A business may not offer or sell securities unless the offering has been registered with the SEC or falls within an exemption from registration. Regulation D provides such an exemption.

Offerings conducted pursuant to an exemption from registration are often referred to as exempt offerings. There are multiple exemptions available for small businesses looking to raise capital from investors, including Regulation D.

Rule 504 Limited Offerings

Rule 504 Limited Offerings allow companies to raise up to $10 million in a 12-month period, in many cases from investors with whom the company has a relationship.

Rule 506(b) Private Placements

Rule 506(b) Private Placements allow companies to raise unlimited capital from investors with whom the company has a relationship and who meet certain wealth thresholds or have certain professional credentials. A company cannot use general solicitation in a 506(b) private placement.

Rule 506(c) General Solicitation Offerings

Rule 506(c) General Solicitation Offerings allow companies to raise unlimited capital by broadly soliciting investors who meet certain wealth thresholds or have certain professional credentials.

Form D is used to file a notice of an exempt offering of securities with the SEC. The federal securities laws require the notice to be filed by companies that have sold securities without registration under the Securities Act of 1933 in an offering made under Rule 504 or 506 of Regulation D or Section 4(a)(5) of the Securities Act.

A company must file this notice within 15 days after the first sale of securities in the offering. For this purpose, the date of first sale is the date on which the first investor is irrevocably contractually committed to invest. If the due date falls on a Saturday, Sunday or holiday, it is moved to the next business day. The SEC does not charge any filing fee for a Form D notice or amendment.

All security transactions, even exempt transactions, are subject to the antifraud provisions of the federal securities laws. This means that you and your company will be responsible for false or misleading statements that you or others on your behalf make regarding your company, the securities offered, or the offering. You and your company are responsible for any such statements, whether made by your company or on behalf of the company, and regardless of whether they are made orally or in writing.

The government enforces the federal securities laws through criminal, civil and administrative proceedings. Private parties also can bring actions under certain securities laws. Also, if all conditions of the exemptions are not met, purchasers may be able to return their securities and obtain a refund of their purchase price.

While the SEC regulates and enforces the federal securities laws, each state has its own securities regulator who enforces what are known as “Blue Sky” laws. If a company is selling securities, it must comply with both federal regulations and state securities laws and regulations in the states where securities are offered and sold (typically, the states where offerees and investors are based).

Under the Securities Act, if a company’s offering qualifies for certain exemptions from registration, that offering is not required to be registered or qualified by state securities regulators. Even if the offering is made under one of those exemptions, the states still have authority to investigate and bring enforcement actions for fraud, impose state notice filing requirements, and collect state fees. The failure to file, or pay filing fees regarding, any such materials may cause state securities regulators to suspend the offer or sale of securities within their jurisdiction. Companies should contact state securities regulators in the states in which they intend to offer or sell securities for further guidance on compliance with state law requirements.

Regulation D relates to transactions exempted from the registration requirements of section 5 of the Securities Act of 1933 (the Act). Such transactions are not exempt from the antifraud, civil liability, or other provisions of the federal securities laws. Issuers have an obligation to provide such further material information, if any, as may be necessary to make the information required under Regulation D, in light of the circumstances under which it is furnished, not misleading.Nothing in Regulation D obviates the need to comply with any applicable state law relating to the offer and sale of securities.

As used in Regulation D, the following term shall have the meaning indicated:

(a) Accredited investor. Accredited investor shall mean any person who comes within any of the following categories, or who the issuer reasonably believes comes within any of the following categories, at the time of the sale of the securities to that person:

Any bank as defined in section 3(a)(2) of the Act, or any savings and loan association or other institution as defined in section 3(a)(5)(A) of the Act whether acting in its individual or fiduciary capacity; any broker or dealer registered pursuant to section 15 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934; any investment adviser registered pursuant to section 203 of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 or registered pursuant to the laws of a state; any investment adviser relying on the exemption from registering with the Commission under section 203(l) or (m) of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 ; any insurance company as defined in section 2(a)(13) of the Act; any investment company registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940 or a business development company as defined in section 2(a)(48) of that act; any Small Business Investment Company licensed by the U.S. Small Business Administration under section 301(c) or (d) of the Small Business Investment Act of 1958; any Rural Business Investment Company as defined in section 384A of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act; any plan established and maintained by a state, its political subdivisions, or any agency or instrumentality of a state or its political subdivisions, for the benefit of its employees, if such plan has total assets in excess of $5,000,000; any employee benefit plan within the meaning of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 if the investment decision is made by a plan fiduciary, as defined in section 3(21) of such act, which is either a bank, savings and loan association, insurance company, or registered investment adviser, or if the employee benefit plan has total assets in excess of $5,000,000 or, if a self-directed plan, with investment decisions made solely by persons that are accredited investors;

