the Office of
Hearing Officers at least two days prior to the
scheduled removal of the security, together with
evidence that the issuer has paid a $4,000 hearing fee.
A hearing request will stay the removal of the issuer’s
securities from the OTCBB, pending the Hearing Officer’s
decision. . Unless otherwise ordered by the Hearing
Officer, hearings will be conducted via telephone. The
Office of Hearing Officers will provide the issuer at
least 5 business days notice of the hearing unless the
issuer waives such notice.At a brief telephonic
hearing, the Hearing Officer will determine whether the
Company’s securities are eligible for quotation on the
OTCBB under NASD Rules 6530 and 6540. The Hearing
Officer will consider only the issues of whether the
issuer’s security is then eligible for quotation on the
OTCBB and/or whether the issuer filed a complete report
by the applicable due date taking into account any
extensions pursuant to SEC Rule 12b-25. The Hearing
Officer does not have discretion to grant any extensions
of time for ineligible securities to become eligible.
- May a company appeal the Hearing Officer’s
decision?
The issuer may not appeal the decision within FINRA, but
before a Hearing Officer’s decision is issued, it is
considered and may be called for review by the National
Adjudicatory Committee (NAC). If the decision is called
for review, the NAC will issue a decision, which will
constitute the final FINRA action. Otherwise, the
Hearing Officer’s decision will be issued, and will
constitute the final FINRA action. The issuer may appeal
the final FINRA action (either the Hearing Officer’s
decision or the NAC decision, as applicable) to the SEC.
- What are the filing requirements for being on the
OTCBB?
Issuers of all securities quoted on the OTCBB are
subject to periodic reporting of financial information
to the SEC, banking, or insurance regulators. Issuers
who file with the SEC via
EDGAR are not required to submit hard copy
filings with the OTCBB or FINRA. However, the OTCBB must
receive hard copy filings for issuers which do not file
via EDGAR or those which file with other regulatory
agencies. For information on how to submit hardcopy
filings to the OTCBB,
click here.
- Are OTCBB company auditors required to be
registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight
Board (PCAOB)?
Effective October 22, 2003, auditors of all domestic
public companies must be registered with PCAOB. As
specified in Section 102 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, it
is unlawful for an auditor of a public company to issue
an audit opinion if they are not registered with PCAOB.
Filings with audit opinions of an unregistered PCAOB
auditor are considered to be incomplete and not in
compliance with Rule 6530.
- What can my company do to make sure our filings
are processed in a timely manner by FINRA?
Issuers should verify that the data included on filing
tag headers is correct, including the filing type,
fiscal year end and period end dates. In addition,
please notify FINRA of any change in your company's
fiscal year end. You may notify FINRA via email
OTCBBFeedback@finra.org.
- If Section 302 certifications are not included
in, for example, a Form 10-K or 10-Q filing, and an
amendment will be filed to include the certifications,
must the entire document be re-filed or can the
amendment include only the signature pages?
Because the certification relates to the entire Form
10-K or 10-Q filing, the amendment should include the
entire filing, not just the signature pages.
- Why is it important to notify FINRA when my
company changes its fiscal year end?
FINRA may incorrectly identify an issuer as delinquent
and append an "E" to the issuer's trading symbol if it
does not have record of a company's current fiscal year
end. Please notify FINRA immediately upon filing your
Form 8K to record a change in fiscal year end. You may
notify FINRA via email at
OTCBBFeedback@finra.org.
- Why is it important to notify FINRA when my
company first obtains or changes its Central Index Key
or CIK Code?
Because our compliance program uses this code to link to
filings made with the SEC, FINRA may incorrectly
identify an issuer as delinquent and append an "E" to
the issuer's trading symbol if it does not have record
of a company's current CIK code. Please notify FINRA
immediately upon first obtaining or changing an existing
CIK code. You may notify FINRA via email at
OTCBBFeedback@finra.org.
- Why is it important to file a Notification of
Late Filing (Form 12b-25)?
To ensure our compliance system does not identify a
company as delinquent in error, it is important that
companies file a Notification of Late Filing on or
before the filing due date. If a Notification of Late
Filing is filed after the filing due date, the company's
symbol may be appended with a "E".
- What does a fifth character "E" indicate for an
OTCBB security?
