--- title: "SEC adviser files: CRD, names, and office evidence" description: "Review SEC adviser monthly files with a private identity worksheet. Separate CRD, legal name, business name, and office evidence before marking changes." canonical: "https://scalewithsearch.com/articles/sec-adviser-monthly-crd-name-office-evidence" --- ## Site navigation - [Scale With Search](https://scalewithsearch.com/) - Services - Services - [AI systems](https://scalewithsearch.com/ai-systems) - [Site build](https://scalewithsearch.com/work#site-build) - [Whole website fix](https://scalewithsearch.com/work#whole-website-fix) - [Content library with SEO](https://scalewithsearch.com/work#content-library) - [Working session](https://scalewithsearch.com/audit) - Start here - [Send your brief](https://scalewithsearch.com/work#send-your-brief) - [Example scope](https://scalewithsearch.com/work#review-the-example-scope) - [Prices and terms](https://scalewithsearch.com/work#prices-and-terms) - Industries - Real estate - [Real estate agents and teams](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/real-estate) - [Platforms, ownership, and IDX](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/real-estate/real-estate-website-platforms-ownership-idx) - [Search, content, and AI](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/real-estate/real-estate-search-content-ai) - [Inquiries, campaigns, and handoffs](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/real-estate/real-estate-website-inquiries-campaigns-handoffs) - [Buyer, seller, and local pages](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/real-estate/real-estate-buyer-seller-local-resources) - [Rules, privacy, and trust](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/real-estate/real-estate-website-rules-privacy-trust) - Browse by business - [Trades and home services](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/#group-trades) - [Health, wellness, and animal care](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/#group-practices) - [Law, finance, and IT](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/#group-professional) - [Marketing and SEO agencies](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/#group-agencies) - [Shops and manufacturers](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/#group-manufacturing) - [Restaurants, shops, studios, and nonprofits](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/#group-local-services) - Chiropractic practices - [Chiropractic and wellness practices](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/chiropractic-and-wellness-practices) - [Chiropractic and physical therapy clinics](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/chiropractic-and-physical-therapy-clinics) - [All industries](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/) - Resources - Free tools - [AI readiness check](https://scalewithsearch.com/check) - [Free tools](https://scalewithsearch.com/tools/) - [Free Starter Kit](https://scalewithsearch.com/kit/business-memory-starter-kit.zip) - Guides - [AI-native library](https://scalewithsearch.com/ai-native) - [Industry intelligence](https://scalewithsearch.com/intelligence) - [Office job guides](https://scalewithsearch.com/guides/) - [Business memory](https://scalewithsearch.com/articles/business-memory-for-ai-agents-guide) - [Agent governance](https://scalewithsearch.com/articles/ai-agent-governance-guide-small-business) - [Migration and ownership](https://scalewithsearch.com/articles/leaving-vendor-ai-memory-guide) - Articles - [All articles](https://scalewithsearch.com/articles/) - [What changed](https://scalewithsearch.com/changes/) - About - Evidence - [Proof](https://scalewithsearch.com/proof) - Scale With Search - [About](https://scalewithsearch.com/about) - [How it works](https://scalewithsearch.com/how-it-works) # SEC adviser monthly files: match CRD, legal name, and office evidence before calling a firm new An advisory practice reviewing its local market needs a defensible answer to a narrow question: does this record describe an already-known firm? A changed label deserves review before anyone counts another competitor or marks a new office. Start with a private firm-match sheet. Keep the identifier, reported names, office evidence, source version, and analyst decision separate. A row comparison can suggest work for the reviewer. It cannot supply an opening date or prove that a business moved. This guide proposes a research method for that review. It does not describe SEC filing requirements for your practice. The worked examples