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Title 15 — Commerce and TradeRelease 119-73not60

§78y Court Review of Orders and Rules

Title 15 › Chapter 2B— SECURITIES EXCHANGES › § 78y

Last updated Apr 3, 2026|Official source

Summary

A person harmed by a final order of the Commission can ask a U.S. Court of Appeals to review the order. To do that, they must file a written petition in the Court of Appeals for the circuit where they live or have their main business, or in the D.C. Circuit, within 60 days after the order. The court clerk sends a copy to a Commission member, and the Commission must file the record that supports the order. Once the petition is filed the court has authority, and that authority becomes the only court’s on the case when the record is filed. The court can keep, change, or cancel the order. The Commission’s factual findings are final if supported by substantial evidence. If new, important evidence exists that could not reasonably have been shown before, the court can send the case back to the Commission and the Commission must file a supplemental record of the new evidence and any new findings. A person affected by a Commission rule made under sections 78f, 78i(h)(2), 78k, 78k–1, 78o(c)(5) or (6), 78o–3, 78q, 78q–1, or 78s can ask a Court of Appeals to set the rule aside by filing a petition within 60 days of the rule. The clerk sends the petition to the Commission, which must file the rule, related documents, proposals, comments, transcripts, factual materials, and advisory committee reports the Commission used. The court’s power works like it does for orders and becomes exclusive when those materials are filed. The court must uphold the rule unless the Commission acted in a way that was arbitrary, illegal, beyond its authority, or failed to follow required procedure. Objections not raised before the Commission won’t be heard unless there was good reason. Filing a petition does not automatically pause the order or rule; stays follow the rules in this law, and the court may issue stays under limited conditions (for example, if the Commission denied a stay, failed to decide in a reasonable time, or there was good reason not to ask the Commission). For court purposes, “Commission” also includes the agencies listed in section 78c(a)(34) when they act under this chapter and the Secretary of the Treasury when acting under section 78o–5. An order denying registration to, or disapproving a rule change by, a clearing agency is treated as an order of the appropriate regulatory agency for purposes of subsection (a)(4) and section 706 of title 5 when the action was based on a determination under sections 78s(a)(2)(C) or 78s(b)(4)(C) that the registration or change would threaten safeguarding of securities or funds.

Full Legal Text

Title 15, §78y

Commerce and Trade — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)(1)A person aggrieved by a final order of the Commission entered pursuant to this chapter may obtain review of the order in the United States Court of Appeals for the circuit in which he resides or has his principal place of business, or for the District of Columbia Circuit, by filing in such court, within sixty days after the entry of the order, a written petition requesting that the order be modified or set aside in whole or in part.
(2)A copy of the petition shall be transmitted forthwith by the clerk of the court to a member of the Commission or an officer designated by the Commission for that purpose. Thereupon the Commission shall file in the court the record on which the order complained of is entered, as provided in section 2112 of title 28 and the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure.
(3)On the filing of the petition, the court has jurisdiction, which becomes exclusive on the filing of the record, to affirm or modify and enforce or to set aside the order in whole or in part.
(4)The findings of the Commission as to the facts, if supported by substantial evidence, are conclusive.
(5)If either party applies to the court for leave to adduce additional evidence and shows to the satisfaction of the court that the additional evidence is material and that there was reasonable ground for failure to adduce it before the Commission, the court may remand the case to the Commission for further proceedings, in whatever manner and on whatever conditions the court considers appropriate. If the case is remanded to the Commission, it shall file in the court a supplemental record containing any new evidence, any further or modified findings, and any new order.
(b)(1)A person adversely affected by a rule of the Commission promulgated pursuant to section 78f, 78i(h)(2), 78k, 78k–1, 78o(c)(5) or (6), 78o–3, 78q, 78q–1, or 78s of this title may obtain review of this rule in the United States Court of Appeals for the circuit in which he resides or has his principal place of business or for the District of Columbia Circuit, by filing in such court, within sixty days after the promulgation of the rule, a written petition requesting that the rule be set aside.
(2)A copy of the petition shall be transmitted forthwith by the clerk of the court to a member of the Commission or an officer designated for that purpose. Thereupon, the Commission shall file in the court the rule under review and any documents referred to therein, the Commission’s notice of proposed rulemaking and any documents referred to therein, all written submissions and the transcript of any oral presentations in the rulemaking, factual information not included in the foregoing that was considered by the Commission in the promulgation of the rule or proffered by the Commission as pertinent to the rule, the report of any advisory committee received or considered by the Commission in the rulemaking, and any other materials prescribed by the court.
(3)On the filing of the petition, the court has jurisdiction, which becomes exclusive on the filing of the materials set forth in paragraph (2) of this subsection, to affirm and enforce or to set aside the rule.
(4)The findings of the Commission as to the facts identified by the Commission as the basis, in whole or in part, of the rule, if supported by substantial evidence, are conclusive. The court shall affirm and enforce the rule unless the Commission’s action in promulgating the rule is found to be arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion, or otherwise not in accordance with law; contrary to constitutional right, power, privilege, or immunity; in excess of statutory jurisdiction, authority, or limitations, or short of statutory right; or without observance of procedure required by law.
(5)If proceedings have been instituted under this subsection in two or more courts of appeals with respect to the same rule, the Commission shall file the materials set forth in paragraph (2) of this subsection in that court in which a proceeding was first instituted. The other courts shall thereupon transfer all such proceedings to the court in which the materials have been filed. For the convenience of the parties in the interest of justice that court may thereafter transfer all the proceedings to any other court of appeals.
(c)(1)No objection to an order or rule of the Commission, for which review is sought under this section, may be considered by the court unless it was urged before the Commission or there was reasonable ground for failure to do so.
(2)The filing of a petition under this section does not operate as a stay of the Commission’s order or rule. Until the court’s jurisdiction becomes exclusive, the Commission may stay its order or rule pending judicial review if it finds that justice so requires. After the filing of a petition under this section, the court, on whatever conditions may be required and to the extent necessary to prevent irreparable injury, may issue all necessary and appropriate process to stay the order or rule or to preserve status or rights pending its review; but (notwithstanding section 705 of title 5) no such process may be issued by the court before the filing of the record or the materials set forth in subsection (b)(2) of this section unless: (A) the Commission has denied a stay or failed to grant requested relief, (B) a reasonable period has expired since the filing of an application for a stay without a decision by the Commission, or (C) there was reasonable ground for failure to apply to the Commission.
(3)When the same order or rule is the subject of one or more petitions for review filed under this section and an action for enforcement filed in a district court of the United States under section 78u(d) or (e) of this title, that court in which the petition or the action is first filed has jurisdiction with respect to the order or rule to the exclusion of any other court, and thereupon all such proceedings shall be transferred to that court; but, for the convenience of the parties in the interest of justice, that court may thereafter transfer all the proceedings to any other court of appeals or district court of the United States, whether or not a petition for review or an action for enforcement was originally filed in the transferee court. The scope of review by a district court under section 78u(d) or (e) of this title is in all cases the same as by a court of appeals under this section.
(d)(1)For purposes of the preceding subsections of this section, the term “Commission” includes the agencies enumerated in section 78c(a)(34) of this title insofar as such agencies are acting pursuant to this chapter and the Secretary of the Treasury insofar as he is acting pursuant to section 78o–5 of this title.
(2)For purposes of subsection (a)(4) of this section and section 706 of title 5, an order of the Commission pursuant to section 78s(a) of this title denying registration to a clearing agency for which the Commission is not the appropriate regulatory agency or pursuant to section 78s(b) of this title disapproving a proposed rule change by such a clearing agency shall be deemed to be an order of the appropriate regulatory agency for such clearing agency insofar as such order was entered by reason of a determination by such appropriate regulatory agency pursuant to section 78s(a)(2)(C) or 78s(b)(4)(C) of this title that such registration or proposed rule change would be inconsistent with the safeguarding of securities or funds.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