The fifth character "E" on an OTCBB trading symbol
indicates that FINRA does not have information which
demonstrates that the issuer of the security is
compliant with the filing requirements of
Rule 6530, either because the issuer is
delinquent in the required filings, has filed an
incomplete filing, or, for non-EDGAR filers, because
FINRA has not been provided a copy of the most recent
filing.
The purpose of appending an "E" to the security
symbol is to alert all interested parties that the
security will be removed from the OTCBB unless evidence
of compliance is provided prior to the end of the
applicable grace period (30 days for EDGAR filers, 60
days for non-EDGAR filers). Anyone possessing evidence
of compliance with Rule 6530 may provide that
information by contacting the
OTCBB Issuer Filings Department.
- My company filed on time, why was an "E" added to
our trading symbol?
Other possible explanations for an "E" on the trading
symbol include:
- The audit opinion is qualified or was not
provided
- No SAS-100 review was performed (quarterly
filings only)
- The required 302 Certification was not included
in the submission to the SEC
- The required 906 Certification was not included
in the submission to the SEC
- The auditor was not registered with the Public
Company Accounting Oversight Board
- The 404 opinion was not provided
- The filing header was incorrect. It is essential
that the filing type, fiscal year end and period end
dates are recorded correctly on both the cover page
and the document tags.
If the certifications are missing from your filing,
FINRA will not consider the report to be complete. You
must amend your filing to include the certifications.
Because the certification relates to the entire Form
10-K or 10-Q filing, the amendment should include the
entire filing, not just the signature pages. You should
also notify the
OTCBB Issuer Filings Department to get the
"E" removed. Please see the next FAQ for further
instructions.
- How do I get the "E" removed from my trading
symbol now that my company filings are current?
In order to demonstrate compliance with Rule 6530 and
get the "E" removed from an issuer's trading symbol,
please call the OTCBB Hotline in the
OTCBB Issuer Filings Department. Please leave
the following information on the voicemail: your name
and phone number, the company name and trading symbol,
and filng type and date submitted. It is important to
note that you will not receive a return call if
your filing compliance is confirmed. Instead, you should
check the
Daily List for confirmation that your trading
symbol will be changed to remove the "E" on the
following business date. If compliance is not
demonstrated before the publication time of the Daily
List, approximately 2:00 PM, then it may not be possible
to remove the "E" in time for the next trading day. In
that case, you should check the Daily List the day after
you call the hotline for notification that the symbol
will be changed at the opening of the market on the
second day after you made the call to demonstrate
compliance.
- How long does it take to get an "E" removed from
my trading symbol?
Generally, it takes one business day after compliance is
verified. However, depending on timing of the company's
filing and verification by FINRA. it may take two
business days.
- Can an issuer reserve a symbol?
No, symbols may not be reserved for OTC securities, nor
can we honor requests for specific issue symbols.
- What is a Form 211?
The Form 211 is the form which must be completed and
submitted to FINRA OTC Compliance Unit to initiate or
resume quotations in the OTCBB, the "Pink Sheets", or
any other comparable quotation medium pursuant to
SEC Rule 15c2-11. To view or print the Form
211, please visit our
Forms Page. A 211 Addendum Form must be
submitted in addition to the Form 211 for the OTCBB.
- After a Form 211 is filed, how long until the
security can begin quotation on the OTCBB?
There is no standard time to process a 211 and clear the
market maker to begin quoting a security on the OTCBB.
The time it takes to review a 211 may vary significantly
depending on many factors including whether or not FINRA
has to request additional information from the market
maker that submitted the form and upon how long it takes
the market maker to respond to requests for additional
information.
- How do I check the status of a Form 211 filing?
Contact the
FINRA OTC Compliance Unit. Please note that
the Form 211 review process is proprietary and, thus,
FINRA will only discuss details of the filing or review
directly with the firm that submitted the Form 211.
- Do financials submitted with the Form 211 have to
be audited?
Yes, the periodic reporting requirements under
NASD Rule 6530 require annual audits of an
OTCBB issuer's financial statements. However, current
FiNRA rules do not require the financial statements of
Pink Sheet issuers to be audited, but they should be
prepared in accordance with GAAP or, for foreign
issuers, in accordance with their home country's
accounting standards.