(2) Any private business development company as defined in section 202(a)(22) of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940;

(3) Any organization described in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, corporation, Massachusetts or similar business trust, partnership, or limited liability company, not formed for the specific purpose of acquiring the securities offered, with total assets in excess of $5,000,000;

(4) Any director, executive officer, or general partner of the issuer of the securities being offered or sold, or any director executive officer, or general partner of a general partner of that issuer;

(5) Any natural person whose individual net worth, or joint net worth with that person’s spouse or spousal equivalent, exceeds $1,000,000;

(i) Except as provided in paragraph (a)(5)(ii) of this section, for purposes of calculating net worth under this paragraph (a)(5):

(A) The person’s primary residence shall not be included as an asset;

(B) Indebtedness that is secured by the person’s primary residence, up to the estimated fair market value of the primary residence at the time of the sale of securities, shall not be included as a liability (except that if the amount of such indebtedness outstanding at the time of sale of securities exceeds the amount outstanding 60 days before such time, other than as a result of the acquisition of the primary residence, the amount of such excess shall be included as a liability); and

(C) Indebtedness that is secured by the person’s primary residence in excess of the estimated fair market value of the primary residence at the time of the sale of securities shall be included as a liability;

(ii) Paragraph (a)(5)(i) of this section will not apply to any calculation of a person’s net worth made in connection with a purchase of securities in accordance with a right to purchase such securities, provided that:

(A) Such right was held by the person on July 20, 2010;

(B) The person qualified as an accredited investor on the basis of net worth at the time the person acquired such right; and,

(C) The person held securities of the same issuer, other than such right, on July 20, 2010.

Note 1 to paragraph (A)(5):
For the purposes of calculating joint net worth in this paragraph (a)(5): Joint net worth can be the aggregate net worth of the investor and spouse or spousal equivalent; assets need not be held jointly to be included in the calculation. Reliance on the joint net worth standard of this paragraph (a)(5) does not require that the securities be purchased jointly.

(6) Any natural person who had an individual income in excess of $200,000 in each of the two most recent years or joint income with that person’s spouse or spousal equivalent in excess of $300,000 in each of those years and has a reasonable expectation of reaching the same income level in the current year;

(7) Any trust, with total assets in excess of $5,000,000, not formed for the specific purpose of acquiring the securities offered, whose purchase is directed by a sophisticated person as described in § 230.506(b)(2)(ii);

(8) Any entity in which all of the equity owners are accredited investors;

Note 1 to paragraph (8):
It is permissible to look through various forms of equity ownership to natural persons in determining the accredited investor status of entities under this paragraph (a)(8). If those natural persons are themselves accredited investors, and if all other equity owners of the entity seeking accredited investor status are accredited investors, then this paragraph (a)(8) may be available.

(9) Any entity, of a type not listed in paragraph (a)(1), (2), (3), (7), or (8), not formed for the specific purpose of acquiring the securities offered, owning investments in excess of $5,000,000;

Note 1 to paragraph (A)(9):
For the purposes this paragraph (a)(9), “investments” is defined in rule 2a51-1(b) under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (17 CFR 270.2a51-1(b)).

(10) Any natural person holding in good standing one or more professional certifications or designations or credentials from an accredited educational institution that the Commission has designated as qualifying an individual for accredited investor status. In determining whether to designate a professional certification or designation or credential from an accredited educational institution for purposes of this paragraph (a)(10), the Commission will consider, among others, the following attributes:

(i) The certification, designation, or credential arises out of an examination or series of examinations administered by a self-regulatory organization or other industry body or is issued by an accredited educational institution;

(ii) The examination or series of examinations is designed to reliably and validly demonstrate an individual’s comprehension and sophistication in the areas of securities and investing;

(iii) Persons obtaining such certification, designation, or credential can reasonably be expected to have sufficient knowledge and experience in financial and business matters to evaluate the merits and risks of a prospective investment; and

(iv) An indication that an individual holds the certification or designation is either made publicly available by the relevant self-regulatory organization or other industry body or is otherwise independently verifiable;

Note 1 to paragraph (A)(10): The Commission will designate professional certifications or designations or credentials for purposes of this paragraph (a)(10), by order, after notice and an opportunity for public comment. The professional certifications or designations or credentials currently recognized by the Commission as satisfying the above criteria will be posted on the Commission’s website.

