SEC Form ADV Annual Updates (Rule 204-1)

SEC Form ADV Annual Updates (Rule 204-1) requires every registered investment adviser to amend Form ADV at least annually, filing the “annual updating amendment” within 90 days after fiscal year-end, and to amend more often when the Form ADV instructions require. Operationalize it with a filing calendar, a documented update workflow, and retained proof of what changed and what you filed. (17 CFR 275.204-1; Form ADV Instructions)

Key takeaways:

• File the annual updating amendment within 90 days after your fiscal year-end. (17 CFR 275.204-1)
• Update Form ADV more frequently when triggered by the Form ADV instructions (for example, material changes). (Form ADV Instructions; 17 CFR 275.204-1)
• Keep an audit-ready package: drafts, approvals, filing confirmation, and a change log mapped to data sources. (Form ADV Instructions)

A late or inaccurate Form ADV annual updating amendment is a preventable compliance failure that exam teams can validate quickly. Rule 204-1 is operationally simple on paper: amend Form ADV at least annually within 90 days of fiscal year-end, and amend more frequently when the Form ADV instructions require. (17 CFR 275.204-1; Form ADV Instructions) The work is in execution: coordinating data owners (AUM, affiliates, custody, disciplinary history, service providers, private fund information), controlling versioning, and proving that the filed Form ADV matches your actual business and disclosures.

For a CCO or GRC lead, the fastest path is to treat Form ADV updates like a controlled reporting process: define ownership by section, set internal deadlines before the filing deadline, require documented review/approvals, and retain evidence that supports each response. This page gives requirement-level guidance you can implement quickly: applicability, step-by-step process, evidence to retain, common exam questions, and common mistakes that create findings. References are limited to the rule and the Form ADV instructions. (17 CFR 275.204-1; Form ADV Instructions)

Regulatory text

Operator requirement (plain English): You must amend your Form ADV at least annually, within 90 days of the end of your fiscal year, and you must amend more frequently when required by the instructions to Form ADV. (17 CFR 275.204-1; Form ADV Instructions)

What this means in practice:

• Annual baseline filing: Once each year, submit an annual updating amendment through the IARD process for Form ADV. The filing must occur within the required post–fiscal year-end window. (17 CFR 275.204-1)
• Event-driven updates: You also file other-than-annual amendments when the Form ADV instructions say updates are required (commonly triggered by material changes, but rely on the instructions for the exact triggers and timing). (Form ADV Instructions; 17 CFR 275.204-1)

Plain-English interpretation (what you are being held to)

Examiners generally evaluate three things:

1. Timeliness: Did you file your annual updating amendment within the required window after fiscal year-end? (17 CFR 275.204-1)
2. Completeness/accuracy: Do your Form ADV responses match reality across operations, clients, assets, affiliations, service providers, and disciplinary information? (Form ADV Instructions)
3. Controls and evidence: Can you show a repeatable process (calendar + workflow + approvals) and support for the key fields that drive investor and regulator understanding? (Form ADV Instructions)

If your ADV is stale, incomplete, or inconsistent with other materials (client agreements, marketing materials, website statements, custody posture, service provider lists), you create exam friction and elevate the risk of a deficiency letter.

Who it applies to (entity and operational context)

Applies to: Registered Investment Advisers (RIAs) that file Form ADV and are subject to amendments under Rule 204-1. (17 CFR 275.204-1)

Operationally relevant teams and systems:

• Compliance: owns the process, interpretations, approvals, and final submission.
• Finance/Operations: fiscal year-end confirmation, AUM reporting inputs, client counts, fee arrangements.
• Legal: entity/affiliate structure, disciplinary disclosures, advisory contract terms.
• Portfolio Management/Trading: strategies, product changes, use of derivatives/borrowing where relevant to disclosures.
• Investor Relations / Client Service: brochure delivery coordination for Part 2 materials as required by instructions. (Form ADV Instructions)
• Third parties: fund administrators, custodians, prime brokers, and technology providers supply data that can affect responses. Treat these as third-party dependencies in your timeline.