- Do I have to file a Form 211 for a security
delisted from NASDAQ?
A delisted NASDAQ Issuer that wishes to be quoted on the
OTCBB should contact their market makers to request that
they complete a Form 211 for review and processing. See
Delisting From NASDAQ for more information.
- Do I have to file a Form 211 for a New York Stock
Exchange or American Stock Exchange delisted security?
Yes. Prior listing on NYSE or AMEX does not exempt a
Market Maker from the Form 211 filing requirement.
- Are there trade halts in OTCBB securities?
Pursuant to
NASD Rule 6545, in circumstances in which it
is necessary to protect investors and the public
interest, NASDAQ may halt trading and quotation in
securities or American Depository Receipts ("ADRs")
included in the OTCBB if (subject to certain important
exceptions specified in the Rule):
- The OTCBB security (or the security underlying
the OTCBB ADR) is listed on a foreign market or
registered with a foreign regulatory authority, and
the foreign market or regulatory authority halts
trading in the security for regulatory or public
interest reasons;
- The OTCBB security (or the security underlying
the OTCBB ADR) is a derivative or component of a
NASDAQ-listed or an exchange-listed security, and
NASDAQ or the exchange halts trading in the
underlying security; and
- The OTCBB issuer (or the issuer of the security
underlying the OTCBB ADR) does not provide, in a
timely manner, the Financial Industry Regulatory
Association, (FINRA) with information required by
SEC Rule 10b-17.
Additionally, trading and quotation in OTCBB may be
halted if ordered by the SEC or pursuant to any other
lawful government order.
Notification of all trade and quote halts and
resumptions will be posted to the
Trade Halt section of this website.
If you would like to subscribe to automatically
receive notification of trade halts and resumptions via
email, login and create an
Email Profile (or modify your existing
profile) and then select "Trade Halts" under
Subscription types.
- How do I halt trading in my stock?
NASDAQ does not have the authority to halt trading in
OTCBB securities for the dissemination of news. Trading
in OTCBB securities can only be halted pursuant to
NASD Rule 6545.
- Why isn't my company's press release on
OTCBB.com?
OTCBB.com does not provide a facility for issuers to
post press releases directly to the site. Our news
stories come from a market data vendor. To get your
company's story displayed on OTCBB.com, please go to the
Contact Page and see
Press Release for information on who to
contact.
- Where at FINRA do I need to send my company's
press releases?
OTCBB issuers are not required to submit press releases
to FINRA or the OTCBB. Because there is no trade halt
authority for the dissemination of material news, FINRA
does not review OTCBB issuers' press releases.
- How can I get trade and quote data for OTCBB
securities?
Delayed quotes for OTCBB securities are available on the
OTC Bulletin Board Web site. For each security, site
users are able to obtain, on a 15-20 minute delayed
basis, the inside bid and ask prices, the current day's
high, low, and last sale values, cumulative share volume
for the current trading day, the previous day's closing
price, percentage change from that price, etc. To access
quote information, enter a trading symbol in the Symbol
box on the OTCBB Home Page and click on the "Get Info"
button. Individual market maker quotes are also
available by entering the trading symbol and selecting
"Level II".
Current and delayed trade and quote information are
available for OTCBB securities from some market data
vendors. Please visit our Vendor Page for information on
contacting these data vendors.
- Why don't I get Inside Quote (Best Bid and Best
Ask) Information for all OTCBB securities?
There must be at least two bid and two ask quotations to
calculate the inside market for a security. Because only
one Market Maker is required on the OTCBB and Market
Makers are permitted to post one-sided quotes and
unpriced indications of interest, there may be
securities for which inside quotes can not be
calculated.
- My order hasn't been executed yet, but I don't
see it in the quotes. Why not?
OTCBB securities are not subject to the
Limit Order Display requirements. A market
maker is not required to reflect a customer's order in
its published quotation. Limit Order Display is not the
same as Limit Order Protection (Manning) which does
apply to the OTCBB.
NASD Rule 6541 prohibits member firms from
"trading ahead" of customer limit orders that a member
accepts.
- Why can't I get a quote on an other-OTC security?
Because
other-OTC securities are not quoted on the
OTCBB, you will not be able to access quotes on these
stocks through the OTCBB.com website, the NASDAQ
Workstation, or any other NASDAQ product. If they are
quoted on the Pink Sheets, you may be able to obtain
quotes for other-OTC securities on the Pink Sheets
website at www.pinksheets.com.