are synthetic. They identify no actual firm, adviser, household, or location. ## State which population the file represents The SEC publishes separate monthly downloads for registered investment advisers and exempt reporting advisers. Its report guidance describes SEC-registered firms and firms filing reports as exempt reporting advisers with the SEC. These are subsets of Form ADV information, with filer-supplied accuracy limits. [SEC adviser report guidance, checked 2026.10.28](https://www.sec.gov/data-research/sec-markets-data/information-about-registered-investment-advisers-exempt-reporting-advisers). Write the selected population at the top of the research sheet. Avoid calling it every advisory firm in a county. Keep the registered and exempt-reporting collections distinct when collecting evidence. If your question needs state-registered firms, document that additional coverage need before interpreting a blank search. Choose the research question before applying geography. For example: identify unresolved differences in principal-office information among firms already in our approved territory study. That instruction sets a smaller, clearer job than finding firms that must need a service. Record excluded populations beside the answer. Otherwise, the next reader may treat a carefully filtered comparison as a complete market census. Your worksheet should make that interpretation difficult even when someone reads only the first page. ## Map identifiers to the form before mapping a spreadsheet Form ADV Item 1 separates full legal name, primary business name, SEC file number, and firm CRD number. Item 1.E warns against substituting an officer's, employee's, or affiliate's CRD number. [Form ADV Part 1A, SEC 1707 (07-24), Items 1.A through 1.E, checked 2026.10.28](https://www.sec.gov/files/formadv-part1a_1.pdf). Use the form references as a dictionary for meaning. They are not a verified list of literal spreadsheet headers. Before importing a monthly archive, inspect its actual header row and map each selected column to the corresponding form question. For this article, archive download attempts returned access errors. No current spreadsheet spelling, column order, or embedded filename is asserted here. A researcher using the worksheet must complete that mapping from an accessible official file before making file-specific comparisons. Keep the original identifier text alongside the comparison value. Reject an empty identifier, a value with unexplained formatting, or a number copied from a person's record. Do not repair an uncertain identity by matching a familiar business name. Use CRD as the first firm-level join candidate when verified. Then inspect legal name, business name, and supporting evidence. A repeated key deserves continuity review, rather than blind acceptance of every row as the same unchanged business. ## Keep reported names and comparison labels apart Create distinct worksheet spaces for legal name and primary business name. Preserve spelling as reported in each source. If you standardize capitalization or spacing for comparison, keep that comparison label in another space. A useful review screen shows the old text, new text, and a plain-language difference. It should let the analyst distinguish a punctuation adjustment from a change requiring further evidence. Avoid replacing the historical text with whichever version looks cleaner. Ask what a name difference establishes by itself. Usually, your private note can establish only that the selected source text differs. Whether that difference reflects a renamed business, a corrected filing, or another event needs evidence beyond an automated label. Do not merge records because they share a brand phrase. Equally, do not split a record because the brand phrase changed. Keep candidate matches and accepted matches in separate lists so unresolved work does not quietly become part of the territory count. ## Separate principal-office evidence from branch evidence Item 1.F identifies the principal office and place of business. Other-office reporting appears in Schedule D Section 1.F, with different instructions depending on registration circumstances. A principal-office row therefore cannot stand for every branch. [Form ADV Part 1A, Item 1.F and Schedule D Section 1.F, checked 2026.10.28](https://www.sec.gov/files/formadv-part1a_1.pdf). Give each location statement a type. Proposed values for your research sheet include principal office, separately verified other office, mailing address, and unresolved location. These are analyst categories, not claimed