Statistics & Data Visualizations
Municipal Advisors
Aug. 8, 2025
Section 975 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act amended Section 15B of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (“Exchange Act”) to add a new requirement that “municipal advisors” (MAs) register with the Commission, effective October 1, 2010. On September 20, 2013, the Commission adopted final rules for municipal advisor registration (“Final Rules”). The Final Rules became effective on July 1, 2014.
Under the Final Rules, municipal advisory firms, including sole proprietorships, must register with the Commission on Form MA prior to engaging in municipal advisory activities. A municipal advisory firm must also complete and file Form MA-I with respect to each natural person associated with the firm that will engage in municipal advisory activities on the firm’s behalf, including employees of the firm. Independent contractors are included in the definition of “employee” for these purposes.
SEC-registered municipal advisory firms must separately register with the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (“MSRB”) prior to engaging in municipal advisory activities (see MSRB Rule A-12), and individuals associated with SEC-registered municipal advisory firms must meet certain MSRB professional qualification requirements in order to serve as a municipal advisor representative or municipal advisor principal (see MSRB Rules G-2 and G-3). Note that the statistics on this page are limited to SEC registration requirements under the Final Rules and do not take into account whether a municipal advisory firm is registered with the MSRB, or whether individuals associated with the municipal advisory firm have met their MSRB professional qualification requirements.
Data Visualizations
Click on the link below each image to access interactive features of the graph.
Total Number of Registered MAs
(as of Oct. 1, 2015 - as of Apr. 1, 2025)
Number of Registered MAs by Size
(as of Apr. 1, 2025)
Number of Registered MAs by Location
(as of Apr. 1, 2025)
Statistics
Below are the statistics for the most recent available time period as of Apr. 1, 2025 and as of Jan. 1, 2025. The municipal advisor statistics are updated quarterly. For available statistics since Oct. 1, 2015, view Statistics Download.
| Metric | As of Jan. 1, 2025 | As of Apr. 1, 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Total number of registered MAs | 427 | 422 |
| Number of registered MAs by dual registration status | ||
| Number of dually registered MAs | 109 | 104 |
| Number of MA-only registrants | 318 | 318 |
| Number of registered MAs by solicitation activity | ||
| Number of registered MAs that are engaged in solicitation of business | 34 | 32 |
| Number of registered MAs that are not engaged in solicitation of business | 393 | 390 |
| Total number of active individuals engaged in municipal advisory activities | 3028 | 3001 |
Statistics Guide
The Guide below provides a description of each metric, calculation method, and data source. To download Statistics Guide: Municipal Advisor Statistics Guide
Description
The total number of municipal advisory firms (including sole proprietorships) with an active (i.e., not withdrawn, cancelled, or revoked) SEC registration as of a given date.
Calculation Method
The number is calculated by counting the number of SEC-registered active MAs as of a given date based on the published municipal advisor data files which are based on Form MA and Form MA-W filings from Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis, and Retrieval (EDGAR), and Commission orders cancelling or revoking municipal advisor registration. The MAs who submitted Notice of Withdrawal from Registration as a Municipal Advisor (Form MA-W) close to the as of date are included in the count if their Forms MA-W were under review by SEC staff and have not become effective as of the given date.
Data Source
EDGAR: Form MA and Form MA-W filings, and Commission orders cancelling or revoking municipal advisor registration
Description
The number of dually registered MAs and the number of MA-only registrants.
The number of dually registered MAs is the number of SEC-registered active MAs that also reported being registered as any of municipal securities dealer, broker-dealer or investment adviser as of a given date.
The number of MA-only registrants is the number of SEC-registered active MAs that reported being registered only as municipal advisor, and not registered as any of municipal securities dealer, broker-dealer or investment adviser as of the same given date.
Calculation Method
The numbers are calculated based on the information reported by registered MAs on Item 1, D (2), Part I of Form MA regarding their other registrations as any of municipal securities dealer, broker-dealer or investment adviser as of a given date. Investment adviser includes SEC-registered, exempt reporting adviser, or registered in U.S. state or other U.S. jurisdiction.
Data Source
EDGAR: Form MA and Form MA-W filings, and Commission orders cancelling or revoking municipal advisor registration
Description
The number of registered MAs that are engaged in solicitation and the number of registered MAs that are not engaged in solicitation.
The number of registered MAs that are engaged in solicitation is the number of SEC-registered active MAs that reported engaging in solicitation of investment advisory business from a municipal entity or obligated person on behalf of an unaffiliated broker, dealer, municipal advisor or investment adviser, or solicitation of business other than investment advisory business from a municipal entity or obligated person on behalf of an unaffiliated person or firm, as of a given date.
The number of registered MAs that are not engaged in solicitation is the number of SEC-registered active MAs that did not report engaging in such solicitation as of the same given date.
