How to File a FINRA Arbitration Claim
What a claim against a brokerage firm or financial adviser takes, step by step, from the first document review to the award. Investors nationwide.
A FINRA arbitration claim starts with two documents and a filing fee, and it ends, in most cases, with a written award that must be paid within 30 days. Between those two points sit an answer, a panel, discovery, usually a mediation, and a hearing. This page walks through each step as FINRA’s own rules set it out, so an investor knows what filing a claim involves before deciding to do it. Every rule cited was read on finra.org on 16 September 2026.
Industria Business Lawyers represents investors in FINRA arbitration from every state. FINRA is a national forum, and under FINRA Rule 12208 a party may be represented there by an attorney admitted in any U.S. state.
Every matter is reviewed on its own facts. Not every loss can be pursued, and you will hear that plainly either way.
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Before You File: The Questions That Decide a Claim
Four questions decide whether a FINRA claim can be filed and what it will look like. IBL answers them from the documents before anything is drafted.
Can the firm be made to arbitrate?
Under FINRA Rule 12200 a brokerage firm must arbitrate a dispute with a customer when a written agreement requires it or when the customer requests it, so long as the dispute arises from the firm’s business activities. Nearly every brokerage account agreement contains an arbitration clause, and even without one the customer can require arbitration. Registered investment advisers and promoters who are not FINRA members are a different matter and may belong in another forum.
Is the claim still eligible?
Under FINRA Rule 12206, a claim is not eligible for arbitration once six years have passed from the occurrence or event giving rise to it. The panel decides eligibility disputes. State and federal limitation periods can be shorter and run from different events, so the dates are the first thing reviewed.
What is the claim worth, and who hears it?
The amount claimed decides the panel and the procedure. Under FINRA Rule 12800, claims of $50,000 or less are decided by a single public arbitrator on the papers unless the customer asks for a hearing. Under FINRA Rule 12401, claims over $100,000 go to a three-arbitrator panel unless the parties agree to one. Claims between those figures get one arbitrator unless the parties agree in writing to three.
What will it cost to file?
Under FINRA Rule 12900 the customer filing fee is set by a schedule that scales with the amount claimed, and FINRA may defer the fee on a showing of hardship. Hearing session fees are assessed separately and the panel decides in the award who bears them. Those are FINRA’s charges. How an engagement with IBL is structured depends on the case. Contact the firm to discuss your situation.
What does the claim need to show?
The facts, the parties, the causes of action, and the damages. In practice that means the account statements, trade confirmations, product documents, and communications, read against what the investor was told. A claim that is specific about what was promised, what was delivered, and what was lost is a claim the panel can decide.
Who are the respondents?
Usually the brokerage firm and the individual broker. Sometimes a branch supervisor, a second firm, or an issuer. Naming the right parties at the start matters, because adding parties later restarts deadlines for them under the rules.
The Filing Itself
Once the claim is ready, filing it is a defined sequence under FINRA’s Code of Arbitration Procedure for Customer Disputes.
Step 1. The Submission Agreement and the Statement of Claim. Under FINRA Rule 12302, a claimant starts an arbitration by filing with the Director of FINRA Dispute Resolution Services a signed and dated Submission Agreement and a Statement of Claim specifying the relevant facts and the remedies requested, with any supporting documents. The filing fee is paid at the same time through FINRA’s Party Portal.
Step 2. Service. Unless the claim is deficient, the Director serves it on the respondents with a Claim Notification Letter. The claimant does not have to track the firm down.
Step 3. The answer. Under FINRA Rule 12303, each respondent must serve its signed Submission Agreement and an answer specifying the relevant facts and available defences within 45 days of receiving the Statement of Claim. The answer may include counterclaims against the claimant, cross claims against other respondents, or third party claims. A respondent that does not answer in time may face default proceedings.
Step 4. Panel selection. FINRA sends the parties lists of arbitrators generated by its list selection algorithm. Each side ranks and strikes names. For claims over $100,000 the result is a three-person panel; for smaller claims, one arbitrator.
Step 5. Discovery. Under FINRA Rule 12506, the documents presumed discoverable in customer cases are set out in FINRA’s Document Production Lists, and each side must produce them within 60 days of the date the answer is due. Additional requests, objections, and motions to compel follow. This is where the firm’s supervisory records and the broker’s communications come out.
Step 6. Mediation. Voluntary, and used in many cases once each side has seen the other’s documents. A large share of customer cases resolve here.
Step 7. The hearing. Witnesses, exhibits, and argument before the panel at the hearing location FINRA assigns, generally the one nearest the customer. Simplified cases under Rule 12800 are decided on the papers unless the customer requests a hearing.
Step 8. The award. Under FINRA Rule 12904, a monetary award must be paid within 30 days of receipt unless a motion to vacate has been filed in court, and it bears interest if it is not. The grounds for vacating an award are the narrow ones in the Federal Arbitration Act, which the Supreme Court held exclusive in Hall Street Associates, L.L.C. v. Mattel, Inc., 552 U.S. 576 (2008).
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Tell Us About Your Matter
How We Work a FINRA Claim
Document Review +
Account statements for the full period, trade confirmations, the account agreement, product documents, and every written communication with the broker, read against what the investor was told.
Eligibility and Deadline Check +
The six-year FINRA rule, the federal two-and-five-year rule for securities fraud, and the state limitation period, each measured from its own starting event.
Statement of Claim +
Drafted to frame the facts, the causes of action, and the damages, with the exhibits that prove each, and filed with the Submission Agreement and fee.
Answer Review and Panel Selection +
The firm’s defences analysed, counterclaims addressed, and arbitrators ranked and struck with attention to background and prior awards.
Discovery +
Document Production Lists enforced, additional requests served, the firm’s supervisory and due-diligence files pursued, and objections argued.
Mediation +
Prepared with a damages analysis and the documents that support it, so that any settlement reflects the claim’s real value.
Hearing and Award +
Witnesses prepared, exhibits organised, and argument made; then confirmation and collection once the award is issued.
FAQ
01 • FINRA Can I file a FINRA claim myself?
Yes. Under FINRA Rule 12208 a party may represent themselves in a U.S. hearing location. Whether that is wise depends on the size and complexity of the claim; the firm on the other side will be represented.
02 • FINRA How long does a FINRA arbitration take?
It depends on the size of the claim, whether it is a simplified case, and whether the parties mediate. IBL gives an estimate for the specific claim once it has reviewed the documents, not a general figure.
03 • FINRA Where will the hearing be?
FINRA maintains hearing locations across the country and generally schedules a case in the location nearest the customer.
04 • FINRA What if the firm does not pay the award?
Under FINRA Rule 12904 a monetary award must be paid within 30 days unless a motion to vacate is filed, and it bears interest if it is not. An unpaid award can be confirmed in court and collected like a judgment.
05 • FINRA Does IBL have to be in my state?
No. FINRA is a national forum and Rule 12208 allows representation by an attorney admitted in any U.S. state. IBL represents investors nationwide.
Talk to a FINRA Arbitration Attorney
Investors nationwide. Call (202) 860-1210 or send your statements and a short description of what happened through the form. Every matter is reviewed on its own facts.
This page provides general information about FINRA arbitration and does not constitute legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Last reviewed 16 September 2026. Sources: FINRA Rules 12200, 12206, 12208, 12302, 12303, 12401, 12506, 12800, 12900, and 12904, read on finra.org; Hall Street Associates, L.L.C. v. Mattel, Inc., 552 U.S. 576 (2008).