publisher field names. Retain the question the evidence answers. A source showing a principal office answers where that form identifies the principal office. It does not establish where every employee works, where clients live, or when a location began serving visitors. Keep street-level evidence private and limit access to the review task. The form includes private-residence indicators in Item 1. Exclude residential details from any public illustration or territory summary. [Form ADV Part 1A, Items 1.F and 1.G, checked 2026.10.28](https://www.sec.gov/files/formadv-part1a_1.pdf). A summary can use an approved regional label while the private worksheet retains the evidence needed to explain the classification. If the geography cannot be checked safely, mark it unresolved and omit the map point. ## Worked example: a synthetic renamed firm Consider Synthetic Firm Cedar, a made-up advisory business. Snapshot A contains verified firm key K-01, legal label Cedar Advisory LLC, business label Cedar Planning, and principal-office region North. These invented tokens are not real CRD numbers or addresses. Snapshot B contains the same verified key. The legal label remains Cedar Advisory LLC. The business label becomes Cedar Financial Planning. The principal-office region is unchanged. A comparison that counts names could create a second firm and erase the first. The reviewer instead keeps one candidate history under K-01. The change note says that the business-name text differs between two selected observations. The reviewer then opens current official firm evidence and checks whether the identity match remains supported. Suppose that synthetic follow-up confirms the same firm and the changed business label. Accept identity continuity and record the confirmed label difference. Retain both versions, their source references, and the date the reviewer checked them. Do not give the result an opening date. The example establishes a name comparison and an accepted identity match. The worksheet has no evidence about when the business first began trading or first used its current brand. ## Rejected example: a shared name with a different key A second synthetic record carries the label Cedar Planning but verified key K-02. A name-only rule proposes merging it with K-01. The office evidence also points to a different region. Reject the automatic merge. Record the conflicting key and the reason the name match was insufficient. Leave the records separate while a reviewer checks the relevant official identities. A similar phrase is not evidence of a shared entity. Now consider an unresolved variation: Snapshot C lacks a usable firm key, although its name resembles K-01. Do not assign the old key from memory. Hold the candidate outside confirmed counts and specify the missing evidence needed to resolve it. A useful unresolved note names an action: reopen the firm record, verify the identifier, and compare the source population. An unhelpful note says probably the same firm without explaining what would change that judgment. ## Use a worksheet that produces a review decision The following design is a recommendation for private research. Its labels are not an SEC schema or a filing checklist. | Worksheet item | What the analyst records | What stays unresolved | | --- | --- | --- | | Research question | Approved territory question and intended reader | Broader demand or service need | | Source population | Registered or exempt-reporting collection selected | Firms outside that collection | | File evidence | Publisher link, archive label, accessible filename, retained version | Any unread or inaccessible member | | Identifier mapping | Actual header and verified Form ADV reference | Missing or conflicting firm key | | Name history | Original legal and business text from each observation | Cause and effective date of a difference | | Location evidence | Location type, private source, checked regional summary | Unverified branches or residential detail | | Match decision | Accepted, rejected, or unresolved, with reason | Questions requiring another source | | Review ownership | Named reviewer, check date, next action | Any unapproved external use | Complete the evidence columns before the decision column. Require a reason even when the match looks obvious. That reason is what another analyst will need when the next monthly observation arrives. Add a separate exception list for duplicate candidate keys, missing names, conflicting location types, and unavailable sources. Keep exceptions visible in the research total. A clean-looking table