Individual and Corporate Futures Exchange Memberships

Requirements and Eligibility:

To be an individual member of CME, you must be an adult and possess a good reputation, good moral character and business integrity. In addition, you must have adequate financial resources to assume the responsibilities and privileges of membership.

Process for CME Individual Membership:

Each of the individual CME membership types have the same membership process.

To apply for CME membership you must submit:

• A typewritten application for membership, which includes
• Answers to questions on education, employment, residential and disciplinary history
• Completion of a financial statement of assets, liabilities and net worth
• A $2,000 non refundable fee made payable to CME Group
• Two 2” x 2” passport quality color photographs
• A certified birth certificate or passport for identification

If your membership application is approved, you have 30 days to acquire a membership.

You can acquire a membership via: Purchase, Gift, Lease, Family Transfer, Firm Transfer

CME Membership Application – Download and Print the Long Form CME Application

Process for CME Corporate Membership:

The Corporate Membership and all required documents should be submitted to CME Group’s Audit Department. The Audit Department is responsible for the review and approval of all corporate member firm applicants. The application process takes approximately four to six weeks from the time all required documents are received.

If the member firm elects to have individuals placed on membership which are owned or leased by the member firm, those individuals must apply for individual CME membership status unless they are current members of CME. Refer to the CME individual membership application process.

CME Corporate Membership Application – Download and Print the CME Corporate Membership Application

CBOT INDIVIDUAL MEMBERSHIP

CBOT Memberships - Each type of CBOT membership determines eligibility for trading certain products at reduced exchange rates and provides access to trading to the trading floor. Different color badges (for wearing on the trading floor) are associated with each membership:

• (B-1) FULL MEMBERS

  Trades: all financial and agricultural futures and options contracts

  Badge: Yellow

• (B-2) ASSOCIATE MEMBERS

  Trades: all financial futures and options and agricultural options only

  Badge: Maroon

• (B-3) GIM (GOVERNMENT, INSTRUMENTS MARKET) MEMBERS

  Trades: financial instrument futures

  Badge: Brown

• (B-4) IDEM (INDEX, DEBT AND ENERGY MARKET) MEMBERS

  Trades: Fed Funds, and index futures

  Badge: Black

• (B-5) COM (COMMODITY OPTIONS MARKET) MEMBERS

  TTrades: options

  Badge: Green

REQUIREMENTS:

To be an individual member of CBOT, you must be an adult and possess a good moral character, and also a good reputation and business integrity. In addition, you must have adequate financial resources to assume the responsibilities and privileges of membership.

PROCESS FOR CBOT INDIVIDUAL MEMBERSHIP:

Each of the five types of individual CBOT memberships involves the same membership process.

To apply for CBOT membership you must submit:

• A typewritten application for membership, which includes
• Answers to questions on education, employment, residential and disciplinary history; and
• Completion of a financial statement of assets, liabilities and net worth;
• A $2,000 non-refundable fee made payable to CME Group;
• Two 2″ x 2″ passport-quality color photographs; and
• A certified birth certificate or passport

During the application process, CME Group will:

• List the name of each applicant in our Weekly Special Executive Report
• Post your photo on the CME Group trading floor

If your membership application is approved, you have 30 days to acquire a membership. You can acquire a membership via: Purchase, Gift, Lease, Famil, or Firm transfer.

CBOT Membership Application – Download and Print the CBOT Membership Application

NYMEX INDIVIDUAL MEMBERSHIP

Individual memberships at NYMEX and COMEX exchange enable the member to trade all NYMEX and COMEX products at reduced member’s rates and to also trade directly from the NYMEX trading floor. There is one level of NYMEX individual membership and one level of COMEX individual membership.

ELIGIBILITY AND REQUIREMENTS:

To be an individual member of NYMEX or COMEX, you must be at an adult and must possess: Good moral character, a good reputation, business integrity, and adequate financial resources to assume the responsibilities and privileges of membership.

Before you begin trading as a member of NYMEX or COMEX, you must: Be qualified to trade by a clearing member and be registered with the National Futures Association (NFA) as either a floor trader or floor broker.

All applicants must satisfy Exchange educational requirements. If you will be accessing the NYMEX trading floor you will be required to attend a new member orientation and pass a Qualifying Examination covering the basics of the commodity industry, and the Rules and Regulations. You will also receive study materials when you submit your application.

PROCESS FOR NYMEX INDIVIDUAL MEMBERSHIP:

To apply for NYMEX membership you must submit:

• A typewritten application for membership, which includes
• Answers to questions on education, employment, residential and disciplinary history; and
• Completion of a financial statement of assets, liabilities and net worth;
• A $2,000 non-refundable fee made payable to CME Group;
• Two 2” x 2” passport-quality color photographs; and
• A certified birth certificate or passport

During the application process, CME Group will: List the name of each applicant in our Weekly Special Executive Report and post your photo on the NYMEX trading floor

If your membership application is approved, you have 30 days to acquire a membership.

You can acquire a membership via: Purchase, Gift, Lease, Family transfer, or Firm transfer

Primary Clearing Member Authorizations:

If you plan to execute trades on the Exchange Floor or on the CME Globex electronic trading system, you must designate a primary clearing member that will accept and clear the trades.

NFA Floor Broker/Trader Registration/Authorization of Error Accounts:

You must file with the National Futures Association (NFA) either as a Floor Trader or Floor Broker if you intend to access the trading floor.

If you will use your membership for the purpose of filling orders for other members or customers you must apply to the NFA for a floor broker’s license.

Acquisitions:

Purchase or Lease of a Membership –

Following the approval of a membership application, you have 30 days to procure a membership privilege.

You may submit a bid to purchase a membership at any time, i.e., before you submit your application for membership, while your application is being processed or after your application is approved.

You may also submit a lease agreement or transfer forms once you are approved for membership.

You can also lease a membership by paying a monthly ‘rent’ to an owner of any division of membership.

You can find a member to lease from through clearing firms or through a list of lessors posted in the Membership for Lease section of the CME Group website Membership Pricing section.

NYMEX INDIVIDUAL MEMBERSHIP

PROCESS FOR COMEX INDIVIDUAL MEMBERSHIP:

To be an individual member of COMEX, you must be an adult and possess good moral character, a good reputation and business integrity. In addition, you must have adequate financial resources to assume the responsibilities and privileges of membership.

Please note that an application will not be deemed “filed” unless all required materials are submitted correctly and completely. Therefore, the following information is provided to assist you in completing your application.

• Application Fee – Check in the amount of $2000
• Application Form – Must be typewritten with ALL questions answered completely and fully.
• Photos – Two 2” x 2” passport-quality color photographs
• Primary Clearing Member Guarantee – If the applicant intends to execute transactions on the trading floor of the Exchange, this form must be completed by an Exchange Clearing Member Firm.

The information above is not inclusive of all rules, requisites, and conditions. The information above should only be used as reference. Please contact us for additional information.

*Rate does not apply to all exchanges or fee programs. Additional restrictions may apply. Membership subject to Exchange approval. Please contact our office for more details.