- How Can I find the unit of trade for an OTC
Equity or OTCBB security?
The unit of trade for an OTC Equity security, including
OTCBB can be found by accessing the
Symbol files and
Daily Lists on the OTCBB website .
- Where can I get historical trade and quote data
for individual OTCBB securities?
The OTC Bulletin Board Web site offers several reports
on-line which contain historical trade and quote data
for OTCBB securities. Visit the
Trading Activity Reports Page to learn more
about these reports or to place an order.
- I ordered and paid for a Trading Activity Report,
but I haven't gotten the report yet. What can I do?
Most reports are emailed out within a few hours of your
order. Before you contact us about the missing report,
try this:
- Check to be certain your shopping cart is empty.
Go to the
Shopping Cart and be sure that it says
"There are no items in your cart". If it does say
that, then go on to Step #2. If there is an item in
your shopping cart, unfortunately, you did not
complete your order the first time and you will need
to resubmit your entire order. This usually happens
when a customer does not complete the final step in
the order process, which is to click the "OK"
button. Unless you click the "OK" button, your order
is never sent to OTCBB.com and consequently, your
credit card was never charged.
- Check the status of an existing order. Again, go
to your
Shopping Cart. From there, click on the
link that says "Check the status of an existing
order" and follow the instructions. OTCBB.com will
immediately email you a status report. Reports are
guaranteed to be sent within 48 hours, please give
us that long before you notify us that you haven't
received your report.
If you try both of these things and still haven't
received a report that is overdue, please contact us at
OTCBBFeedback@finra.org.
- I got an email saying the Trading Activity Report
I ordered was attached, but there's no attachement. What
happened?
The most likely scenario is that file was stripped by
your email server. If this is the case, contact us at
OTCBBFeedback@finra.org and request that the
file be resent. In the future you should be sure to
order reports in a .zip format.
For security reasons, many email servers will not
accept certain types of files and attachments. For that
reason, when you order a report from OTCBB.com, you are
given a choice in file types. All of the files that we
send via email are zipped for greater efficiency. You
have the opportunity to select .zip or .exe. Although
.zip files require you to have the WinZip tool to unzip
them for use, most email servers will permit .zip files.
Self-extracting (.exe) files, while more convenient
because they don't require you to have Winzip to use the
files, are often suspect and frequently stripped by a
recipient's email servers.
- How do I get the PDF files to work?
You will need to download
Adobe Reader if you don't already have it, or you
have an older version. But once you do, you won't
believe the clarity and precision you'll get reading and
printing these documents. There are further instructions
on the Adobe website.
- How do I read the download files on this website?
Download files can be one of the following types:
- pipe-delimited text (.txt) format files (OTCBB
Symbol Directory, Daily List, Monthly Share Volume,
etc.);
- self-extracting ZIP (.exe) files that expand
into pipe-delimited text format files (Monthly Share
Volume Report, Market Maker List, Other-OTC Symbol
Directory, etc.).
To download the text download files (files with
.txt):
- After you select to download a file, a page will
appear with pipe-delimited ( | ) text.
- This information will need to be saved to your
computer. Select File from the menu bar, then
select the Save As... option
- Within the Save As dialog box, save the
file to a directory that you will remember.
- You can now import the data into a spreadsheet
or database. The MS Excel Wizard is an excellent way
to see the data in a spreadsheet (detailed
directions below). Just remember the data is
Delimited not Fixed Length, and it's delimited by a
| (pipe).
To expand the ZIP files (files with .exe):
- When prompted by the browser, save the file to a
directory you will remember.
- After the file has been saved, open Windows
Explorer and find the file that was saved.
- Double click on the ZIP file to start the
expansion process.
- When the WinZIP Self-Extractor dialog box
appears, type in the directory where you want the
text file to be saved or accept the directory shown.
Click on the Unzip button.
- A dialog box will appear when the expansion has
been completed. Click on OK when prompted.
- Exit from the WinZIP Self-Extractor.
- You will find the unzipped file in the directory
you chose to save it in in Step 4 above.
Follow these instructions for importing into MS
Excel.
