6820. Clock Synchronization

(a) Clock Synchronization

(1) Each Industry Member shall synchronize its Business Clocks, other than such Business Clocks used solely for Manual Order Events or used solely for the time of allocation on Allocation Reports, at a minimum to within a fifty (50) millisecond tolerance of the time maintained by the atomic clock of the National Institute of Standards and Technology ("NIST"), and maintain such synchronization.

(2) Each Industry Member shall synchronize (A) its Business Clocks used solely for Manual Order Events and (B) its Business Clocks used solely for the time of allocation on Allocation Reports at a minimum to within a one second tolerance of the time maintained by the NIST atomic clock, and maintain such synchronization.

(3) The tolerance for paragraph (a)(1) and (2) of this Rule includes all of the following:

(A) The difference between the NIST atomic clock and the Industry Member's Business Clock;

(B) The transmission delay from the source; and

(C) The amount of drift of the Industry Member's Business Clock.

(4) Business Clocks must be synchronized every business day before market open to ensure that timestamps for Reportable Events are accurate. To maintain clock synchronization, Business Clocks must be checked against the NIST atomic clock and re-synchronized, as necessary, throughout the day.

(b) Documentation

Industry Members must document and maintain their synchronization procedures for Business Clocks. Industry Members must keep a log of the times when they synchronize their Business Clocks and the results of the synchronization process. This log should include notice of any time a Business Clock drifts more than the applicable tolerance specified in paragraph (a) of this Rule. Such log must include results for a period of not less than five years ending on the then current date, or for the entire period for which the Industry Member has been required to comply with this Rule if less than five years.

(c) Certification

Each Industry Member shall certify to FINRA that its Business Clocks satisfy the synchronization requirements set forth in paragraph (a) of this Rule periodically in accordance with the certification schedule established by the Operating Committee pursuant to the CAT NMS Plan.

(d) Violation Reporting

Each Industry Member with Business Clocks must report to the Plan Processor and FINRA violations of paragraph (a) of this Rule pursuant to the thresholds set by the Operating Committee pursuant to the CAT NMS Plan.

Adopted by SR-FINRA-2017-003 eff. March 15, 2017.