What you actually need to do (step-by-step)

1) Establish your filing calendar and internal deadlines

• Confirm fiscal year-end used for ADV reporting and document it in your compliance calendar. (17 CFR 275.204-1)
• Set internal milestones backward from the filing deadline: data cut, first draft, functional review, compliance review, executive sign-off, and submission.
• Add trigger monitoring for “other-than-annual” amendments driven by instruction-based changes (for example, changes that require prompt updates). (Form ADV Instructions; 17 CFR 275.204-1)

Practical control: Maintain a recurring calendar event and task list that explicitly references the annual updating amendment requirement and internal due dates. (17 CFR 275.204-1)

2) Create a Form ADV “data owner map”

Build a table that assigns each major ADV section to a data owner and named backup. Include:

• Field/section reference (Part 1A / Part 2A / Part 2B as applicable)
• Data owner (Finance, Legal, Compliance, Operations)
• System/source of truth (CRM, portfolio accounting, fund admin reports)
• Evidence required (reports, screenshots, signed attestations)
• Review/approver

This is how you prevent “everyone thought someone else had it.”

3) Run a structured annual update cycle

Use a checklist-driven workflow:

1. Kickoff: confirm scope, known business changes since last filing, and any planned changes that may require amendments. (Form ADV Instructions)
2. Extract data from systems and third parties; save point-in-time reports used for responses.
3. Draft updates to Form ADV and brochure language as needed, tracking redlines from prior year.
4. Perform consistency checks across:
   • Form ADV vs client agreements
   • Form ADV vs marketing/website statements
   • Form ADV vs actual service providers and custody posture (as described in your materials)
   • Form ADV vs organizational chart and affiliate list These checks are operational, but the triggers and expectations come from the instructions’ requirement that responses be updated as required. (Form ADV Instructions)
5. Review and approvals: collect written approvals (Compliance, Legal, and a business owner).
6. Submit via IARD and save submission confirmation.
7. Post-filing actions: distribute updated brochure(s) and supplements if required by the instructions, and retain delivery evidence. (Form ADV Instructions)

4) Implement event-driven amendment monitoring

Annual updates are not enough if the instructions require more frequent updates. (Form ADV Instructions; 17 CFR 275.204-1) Operationalize triggers with:

• Change intake channel: a simple “Regulatory disclosure change” ticket type in your GRC tool (or a shared intake form) routed to Compliance.
• Standing monthly certification: business heads attest whether any reportable changes occurred (affiliations, disciplinary events, service provider changes, new products, custody posture shifts).
• Pre-launch review gate: new products, new client types, new fee models, or new third-party arrangements trigger an ADV impact assessment before go-live.

5) Document the process as a control (so you can defend it)

Write a short procedure (one to two pages) that states:

• Filing cadence and deadline requirements (annual within the rule’s window; other-than-annual as required). (17 CFR 275.204-1; Form ADV Instructions)
• Roles/responsibilities and approvers
• Evidence list (what you retain and where)
• Escalation path for missed internal deadlines or disputed disclosures

Daydream (or any GRC workflow) fits naturally here as the system of record for tasks, approvals, and evidence packaging. The value is audit-ready traceability: who certified what, when, and based on which source documents.

Required evidence and artifacts to retain

Retain an “ADV annual update package” that stands on its own:

• Filed copies of Form ADV Part 1A and relevant Parts 2A/2B versions filed/delivered. (Form ADV Instructions)
• Submission confirmation from the filing system (timestamped).
• Change log from prior year: what changed, why, who approved.
• Data source backups (point-in-time reports) supporting key responses (AUM inputs, client counts, private fund lists, disciplinary questionnaires).
• Internal approvals (Compliance + Legal + business sign-off).
• Brochure delivery records where required by the instructions (method, date, recipient population). (Form ADV Instructions)
• Trigger assessments for interim amendments: intake tickets, analysis, decision, and (if applicable) proof of filing. (Form ADV Instructions)

Common exam/audit questions and hangups

Expect questions like:

• “Show me your last annual updating amendment and proof it was filed on time.” (17 CFR 275.204-1)
• “What changed since the last amendment, and how did you determine whether an interim amendment was required?” (Form ADV Instructions)
• “Who owns the inputs for Part 1A disclosures, and what evidence supports them?” (Form ADV Instructions)
• “How do you ensure the brochure and supplement reflect current practices?” (Form ADV Instructions)
• “How do you control third-party inputs (administrator/custodian reports) and validate accuracy before filing?”

