Arbitrator's Guide

The Arbitrator's Guide provides arbitrators important information and access to the forms necessary to complete their assignments.

This guide contains general information about FINRA, tips for contacting staff in the four regional offices by email and important information about an arbitrator's duties and obligations. The Arbitrator's Guide also contains resources to help you learn about special procedures for arbitrations conducted in California, Florida and New Jersey. These states have unique laws that govern proceedings conducted or decided within their boundaries.

The Arbitrator's Guide is available in PDF format. We encourage you to review the Arbitrator's Guide, and refer to it frequently during your service in our forum.

• The Arbitrator's Guide
  FINRA developed the new Arbitrator's Guide (Guide) to provide arbitrators with a single resource for case guidance. It replaces the Arbitrator's Reference Guide and the SICA Arbitrator's Manual and focuses on the procedures specific to arbitrations administered by FINRA.
• Simplified Cases
  Because the rules that govern simplified (paper or small claims) proceedings are different from those that govern other cases, FINRA designed a special frequently asked questions section within the Arbitrator's Guide to address issues specific to simplified cases.

Need Help?

For help logging into the DR Portal, call FINRA Support Center at (301) 590-6500. For other technical difficulties, call (800) 700-7065.

For case-related questions, please contact the regional office assigned to your case.

FINRA’s website can be read in languages other than English, by using a translation service.

Arbitration parties may request a financial hardship waiver of filing and interpretation fees.

All Dispute Resolution hearing locations are open for in-person proceedings.