This chapter, referred to in subsecs. (a)(1) and (d)(1), was in the original “this title”. See

References in Text

note set out under section 78a of this title. The Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure, referred to in subsec. (a)(2), are set out in the Appendix to Title 28, Judiciary and Judicial Procedure.

Amendments

1990—Subsec. (b)(1). Pub. L. 101–432 inserted “78i(h)(2),” after “section 78f,”. 1986—Subsec. (d)(1). Pub. L. 99–571 inserted “and the Secretary of the Treasury insofar as he is acting pursuant to section 78o–5 of this title”. 1975—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 94–29 revised existing provisions into five numbered paragraphs. Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 94–29 substituted provisions permitting persons adversely affected by any rule promulgated by the Commission pursuant to section 78f, 78k, 78k–1, 78o(c)(5) or (6), 78o–3, 78q, 78q–1, or 78s of this title to obtain direct review in an appropriate Court of Appeals for provisions that commencement of proceedings under subsec. (a) shall not, unless specifically ordered by the court, operate as a stay of the Commission’s order. Subsecs. (c), (d). Pub. L. 94–29 added subsecs. (c) and (d). 1958—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 85–791, in second sentence, substituted “transmitted by the clerk of the court to” for “served upon”, struck out “certify and” before “file in the court”, struck out “a transcript of” after “file in the court”, and inserted “as provided in section 2112 of title 28”, and, in third sentence, substituted “petition” for “transcript”, and “jurisdiction, which upon the filing of the record shall be exclusive” for “exclusive jurisdiction”.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Change of Name

Act
June 25, 1948, eff. Sept. 1, 1948, as amended by act
May 24, 1949, substituted “court of appeals” for “circuit court of appeals”. Act
June 7, 1934, substituted “United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia” for “Court of Appeals for District of Columbia”.

Effective Date

of 1986 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 99–571 effective 270 days after Oct. 28, 1986, see section 401 of Pub. L. 99–571, set out as an

Effective Date

note under section 78o–5 of this title.

Effective Date

of 1975 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 94–29 effective June 4, 1975, see section 31(a) of Pub. L. 94–29, set out as a note under section 78b of this title.

Executive Documents

Transfer of Functions

For

Transfer of Functions

of Securities and Exchange Commission, with certain exceptions, to Chairman of such Commission, see Reorg. Plan No. 10 of 1950, §§ 1, 2, eff. May 24, 1950, 15 F.R. 3175, 64 Stat. 1265, set out under section 78d of this title.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

15 U.S.C. § 78y

Title 15 — Commerce and Trade

Last Updated

Apr 3, 2026

Release point: 119-73not60