Hangups commonly occur where firms cannot recreate the basis for an answer because they updated the form directly without retaining the supporting reports.

Frequent implementation mistakes (and how to avoid them)

1. Treating the filing as a “once-a-year form exercise.”
   Fix: run a trigger-based interim amendment process tied to business change management. (Form ADV Instructions; 17 CFR 275.204-1)

2. Missing the deadline because fiscal year-end is unclear or changed.
   Fix: document fiscal year-end, link it to the compliance calendar, and require Finance confirmation during kickoff. (17 CFR 275.204-1)

3. No evidence trail for key figures.
   Fix: save point-in-time reports and a change log; require data owner attestations before filing. (Form ADV Instructions)

4. Inconsistent disclosures across ADV, marketing, and client agreements.
   Fix: add a required cross-document consistency check step and make Marketing/IR a formal reviewer for statements that overlap.

5. Over-reliance on one person (single point of failure).
   Fix: define backups per section and store drafts/evidence in a shared, access-controlled repository.

Enforcement context and risk implications

No public enforcement cases were provided in the source catalog for this requirement, so this page does not list specific cases. Practically, deficiencies around late or inaccurate ADV amendments can escalate regulatory risk because Form ADV is a primary disclosure document and a foundational dataset exam teams use to scope reviews. Tie this requirement to your broader compliance program obligations and disclosure controls described in the Form ADV instructions. (Form ADV Instructions)

Practical 30/60/90-day execution plan

Day 0–30: Get control of deadlines and ownership

• Stand up a compliance calendar entry for the annual updating amendment deadline tied to fiscal year-end. (17 CFR 275.204-1)
• Build the Form ADV data owner map and evidence list. (Form ADV Instructions)
• Create the interim amendment intake workflow and assign triage responsibility. (Form ADV Instructions)

Day 31–60: Build repeatable workflow and evidence discipline

• Write and approve the Form ADV amendment procedure (annual + other-than-annual). (17 CFR 275.204-1; Form ADV Instructions)
• Implement checklists in your GRC tool (Daydream) or equivalent: tasks, reviewers, and evidence requirements.
• Pilot a “mock update” on one high-change section to validate data sourcing and evidence retention.

Day 61–90: Operationalize monitoring and management reporting

• Launch monthly change attestations from business owners focused on instruction-based triggers. (Form ADV Instructions)
• Add an ADV impact check to product launch, marketing review, and major third-party onboarding.
• Produce a simple management report: upcoming filing deadline, open inputs, and interim amendment assessments completed.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do we only need to update Form ADV once per year?

No. You must amend at least annually, and you must amend more frequently when the Form ADV instructions require it. (17 CFR 275.204-1; Form ADV Instructions)

What is the filing deadline for the annual updating amendment?

The annual updating amendment must be filed within 90 days of the end of your fiscal year. (17 CFR 275.204-1)

What evidence should we keep to prove our Form ADV answers were accurate?

Keep the filed versions, submission confirmation, a change log, approvals, and point-in-time reports or attestations that support key inputs. (Form ADV Instructions)

Who should “own” the Form ADV update inside the firm?

Compliance should own the process and final submission, but each major section needs a named business data owner and backup (Finance, Legal, Operations, IR). (Form ADV Instructions)

How do we monitor when an interim amendment is required?

Use a trigger-based process: a change intake ticket, a monthly business attestation, and an ADV impact check embedded into product launches and major operational changes. (Form ADV Instructions)

What do examiners usually ask for first?

Expect requests for your Form ADV filings (Parts 1A and 2 materials as applicable), a filing calendar/checklist, and brochure delivery records where required by the instructions. (Form ADV Instructions)