Calculation Method
The numbers are based on the information reported by registered MAs on Item 4, L (7) and L (8), Part I of Form MA as of a given date.
The number of registered MAs that are engaged in solicitation is estimated by counting the SEC-registered active MAs that checked Item 4, L (7) or L (8), Part I of Form MA, or both.
The number of registered MAs that are not engaged in solicitation is estimated by counting the SEC-registered active MAs that did not check Item 4, L (7) or L (8), Part I of Form MA
Data Source
EDGAR: Form MA and Form MA-W filings, and Commission orders cancelling or revoking municipal advisor registration
Description
The number of natural persons associated with SEC-registered active MAs who are engaged in municipal advisory activities as of a given date.
Calculation Method
The number is estimated by counting the number of unique individuals based on the most recent filing information on Form MA-I, and no Form MA-I amendment filed disassociating that individual as of a given date. Active individuals associated with two or more registered MAs are counted only once.
Data Source
EDGAR: Form MA, Form MA-W, Form MA-I, and Form MA-I amendment filings, and Commission orders cancelling or revoking municipal advisor registration
Description
The breakdown of SEC-registered active MAs by size characterized by the number of active individuals engaged in municipal advisory activities as of a given date.
Calculation Method
The number is calculated by counting the number of SEC-registered active MAs within each of six categories characterized by the number of active individuals engaged in municipal advisory activities as of a given date. These six size categories are 1, 2-5, 6-10, 11-20, 21-50, and more than 50 active individuals.
Although the MAs who submitted Notice of Withdrawal from Registration as a Municipal Advisor (Form MA-W) close to the as of date are included in the total number of registered MAs if their Forms MA-W were under review by SEC staff and have not become effective as of the given date, these MAs are not counted in the number of active registered MAs by size if all individuals have already disassociated from these registered MAs by submitting Forms MA-I as of the given date. Therefore, the sum of the numbers of registered MAs over the six size categories may not equal to the total number of registered MAs as of the given date.
Data Source
EDGAR: Form MA, Form MA-W, Form MA-I, and Form MA-I amendment filings, and Commission orders cancelling or revoking municipal advisor registration
Description
The number of SEC-registered active municipal advisors in each of the 50 U.S. states, the District of Columbia (“DC”), and three U.S. territories (Puerto Rico, Guam, and U.S. Virgin Islands).
Calculation Method
The number is calculated based on the most recent principal office and place of business reported by registered MAs on Item 1, E (1), Part I of Form MA as of a given date. The location includes the 50 U.S. states, DC, and three U.S. territories (Puerto Rico, Guam, and U.S. Virgin Islands).
There are registered MAs outside the U.S. and its territories, and they are not included in the data visualization of “Number of Registered Municipal Advisors by Location”.
Data Source
EDGAR: Form MA and Form MA-W filings, and Commission orders cancelling or revoking municipal advisor registration
Statistics Download
The file below contains available municipal advisor statistics since Oct. 1, 2015.
| File | Format | Size |
|---|---|---|
| Municipal Advisor Statistics | xlsx | 16.82KB |
Related Materials
- Regulatory Background:
- Text of Municipal Advisor Rule and Statutory Basis (Sept. 20, 2013)
- Final Municipal Advisor Registration Rule (Sept. 20, 2013) Federal Register Version (Nov. 12, 2013)
- Temporary Stay of Final Municipal Advisor Registration Rule (Jan. 13, 2014) Federal Register Version (Jan. 16, 2014)
- Amendments to Form MA, Form MA-I, and Instructions for the Form MA Series to Remove Provision of Certain Personally Identifiable Information (Apr. 24, 2018) Federal Register Version (May 14, 2018)
- Data:
- Additional Resources:
- The Office of Municipal Securities webpage collects additional resources related to municipal advisors (such as the Registration of Municipal Advisors Frequently Asked Questions), allows interested persons to sign up for municipal advisor-related email updates at the bottom of the page, and posts information on municipal advisor-related conferences and outreach programs hosted by the Commission (including recordings of past events)
- You may contact Office of Municipal Securities staff at (202) 551-5680 or munis@sec.gov with questions regarding the municipal advisor registration requirements
- See also: MSRB-Registered Municipal Advisor Firms and Qualified Representatives and Principals
These statistics are produced by the staff of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commission expresses no view regarding the statistics. The statistics are produced from filings on EDGAR. Staff cannot guarantee the accuracy of information provided in these filings. The statistics may change based on updated or revised data and methodology. The statistics are intended to assist the public in analyzing data contained in filings; however, they are not a substitute for such filings. Investors should review the relevant filings before making any investment decision.
Citation
URL: https://www.sec.gov/data-research/statistics-data-visualizations/municipal-advisors
Author: U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Staff
Name: SEC Statistics & Data Visualizations: Municipal Advisors
Publication Date: Aug. 12, 2025
Last Reviewed or Updated: Aug. 12, 2025