Securities Lawyer's Deskbook                          published by The University of Cincinnati College of Law

Rule 0-12 -- Commission Procedures for Filing Applications for Orders for Exemptive Relief Pursuant to Section 36 of the Exchange Act

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1. The application shall be in writing in the form of a letter, must include any supporting documents necessary to make the application complete, and otherwise must comply with Rule 0-3. All applications must be submitted to the Office of the Secretary of the Commission. Requestors may seek confidential treatment of their applications to the extent provided under §200.81 of this chapter. If an application is incomplete, the Commission, through the Division handling the application, may request that the application be withdrawn unless the applicant can justify, based on all the facts and circumstances, why supporting materials have not been submitted and undertakes to submit the omitted materials promptly.
   
   
2. An applicant may submit a request electronically in standard electronic mail text or ASCII format. The electronic mailbox to use for these applications is described on the Commission's website at www.sec.gov in the "Exchange Act Exemptive Applications" subsection located under the "Current SEC Rulemaking" section. In the event electronic mailboxes are revised in the future, applicants can find the appropriate mailbox by accessing the Commission's website directory of electronic mailboxes at http:// www.sec.gov/asec/mailboxs.htm.
   
   
3. An applicant also may submit a request in paper format. Five copies of every paper application and every amendment to such an application must be submitted to the Office of the Secretary at 450 Fifth Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20549. Applications must be on white paper no larger than 8 1/2 by 11 inches in size. The left margin of applications must be at least 1 1/2 inches wide, and if the application is bound, it must be bound on the left side. All typewritten or printed material must be on one side of the paper only and must be set forth in black ink so as to permit photocopying.
   
   
4. Every application (electronic or paper) must contain the name, address and telephone number of each applicant and the name, address, and telephone number of a person to whom any questions regarding the application should be directed. The Commission will not consider hypothetical or anonymous requests for exemptive relief. Each applicant shall state the basis for the relief sought, and identify the anticipated benefits for investors and any conditions or limitations the applicant believes would be appropriate for the protection of investors. Applicants should also cite to and discuss applicable precedent.
   
   
5. Amendments to the application should be prepared and submitted as set forth in these procedures and should be marked to show what changes have been made.
   
   
6. After the filing is complete, the applicable Division will review the application. Once all questions and issues have been answered to the satisfaction of the Division, the staff will make an appropriate recommendation to the Commission. After consideration of the recommendation by the Commission, the Commission's Office of the Secretary will issue an appropriate response and will notify the applicant. If the application pertains to a section of the Exchange Act pursuant to which the Commission has delegated its authority to the appropriate Division, the Division Director or his or her designee will issue an appropriate response and notify the applicant.
   
   
7. The Commission, in its sole discretion, may choose to publish in the Federal Register a notice that the application has been submitted. The notice would provide that any person may, within the period specified therein, submit to the Commission any information that relates to the Commission action requested in the application. The notice also would indicate the earliest date on which the Commission would take final action on the application, but in no event would such action be taken earlier than 25 days following publication of the notice in the Federal Register.
   
   
8. The Commission may, in its sole discretion, schedule a hearing on the matter addressed by the application.

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