The Crowdfunding Professional Association (CfPA) has introduced a new industry Best Practice designed to help companies raising capital under Regulation Crowdfunding better understand their ongoing SEC reporting responsibilities.
Companies that sell securities through Regulation Crowdfunding are generally required to file an annual report on Form C-AR within 120 days of the end of their fiscal year and post the report on their website. Annual reporting continues until the company qualifies to terminate its reporting obligation under SEC rules and files Form C-TR.
While compliance with these requirements remains the responsibility of the company—not the funding portal or broker-dealer that facilitated the offering—CfPA believes the industry can help reduce inadvertent noncompliance by making these obligations clear before an offering begins.
Under the new Best Practice, CfPA encourages Reg CF intermediaries to consider incorporating an acknowledgment of ongoing reporting responsibilities into their issuer agreements or client interfaces. CfPA has also developed sample issuer acknowledgment language that intermediaries can adapt in consultation with their legal and compliance advisors.
The acknowledgment highlights several important post-offering responsibilities, including filing required Form C-U progress updates, filing Form C-AR annually, posting the Annual Report on the issuer's website, and continuing annual reporting until the issuer satisfies the requirements for termination and files Form C-TR.
The initiative also follows recent SEC staff guidance concerning issuers that use crowdfunding vehicles. In July 2026, SEC staff clarified that, for purposes of one of the tests for terminating annual reporting, an issuer using a qualifying crowdfunding vehicle must look through the vehicle and count the underlying investors. The clarification makes continued awareness of post-offering reporting requirements particularly important for companies using these structures.
DealMaker Securities, Invown, and BioTech Funding Portal are the initial intermediaries recognized by CfPA as adopters of the Best Practice. CfPA is encouraging additional funding portals and broker-dealers to consider adopting it.
The initiative represents a broader role for CfPA in developing voluntary, practical industry standards for Regulated Investment Crowdfunding. Rather than shifting legal responsibility to intermediaries, the goal is to establish clearer expectations, improve issuer awareness, promote transparency for investors, and strengthen confidence in the regulated crowdfunding marketplace.
Read the full CfPA C-AR Annual Reporting Best Practice and sample issuer acknowledgment language.
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