SEC Institutes Proceedings on CT Plan Fee Schedule Amendment for Consolidated Equity Market Data
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The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is soliciting public comments and instituting formal proceedings to determine whether to approve, disapprove, or conditionally approve a proposed fee schedule for the Consolidated Tape (CT) Plan, which governs the collection and dissemination of real-time equity market data across U.S. markets. The original fee proposal was filed on December 11, 2025, by the CT Plan Operating Committee; Amendment No. 1, filed March 30, 2026, retains the core fee structure while adding extensive rationale, competitive benchmarking against 'synthetic SIP' alternatives, and clarifying guidance in response to public comments. The proposed fee schedule overhauls definitions for Professional vs. Non-Professional use, Direct vs. Indirect Access, Derived Data, and Non-Display Use — aiming to reduce administrative and audit burdens that have driven market participants away from the consolidated SIP feed toward proprietary data products. A key finding from subscriber surveys was that 25 of 27 respondents cited administrative complexity — not fee levels — as their primary concern, with audit risk being the top issue. Major policy changes include a shift to use-based (rather than status-based) Professional/Non-Professional definitions, a 'good faith' safe harbor for redistributors relying on user self-representations, a location/latency-based standard for Direct vs. Indirect Access, and reclassification of Derived Data creation as Non-Display Use. These changes are designed to harmonize the previously inconsistent CQ/CTA and UTP Plan fee schedules into a single, unified framework under the new CT Plan. The SEC is accepting comments on the amended proposal under Rule 608(b)(2)(i) of Regulation NMS and will ultimately decide whether the fee schedule meets the Exchange Act's 'fair and reasonable' standard and supports widespread availability of consolidated market data to investors and market participants.
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Key Changes
- Professional vs. Non-Professional use redefined on a use-based (not status-based) standard: 'Professional' now means any entity use or individual use to provide a third-party service for compensation, eliminating registration-status triggers
- New 'good faith' safe harbor: redistributors that rely in good faith on user representations about Professional/Non-Professional status are exempt from audit liability for those representations
- Direct Access redefined as any connection within a data center housing a CT Plan Processor; Indirect Access is all other connections — a latency-based, location-agnostic standard replacing conflicting CQ/CTA and UTP definitions
+ 3 more changes with Pro
Obligations
What this law requires
CT Plan Operating Committee must file proposed fee schedule with SEC within 12 months after CT Plan Effective Date, pursuant to Section 14.1(c) of the CT Plan
CT Plan must establish and apply fee schedule definitions for Professional vs. Non-Professional Use, Direct vs. Indirect Access, Derived Data, and Non-Display Use to assess fees on Vendors and Subscribers for Transaction Reports and Quotation Information
Redistributors must rely in good faith on user self-representations regarding Professional vs. Non-Professional Use status, with safe harbor protection for reliance on such representations
SEC must determine whether proposed fee schedule meets Exchange Act's 'fair and reasonable' standard and supports widespread availability of consolidated market data to investors and market participants under Rule 608(b)(2)(i) of Regulation NMS
SEC must accept and review public comments on the amended fee proposal filed March 30, 2026, and institute formal proceedings to approve, disapprove, or conditionally approve the proposal