Yes, Forms 144 are still required, but you can email them for a while. Corp Fin recently issued an announcement providing temporary relief for Form 144 paper filings in light of the ongoing health and safety concerns from COVID-19. The relief allows Forms 144 filed in paper under Rules 101(b)(4) or 101(c)(6) of Reg S-T to be submitted by email provided a PDF of the complete Form 144 is attached to the email. Filers choosing to do so should direct the email to PaperForms144@SEC.gov.
The relief is available for those who submit Forms 144 from April 10, 2020 through June 30, 2020.
For those worried about a manual signature on Forms 144 submitted via email, the Staff won’t recommend enforcement action if the filer includes a typed form of signature. If you can’t get a manual signature on the Forms 144, besides providing a typed form of signature, you’ll want to ensure:
– the signatory retains a manually signed signature page or other document authenticating, acknowledging, or otherwise adopting his or her signature that appears in typed form within the electronic submission and provides such document, as promptly as practicable, upon request by Division or other Commission staff;
– such document indicates the date and time when the signature was executed; and
– the filer or submitter (with the exception of natural persons) establishes and maintains policies and procedures governing this process.
For those wanting to continue with regular mail, the announcement says you can still do so, there just may be processing delays.
-Lynn Jokela, TheCorporateCounsel.net April 13, 2020
