The National Futures Association is urging Member firms to complete the final preparations for a major overhaul of its fingerprint submission process, reminding firms that they must activate a Business Information Group (BIG) account before the new system becomes mandatory on October 1, 2026.
The reminder follows Notice to Members I-26-12, issued in April, which introduced Fieldprint as NFA’s designated fingerprinting service provider. Beginning October 1, individuals required to submit fingerprints as part of the NFA registration process must do so through Fieldprint rather than mailing fingerprint cards directly to the regulator.
To help firms prepare for the transition, NFA will host a webinar titled Onboarding Fieldprint and Changes to NFA’s Fingerprint Submission Process on August 18. While attendance is free, registration is required.
Digital Fingerprinting Replaces A Paper-Based Process
Although presented as an operational update, the change represents one of the most significant modernizations of NFA’s registration process in recent years. For decades, fingerprint submissions largely relied on physical fingerprint cards that were mailed for processing, introducing delays whenever cards were damaged, incomplete or failed quality checks.
Under the new model, Fieldprint, an FBI-approved Channeler, will electronically capture fingerprints, submit them directly to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for criminal background checks and return the results to NFA electronically. According to NFA, fingerprint results are typically available in less than one hour following an appointment, substantially reducing the time required to complete one of the key steps in the registration process.
The modernization reflects a broader trend across financial regulation toward digitizing identity verification and reducing manual administrative processes while maintaining the same regulatory standards for background screening.
BIG Account Activation Is The Critical First Step
The operational challenge for firms is not the fingerprint appointment itself but the prerequisite onboarding process.
Before any associated person can schedule a fingerprinting appointment through Fieldprint, every NFA Member firm must first activate an account with Business Information Group, the company’s sister organization responsible for managing firm accounts and billing. Firms only need to complete this activation once, but without it, individuals cannot access the new fingerprinting system.
During activation, firms must review and sign BIG’s service agreement, choose whether the firm or the applicant will pay the fingerprint processing fee of $17.50 and provide the firm’s NFA identification details. BIG then issues each firm with a unique Fieldprint code, which applicants use together with the firm’s NFA ID when scheduling fingerprint appointments.
Member firms that already maintain an active BIG account are not required to repeat the onboarding process. However, they must execute an amended agreement establishing the NFA-specific service schedule before October’s implementation.
International Applicants Follow A Different Process
The new system also introduces a separate workflow for applicants located outside the United States.
Instead of scheduling an electronic appointment, international applicants will use their firm’s NFA ID and unique Fieldprint code to request a physical fingerprint card from Fieldprint. The company will ship the card via FedEx together with instructions for completing and returning the fingerprints for processing.
This approach allows NFA to centralize fingerprint processing globally while accommodating jurisdictions where electronic capture locations may not be available.
Why NFA Is Issuing Another Reminder
The regulator first announced the transition in April, giving firms a six-month implementation window before the October deadline.
With just weeks remaining before the new requirements become mandatory, NFA’s latest communication serves as a final reminder that firms should not delay account activation. While the activation process itself typically takes between 10 and 20 minutes and does not need to be completed in a single session, postponing it until late September could create unnecessary delays for firms attempting to register new associated persons after the deadline.
The August webinar is intended to walk compliance teams through the onboarding process, explain changes to the fingerprint submission workflow and answer operational questions before the transition becomes mandatory.
Part Of A Wider Compliance Modernization
Although the underlying regulatory requirement for fingerprint-based background checks remains unchanged, the new process significantly reduces the operational friction traditionally associated with paper submissions.
For futures commission merchants, introducing brokers, commodity trading advisors, commodity pool operators and other NFA-regulated firms, the move is expected to streamline employee onboarding, improve processing times and reduce administrative overhead associated with rejected or delayed fingerprint cards.
Rather than introducing new compliance obligations, the October rollout modernizes how firms satisfy an existing one. For compliance departments, however, completing the BIG account activation before October 1 will determine whether new applicants can move through the registration process without interruption once the electronic system becomes mandatory.