ORF Transitioning to FINRA Native FIX and New Port Request Form

As previously announced, to improve process throughput and standardize the protocol, in 2026, FINRA will retire its legacy platform and require all FIX reporting and Service Bureau clients to transition their ports to Native FIX for Over-The-Counter Reporting Facility (ORF) transaction reporting.

Native FIX protocol specifications for the Over-The-Counter Reporting Facility (ORF) have been updated for FIX messaging. Please refer to the specification for details on these changes.

Overview of changes to ORF:

• Replaced Tag 58 (Text) with Tag 22038 (DKRsnDesc) in inbound and outbound Decline FIX messages

NOTE: The above change (included in the revised FIX specifications) will be applied to Native FIX reporting only and will not be applied to legacy FIX reporting.

Overview of changes to ORF ports:

Firms are required to switch their current ports to new ports that support Native FIX and will be required to order Native FIX ports via the new FINRA Native FIX Port Request Form available on NasdaqTrader.com or via the Nasdaq Customer Portal:

• Firms will be able to order ORF test (NTF) ports starting March 23, 2026, and once established, can test connectivity and functionality in NTF.
• Starting April 13, 2026, firms will be able to transition their current production legacy ORF ports to Native FIX ports. It is strongly recommended that firms validate new production ports on the supported Saturday test dates prior to cutover for production reporting.

Firms must submit separate port request forms for adding new Native FIX ports, and subsequently another for removing legacy ports (using the current legacy Port Request Form).

The Native FIX ports will operate in hot-hot mode. Nasdaq will provide firms/clients with primary, secondary and DR IP addresses for Native FIX ports. Clients will be responsible for monitoring their connections, detecting when there is a connection failure, and failing over to the secondary (or DR) connection to re-establish connectivity. Clients may use any standard FIX Platform to connect, monitor, alert, fail over, etc.

Next Steps:

1. Order new ORF Native Fix ports for NTF by submitting a Native FIX Port Request Form starting March 23, 2026.
2. Test connectivity and functionality of new Native FIX ports in NTF*.
3. Remove Legacy Ports. Once firms are satisfied with testing, firms must submit Removal Requests for ORF NTF legacy ports via the current legacy form.
4. Starting April 13, 2026, order new ORF Native FIX ports for production, using the new Native FIX Port Request Form.
5. Test production Native FIX ports. Firms should work with Nasdaq to arrange weekend testing.
6. Validate testing of new Native FIX ports in production. Determine when to cut over to production reporting using the new Native FIX ports. Notify Nasdaq of go-live date.
7. Remove Legacy Ports. Firms should determine when to submit Removal Requests of their legacy production FIX ports (using the current legacy form).

Please note that as of April 13, 2026, all requests for new or additional FIX ports in NTF and Production must be submitted via the new Port Request Form, and the current Port Request Form will only support Removal Requests of legacy FIX ports. Once firms have fully transitioned to Native FIX, any removals request of Native FIX ports must be done using the new form. While FINRA has not yet determined an exact date for full retirement of all ORF legacy FIX reporting, we anticipate termination to occur late during the 4th Quarter of 2026. Future Technical Notices will be issued once a definitive retirement date has been determined.

*ORF clients may test free of charge in NTF for 30 calendar days. All users must notify [email protected] at the commencement of their testing. Once a user informs the Nasdaq test team, the testing free period will continue uninterrupted for 30 calendar days. After the 30-day period ends, normal NTF fees will apply for connecting and testing. Questions regarding NTF fees can be directed to Nasdaq Technical Services at (212) 231-5180.

Please contact FINRA Client and System Management with questions.