Keep the FDD accurate when the business changes

The federal update requirements

Revise the FDD within 120 days after fiscal year-end, then distribute only the revised document. Material changes also require quarterly revisions within a reasonable time after quarter-end; reasonable time is not a fixed invented number of days.

Known material changes in Item 19 financial-performance information must be communicated when the FDD is furnished. Waiting for the next annual revision does not satisfy that separate requirement. State renewals and amendments have their own calendars.

Sources: Federal Trade Commission: section-436.7 Federal Trade Commission: section-436.10

Outsourcing support can change the promise

A fictional French brand moves U.S. field support to a contractor mid-year. Compare the new provider, personnel, commitments and contract wording with what prospects were told. The question is whether required information has materially changed, not whether the brochure still looks current.

Identify who received each version so any needed communication can reach the right prospect. Do not overwrite an earlier furnished document with a later edit under the same filename.

Sources: Federal Trade Commission: section-436.7 Federal Trade Commission: section-436.10

Keep the actual versions and receipts

Materially different FDD versions must be kept for three years after the close of the fiscal year in which each was last used. Signed receipts for completed sales must be kept for at least three years. These are different retention descriptions, not one interchangeable deletion date.

Sources: Federal Trade Commission: section-436.6