- Open Excel and make certain you are on a new
worksheet
- Go to the Data Menu and select Get
External Data.
- At the Get External Data menu, select
Import Text File...
- In the Import Text File window that appears,
locate the file you just saved to your computer.
Select it and click Import.
- A "Text Import Wizard Box Step 1 of 3" window
will appear.
- Make certain the the Original data type selected
is "Delimited" and click the Next button to move on
to Step 2.
- In the delimiters section of this window, make
sure that ONLY the "Other" option is checked.
- In the box next to Other, type a pipe(|) and
click the Next button to move on to Step 3. To type
a pipe, hit Shift on your keyboard and
simultaneously hit the key above the Enter key. You
should notice that this shifts the data in the
preview pane into neat columns.
- Step 3 allows you to select each column and set
the Data Format. You should not need to perform this
additional step to view the files from OTCBB.com.
Just click on the "finish" button.
- You will then be prompted to specify where you
want to put the data. If there is no data on the
open worksheet, select "OK".
- How do I get the Daily List using a File Transfer
Protocol (FTP)?
The Daily
List can be downloaded using a File Transfer
Protocol (FTP). Many Internet browsers allow you to
establish FTP sessions, and most operating systems (for
example, Windows NT, Windows 95, etc.) have built-in
applications. The Daily List data can be obtained -as a
text file- on a daily basis using any of these programs
and standard instructions for each follow.
Using a Web Browser
- In the "Address Entry" field, type the domain
name: ftp://ftp.otcbb.com
- No login is required.
- Press "Enter".
- The list of available files will appear. The
file name itself is the link for the download.
- Click on the link and the file contents will
appear.
- Select the menu item "File", and then "Save As".
- Change the file name, if desired, and click
"Close".
Using An Operating System's Built-In Application
(Windows NT and Windows 95)
- Double click on "Make New Session".
- A dialog box will appear (If the Wizard dialog
box appears, click on "Cancel"). Type ftp.otcbb.com
in the "Host Name" field.
- Select the Anonymous Session check box. The user
name will appear as "anonymous" and the password as
"guest."
- Click the "Connect" button.
- A list of files will display. Double click on
any file to see its contents.
- Highlight the file you need and click the "Copy"
button.
- Select the directory where you would like the
file to be located and then, click the "Paste"
button. The file will appear in the directory you
have chosen.
- How do I get the Closing report using a File
Transfer Protocol (FTP)?
Closing Report Retired
- I subscribed to the Daily List Email
Notification, but I get multiple emails each day when I
only want one. What can I do about it?
The Daily List notification email is pushed out whenever
there is updated information to the Daily List. Although
the bulk of the information is published at 2:00 P.M.
EST, updates can occur every half hour throughout the
day. The Daily List is a publication intended primarily
for market data vendors. They use the information to
program their systems to receive market data, including
quotes and last sale information, so it is important
that updated information is provided as soon as it
becomes available. If the multiple emails are an
inconvenience to you, but you are still interested in
the information the Daily List provides, we suggest you
unsubscribe from the email service and visit the Daily
List page on OTCBB.com when it is convenient for you.
- My email subscription was deleted and I stopped
getting emails, how can I continue my subscription?
The most likely answer is that you did not respond to a
confirmation email and your subscription was deleted.
OTCBB.com has a subscription validation procedure in
place to validate email addresses and ensure that we are
not sending unwanted email or wasting resources sending
emails to addresses that are no longer valid. As a
result, when you initially subscribe to get emails from
OTCBB.com, and then again every six months thereafter,
you will receive an email asking you to confirm your
subscription within 5 days. If you do not respond in
that period of time, your profile will automatically be
deleted. To renew your subscription, create another
email profile on OTCBB.com and follow the
instructions in the confirmation email from
OTCBBFeedback.
- Can I create a hyperlink on my company's website
to OTCBB.com?
Yes. You are welcome to create a hyperlink to OTCBB.com.
However, the hyperlink must refer only to the OTC
Bulletin Board® or OTCBB. See
Terminology for the correct way to reference
the OTCBB. To set up a hyperlink directly linking to
your company's quote on OTCBB.com, use the following
url:
http://www.otcbb.com/asp/Info_Center.asp?symbol=xxxx
(xxxx = your company's trading symbol).
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