SEC Quorum Rule Updated to Allow Single Commissioner Vote

The Securities and Exchange Commission has issued a final rule amending 17 CFR 200.41 to modify the Commission's quorum requirement. The amendment becomes effective on October 2, 2026 and binds the Commission in all matters subject to its rulemaking authority.

Under the revised text, a quorum ordinarily consists of three members. If fewer than three commissioners are in office, the quorum equals the number of commissioners serving. The new provision adds that when the number of commissioners in office minus those who have disqualified themselves under 17 CFR 200.60 or are otherwise disqualified equals two or one, that reduced number constitutes a quorum for the specific matter. This creates a mechanism for a single commissioner to act as a quorum when all other commissioners are disqualified.

The Commission classified the amendment as an agency-management change that does not substantially affect the rights or obligations of non-agency parties. Accordingly, the Administrative Procedure Act's notice-and-comment requirements, the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act, the Regulatory Flexibility Act, and the Paperwork Reduction Act do not apply. The rule does not impose new information-collection burdens nor alter competition under the Exchange Act.

The authority for the amendment is drawn from sections 4(a) and 23(a) of the Securities Exchange Act, codified at 15 U.S.C. 78d(a) and 78w(a). The rule is published as Release No. 34-106537, FR Doc 2026-20262, and was signed by Secretary Vanessa A. Countryman on September 30, 2026.