should not conceal records dropped because they were difficult to interpret. ## Write a private source-match decision A decision note should answer four questions in connected prose. Which observations were compared? What identity evidence agreed? What text or location evidence differed? What remains unknown? For the synthetic accepted match, the note might read: K-01 retained as one firm history. Business-name text changed across the selected observations. Current identity review supports the match. Opening date and branch footprint remain unverified. For the unresolved record, name the missing source and who will reopen it. Add a review date, but avoid treating that administrative deadline as a date when the firm changed. A research task can be overdue while the underlying business facts remain unknown. Keep evidence and interpretation distinct in the stored history. The original source values should remain recoverable after a reviewer changes the match decision. A correction should explain the earlier judgment and identify the evidence that replaced it. ## Decide what the next monthly run may conclude An accepted identity match permits a comparison of the selected fields. It does not authorize a claim about a firm's commercial condition, service quality, client base, or appetite for contact. Keep those questions outside this research sheet. The related guide to [SEC adviser snapshot dates](/articles/sec-adviser-snapshot-file-date-firm-change) explains how to distinguish file observations from firm events. Use it before giving a confirmed text difference a business-event date. Store approved mappings and corrections with the evidence history. The [business memory guide](/articles/business-memory-for-ai-agents-guide) describes keeping reusable instructions in files your firm controls. Apply that method to accepted matches and unresolved exceptions. For a broader practice plan, connect this worksheet to the [financial advisor intelligence brief](/intelligence/financial-advisors) and the [financial advisor website plan](/for/financial-advisors). Keep public positioning separate from private research judgments. Scale With Search can scope the source coverage, matching rules, review worksheet, and handoff checks as a defined build. Bring a sample decision and its unresolved evidence to the scope discussion. [Discuss the research scope](/work) Continue the website review: [AI-native financial advisors: the first functions to build](/articles/ai-native-financial-advisors-first-functions); [Amended employer 8-Ks: read the changed item before replacing an adviser summary](/articles/amended-employer-8k-item-exhibit-adviser-summary); [Employer 8-K timelines: separate the event, report, and filing dates in an adviser brief](/articles/employer-8k-event-report-filing-date-adviser-brief); [Financial advisor AI rules: data, approvals, and spend](/articles/financial-advisor-ai-rules-data-approvals-spend); [Financial advisor award badges: verify the website claim](/articles/financial-advisor-awards-ratings-website); [Financial advisor bios: link to registration records](/articles/financial-advisor-bio-registration-links); [Financial advisor meeting requests: limit the first form](/articles/financial-advisor-first-meeting-request-form); [Form CRS on a financial advisor website: check the link](/articles/financial-advisor-form-crs-website-link); [Financial advisor Google profiles: practitioner or firm?](/articles/financial-advisor-google-practitioner-profile); [Financial advisor newsletter archives: publish approved text](/articles/financial-advisor-newsletter-website-archive); [Financial advisor niche pages: explain who you help](/articles/financial-advisor-niche-service-pages); [Financial advisor podcasts: build useful transcript pages](/articles/financial-advisor-podcast-transcript-pages); [Financial advisor seminar pages: verify event details](/articles/financial-advisor-seminar-registration-page); [Financial advisor testimonials: review before publishing](/articles/financial-advisor-testimonials-website-review); [Financial advisor fees page: make the service clear](/articles/financial-advisor-website-fees-page); [Form 5500 participant counts: choose the right field before comparing plan size](/articles/form-5500-participant-counts-active-total-account-balances); [Form 5500 plan identity: separate sponsor EIN, plan number, and filing acknowledgment](/articles/form-5500-plan-identity-ein-plan-number-ack-id); [SEC adviser snapshot dates: separate a monthly file from an actual firm change](/articles/sec-adviser-snapshot-file-date-firm-change). [financial advisors](/for/financial-advisors): website and search resources. ## Related: financial advisors - [SEC adviser snapshot dates: separate a monthly file from an actual firm change](/articles/sec-adviser-snapshot-file-date-firm-change) - [AI-native financial advisors: the first functions to build](/articles/ai-native-financial-advisors-first-functions) - [Amended employer 8-Ks: read the changed item before replacing an adviser summary](/articles/amended-employer-8k-item-exhibit-adviser-summary) ---- ```text .