(11) Any natural person who is a “knowledgeable employee,” as defined in rule 3c-5(a)(4) under the Investment Company Act of 1940< (17 CFR 270.3c-5 (a)(4)), of the issuer of the securities being offered or sold where the issuer would be an investment company, as defined in section 3 of such act, but for the exclusion provided by either section 3(c)(1) or section 3(c)(7) of such act;

(12) Any “family office,” as defined in rule 202(a)(11)(G)-1 under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (17 CFR 275.202 (a)(11)(G)-1):

(i) With assets under management in excess of $5,000,000,

(ii) That is not formed for the specific purpose of acquiring the securities offered, and

(iii) Whose prospective investment is directed by a person who has such knowledge and experience in financial and business matters that such family office is capable of evaluating the merits and risks of the prospective investment; and

(13) Any “family client,” as defined in rule 202(a)(11)(G)-1 under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940(17 CFR 275.202″ (17 CFR 275.202(a)(11)(G)-1)), of a family office meeting the requirements in paragraph (a)(12) of this section and whose prospective investment in the issuer is directed by such family office pursuant to paragraph (a)(12)(iii).

“Restricted securities” are previously-issued securities held by security holders that are not freely tradable. The Securities Act of 1933, as amended, identifies what offerings produce restricted securities. After such a transaction, the security holders can only resell the securities into the market by using an effective registration statement under the Securities Act or a valid exemption from registration for the resale, such as Rule 144.

Rule 144 is a “safe harbor” providing objective standards that a security holder can rely on to meet the requirements of that exemption. Rule 144 permits the resale of restricted securities if a number of conditions are met, including holding the securities for six months or one year, depending on whether the issuer has been filing reports under the Exchange Act. Rule 144 may limit the amount of securities that can be sold at one time and may restrict the manner of sale, depending on whether the security holder is an affiliate. An affiliate of a company is a person that, directly, or indirectly through one or more intermediaries controls, or is controlled by, or is under common control with, the company.

The short answer is ‘yes.’

State governments have their own securities laws and regulations. If your company is selling securities, the company must comply with both federal regulations and state securities laws and regulations in the states where securities are offered and sold (typically, the states where offerees and investors are based). A particular offering exempt under the federal securities laws is not necessarily exempt from any state laws. Each state’s securities laws have their own separate registration requirements and exemptions to registration requirements.

Historically, most state legislatures have followed one of two approaches in regulating public offerings of securities, or a combination of the two approaches. Some states review the securities offerings of small businesses to determine whether companies disclose to investors all information needed to make an informed investment decision. Other states also analyze the terms of public offerings using substantive standards to determine whether the structure of the offerings are fair to investors.

Offerings that are exempt from provisions of the federal securities laws may still be subject to the notice and registration requirements of various state laws. You should check with the appropriate state securities regulators before proceeding with your company’s offering.

Under the federal securities laws, any offer or sale of a security must either be registered with the SEC or meet an exemption. Regulation D provides a number of exemptions from the registration requirements, allowing some companies to offer and sell their securities without having to register the offering with the SEC. To rely on a specific rule of Regulation D you will need to determine how much capital you’re raising, from whom you are raising it, which state (or states) you are raising it in and whether or not you wish to use general solicitation to support your capital raise.

The most commonly used Rules of Regulation D are Rules 504, 506(b) and 506(c). Rule 504 allows companies to raise up to $10,000,000 within a 12 month period, while Rule 506 allows companies to raise an unlimited amount of money. The SEC notes that 99% of companies who filed their Form D expressed that they relied on Rule 506, regardless of the amount of money they were raising. The SEC also noted that only 13% of companies reported using a registered broker-dealer to sell their securities, meaning, the securities were sold by a designated member of the company, e.g., CFO, or CEO.

An issuer must file a Form D, Notice of Exempt Offering of Securities, with the SEC through the SEC’s EDGAR system within 15 days after receiving the first investment. After the issuer receives the first investment, the issuer may have to file a Form D or similar form in the state where the issuer received the capital. Please check with the state’s regulatory authorities on their state’s filing requirements.

Regulation D is a series of rules governing the limit the offer and sale of securities without registration (of the securities) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended with the SEC. Regulation D allows companies the ability to raise capital through the sale of securities without registering the securities with the SEC.  Such transactions are not exempt from the antifraud, civil liability, or other provisions of the federal securities laws. However, many other state and federal regulatory requirements still apply.