Marking a major shift in the administration of the IAR CE program, the North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) emailed approved IAR CE providers Tuesday saying it would take a more active role in managing reviews of continuing education content effective January 1, 2026. This is a 2025 NASAA IAR CE news alert. NASAA’s email to approved providers elevates NASAA staff’s role in the daily operations of the IAR CE program. 

Currently, reviews of IAR CE courses and instructors are outsourced by NASAA to Prometric, Inc., a global provider of test development, delivery, and enforcement of licensure, certification, and admissions programs. Headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland, Prometric outsources day‑to‑day management of providers and their submissions to an independent education consultant and other subcontractors to maintain the IAR CE system. NASAA plays an oversight role, with staff attorneys directly handling queries and complaints from IARs.

A Major Shift in Administration of IAR CE Program

NASAA’s takeover of the review process, and management of the system supporting IAR transcript records utilizing FINRA’s FinPro platform for investment advisers, holds potential to improve the efficiency of an administrative bulwark NASAA built to organize its state-government system for regulating IARs and small RIAs.

NASAA will assume a central role in the Investment Adviser Representative (IAR) Continuing Education (CE) program beginning in 2026, replacing much of the outsourced review work previously handled by Prometric. A new Application Management System (AMS) will manage submissions, reviews, and public course discovery, with the goal of greater transparency, speed, and consistency. Below is a guide to what’s changing, why it matters, and how IARs and CE providers can prepare.

Expect No New IAR CE in 1Q 2026

Beginning in January 2026, NASAA is transitioning CE application intake and review to its new AMS platform and bringing day‑to‑day management in‑house. Prometric—long responsible for reviewing courses and instructors through a network of subcontractors—will continue processing applications through January 31, 2026. The system will be shut down to new programs while data is migrated and configurations are finalized. The AMS will go live in early March 2026. The aim: a single, modern system where providers submit courses and instructors, and where IARs view the latest approved 2025 NASAA IAR CE by filtering a public catalog.

The Importance of the NASAA Process Update

Here are three reasons this administrative shift matters to IARs:

• Transparency: A centralized AMS gives IARs a way to see the latest approved classes from all providers—functionality not readily available today from public catalogs.
• Efficiency: Streamlined intake, clearer data fields, and standardized workflows should cut cycle time and rework, letting providers focus more on course quality and less on administrivia.
• Scalability: Outsourcing helped NASAA build and launch the initial IAR CE infrastructure. With broad adoption now in place, moving operations to NASAA staff is a practical, cost‑effective way to scale the 2025 NASAA IAR CE program.

NASAA’s Historical Role in Regulation

NASAA was founded in 1919 to support enforcement of state “blue sky” laws and protect investors from fraud. While NASAA is neither a federally empowered regulator nor a self‑regulatory organization like FINRA, it occupies an unusual, influential place in the U.S. regulatory framework. Using NASAA staff in day‑to‑day operations is a practical step to meet growing responsibilities.

Key milestones relevant to 2025 NASAA IAR CE:

• 1997 (NSMIA): States took primary responsibility for smaller RIAs and their representatives, while SEC preemption clarified federal coverage for larger advisers.
• 2012 (Dodd‑Frank): The practical SEC threshold moved to $100 million AUM, creating “mid‑sized advisers” generally overseen by the states.
• 2022 (IAR CE): NASAA’s model rule established 12 annual hours (including six in ethics/professional responsibility), toughening ethics expectations and harmonizing standards for financial consumers nationwide.

Although NASAA has a history of growing with state regulators, tasking NASAA staff with running the daily operations of the IAR CE program take the association to a new level. It's now playing a central role in regulation of investment advisers and, thus, professionals who own RIAs or are IARs, and it is more like a government agency.      

NASAA’s Own Application Management System (AMS)

NASAA’s email to providers says the AMS is designed as the system of record for IAR CE and enables:

• Unified submissions: Course and instructor applications flow through a single database with standardized data for reports to IARs, consumers, and regulators.
• Real‑time visibility: Providers can view their full application inventory and status; regulators can triage approvals systematically.
• Integration touchpoints: The system aligns with downstream reporting, including FinPro transcript workflows, to minimize manual reconciliations.
• Public catalog: IARs get easier discovery of relevant 2025 NASAA IAR CE content and will be able to filter by topic, credit type, and provider.

If implemented well, the AMS will lower administrative burden while elevating the quality of IAR CE through clearer expectations and feedback loops.

Transition Timeline

Plan around these dates:

• Through January 31, 2026: Prometric continues reviewing course and instructor applications.
• Early February–Early March 2026: 5–6 weeks of downtime for data migration and final AMS setup; new applications will not be accepted during this window.
• Early March 2026: AMS goes live; providers resume submissions in the new system.

To be clear, providers won’t be able to submit new 2026 IAR CE for approval until early March 2026. With the current 30‑day review policy, IAR CE content in February and early March 2026 may be thin. Expect limited availability at some providers and plan your 2025 NASAA IAR CE completions accordingly.

Implications for IARs

• Requirements remain: 12 hours annually, with six in ethics/professional responsibility.
• Discovery improves: The public catalog should make it easier to find current, approved 2025 NASAA IAR CE by topic and credit type.
• Fewer surprises: More predictable provider scheduling and clearer course labeling help you plan CE across the year.

The Outlook for IAR Continuing Education

The AMS is a timely modernization that can deliver real benefits:

• Faster cycles: Clearer criteria and consolidated workflows should shrink review times.
• Better alignment: Model rules, consistent metadata, and improved reporting help align CE supply with IAR demand.
• Stronger outcomes: Emphasis on ethics and professional responsibility supports better client outcomes and firm culture across the 2025 NASAA IAR CE landscape.

Risks remain. Any new system can introduce unintended consequences. Three years after the model CE rule first became effective in 2022, NASAA’s oversight of IAR education has been largely successful. Its takeover of provider, instructor, and course reviews/approvals is likely to improve compliance and learning—assuming steady execution and support.

Conclusion: Embracing Change

NASAA’s transition to in‑house oversight and the introduction of the AMS represent a substantive upgrade to IAR CE governance. With Prometric handling reviews through January 31, 2026, and the AMS expected to go live in early March, Advisors4Advisors is prepared to keep IARs updated with high‑quality IAR CE content. For IARs, the path forward is simple: before every class, confirm it has an IAR CE Course ID number; plan a steady cadence; track completions quarterly in FinPro; and use the new catalog as soon as it goes live.

Bottom line: if NASAA executes on transparency and speed, the CE process becomes easier to navigate, more reliable at year‑end, and more valuable to the profession it serves. Embrace the change—and set yourself up now to take full advantage when the AMS arrives.