On February 24, 2026, the SEC’s Division of Enforcement published significant updates to its Enforcement Manual, which was last revised in 2017. The Manual is a reference document for Division staff containing general policies and procedures that provide guidance to the staff in conducting the Division’s enforcement activities. According to the SEC's press release, the updates are intended to reflect the Division’s best practices and to ensure greater uniformity and consistency in how the Division conducts its activities. The Division also announced that the Manual will be reviewed on an annual basis going forward. Certain notable updates are discussed below.
Wells Process Updates
As highlighted by the now former Division Director Margaret Ryan in a recent speech, the updated Manual reflects recent procedural updates to the Wells process, which is the process through which enforcement staff notifies respondents of charges under consideration. The updated Manual notably extends the standard timeframe in which individuals and entities are provided an opportunity to respond to potential charges from two weeks to four weeks. The updated Manual also provides that a meeting with Division staff will be scheduled within four weeks of receipt of a submission and will include a member of senior leadership at the Associate Director level or above. In addition, the updated Manual provides specific guidance on the content of Wells submissions that addresses what is most helpful to Division staff in their evaluations.
Simultaneous Consideration of Settlement Recommendations and Waivers
The updated Manual reflects the recent reinstatement of the SEC’s prior practice of allowing parties to request simultaneous consideration of settlement offers and related waiver requests from certain collateral consequences that may result from the settlement. According to the SEC, these updates are expected to drive efficiencies in the resolution of investigations and conserve SEC resources.
Evaluating Cooperation
The updated Manual details how the Division evaluates cooperation, including self-policing, self-reporting and remediation efforts, and how cooperation may impact civil penalties. With respect to self-reporting, the updated Manual notes that self-reporting credit is appropriate “when a company reports misconduct before the staff learns of misconduct from other sources and prior to imminent threat of disclosure or government investigation.” The updated Manual also provides specific examples of “effective remediation” and “exemplary cooperation.” Additionally, the updated Manual includes a new section titled “Other Benefits of Cooperation,” which confirms that the Division may recommend that the SEC forego seeking civil penalties, or seek reduced penalties, based on self-policing, self-reporting, remediation and cooperation.
The SEC’s press release is available here and the full text of the updated Enforcement Manual is available here.