|########||. .|########||. .|########||. |##||. .||##|. |##||. .||##|. |##||. .||##|. |#|. .|#|. |#|. .|#|. |#|. .|#|. |#| |#| |#| |#| |#| |#| .#| |#. .#| |#. .#| |#. .#. .#| .#. .#| .#. .#| |#. .#| |#. .#| |#. .#| |# ...... #| |# ...... #| |# ...... #| .# ||#########| #| .# ||#########| #| .# ||#########| #| .#. |######||######|. .#. .#. |######||######|. .#. .#. |######||######|. .#. #. .##|###|##|#|######| .# #. .##|###|##|#|######| .# #. .##|###|##|#|######| .# || |##|#||||||||||||#||#| || || |##|#||||||||||||#||#| || || |##|#||||||||||||#||#| || # |#||||||||||||||||||||#| #. # |#||||||||||||||||||||#| #. # |#||||||||||||||||||||#| #. || |#||||||||||||||||||||||#| || || |#||||||||||||||||||||||#| || || |#||||||||||||||||||||||#| || # .#||||||||||||||||||||||||#| # # .#||||||||||||||||||||||||#| # # .#||||||||||||||||||||||||#| # || ....|||#||||||##|#|||#|#||##||||....|. || || ....|||#||||||##|#|||#|#||##||||....|. || || ....|||#||||||##|#|||#|#||##||||....|. || #. . ....|# ....#||| ||| .#||| ....#. .# #. . ....|# ....#||| ||| .#||| ....#. .# #. . ....|# ....#||| ||| .#||| ....#. .# # . ||||#| .#####|| . .#| .#||| ||||# #. # . ||||#| .#####|| . .#| .#||| ||||# #. # . ||||#| .#####|| . .#| .#||| ||||# #. .| ||||| #. |#|||||. || #. |#||. .||||| || .| ||||| #. |#|||||. || #. |#||. .||||| || .| ||||| #. |#|||||. || #. |#||. .||||| || || |.... #. ....|#. |. ...|. ....|| || || |.... #. ....|#. |. ...|. ....|| || || |.... #. ....|#. |. ...|. ....|| || #. .||||||##||||||##||####|||||||#||||||#| .# #. .||||||##||||||##||####|||||||#||||||#| .# #. .||||||##||||||##||####|||||||#||||||#| .# # .||####|###########################|. # # .||####|###########################|. # # .||####|###########################|. # # .#||||||.#.|| # |. ..# #| #|||||#| # # .#||||||.#.|| # |. ..# #| #|||||#| # # .#||||||.#.|| # |. ..# #| #|||||#| # # .#|||||| .. |# ## |#| ...#|#|||#| # # .#|||||| .. |# ## |#| ...#|#|||#| # # .#|||||| .. |# ## |#| ...#|#|||#| # # .#|||#|# .# .#| #| ##|.#..#|||||#| # # .#|||#|# .# .#| #| ##|.#..#|||||#| # # .#|||#|# .# .#| #| ##|.#..#|||||#| # # .#||||||############|######|||||#| # # .#||||||############|######|||||#| # # .#||||||############|######|||||#| # # |...||#||||||#||||#|#||||||#|||||#||| |.| # # |...||#||||||#||||#|#||||||#|||||#||| |.| # # |...||#||||||#||||#|#||||||#|||||#||| |.| # #. .. ||||# .|||##|. |#| .|| || .|||#. #| # .# #. .. ||||# .|||##|. |#| .|| || .|||#. #| # .# #. .. ||||# .|||##|. |#| .|| || .|||#. #| # .# || | ...|| ...##| | #| .|. |. ##### .. .| || || | ...|| ...##| | #| .|. |. ##### .. .| || || | ...|| ...##| | #| .|. |. ##### .. .| || || ||||| || ||||#| . |. |. |#. ||||| |#| || || || ||||| || ||||#| . |. |. |#. ||||| |#| || || || ||||| || ||||#| . |. |. |#. ||||| |#| || || .# |.....#|....|#.||||.|||##.|#|....||.#||.#. #. .# |.....#|....|#.||||.|||##.|#|....||.#||.#. #. .# |.....#|....|#.||||.|||##.|#|....||.#||.#. #. #.|||||||#############################| ||| .# #.|||||||#############################| ||| .# #.|||||||#############################| ||| .# || ##||#||#||||||#||#||#||#||##. || || ##||#||#||||||#||#||#||#||##. || || ##||#||#||||||#||#||#||#||##. || # .#|||||||||#||#|||||||||||#| # # .#|||||||||#||#|||||||||||#| # # .#|||||||||#||#|||||||||||#| # || |#||||||||||||||||||||||#| || || |#||||||||||||||||||||||#| || || |#||||||||||||||||||||||#| || .# |#||||||||||||||||||||#| #. .# |#||||||||||||||||||||#| #. .# |#||||||||||||||||||||#| #. || |#||||||||||||||||||#| || || |#||||||||||||||||||#| || || |#||||||||||||||||||#| || #. .######|#|#########| .# #. .######|#|#########| .# #. .######|#|#########| .# .#. |#####||||#####| .#. .#. |#####||||#####| .#. .#. |#####||||#####| .#. |# ||########|| #. |# ||########|| #. |# ||########|| #. |# ...... #| |# ...... #| |# ...... #| |#. .#| |#. .#| |#. .#| |#. .#. |#. .#. |#. .#. .#| |#. .#| |#. .#| |#. |#| |#| |#| |#| |#| |#| .|#|. .|#|. .|#|. .|#|. .|#|. .|#|. |##||. .||##| |##||. .||##| |##||. .||##| .||########||. .||########||. .||########||. 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