NAP and RAP Letters (New and Revised Account Paperwork)
NAP and RAP letters are the cover packets that carry account paperwork to a client for signature. A NAP letter transmits new account paperwork. A RAP letter transmits revised account paperwork, sent when something on the account changes or the original packet came back incomplete. The letter says what is enclosed, what has to be signed, and how to return it. The letter goes to the client; the signed paperwork goes on to the custodian or broker-dealer.
- Who handles it
- Operations or client service generates the letter with the packet, the client signs and returns it, and the firm submits the paperwork onward. The RAP cycle is the one nobody staffs for: every correction, registration change, fee change, or platform migration sends another letter to a client who already signed once.
- Filed through
- Custodian
- Applies to
- SEC-registered RIA, State-registered RIA, Broker-dealer, Dually registered
What the form asks for
- Client and account identification, and the advisor or team sending it
- A plain list of what is enclosed and why the client is being asked to sign
- The specific pages requiring a signature, an initial, or a date
- Return instructions and the channel: e-signature, upload, or mail
- Who to contact with questions
- On a RAP letter, what changed since the last packet and where it appears
The work behind the filing
Generate the letter and the packet as one artifact
The letter and the forms it describes are assembled separately today, which is why they disagree: the letter lists four enclosures and five arrive, or names a page number that moved. Both come from the same client record and the same packet, so both can be produced in one pass. Caddi can generate the letter from the packet it just assembled, so the description always matches what is inside.
Tell the client what actually changed
A RAP letter that says only please sign the enclosed gets set aside, and then it gets chased. The client wants to know what is different and why they are signing again. Caddi can compare the revised packet against the one the client already signed and state the change in the letter, in the client's terms, with the page it appears on.
Close the loop instead of asking whether it came back
Outstanding paperwork is tracked in someone's head, a spreadsheet, and a mail folder, so the status of a repapering event is only ever an estimate. Caddi can hold what went out, to whom, on what date, what came back signed, and what is still open, and run the follow-up without anyone maintaining the list.
Questions
What is a NAP letter?
A NAP letter is the cover letter that transmits new account paperwork to a client: what is enclosed, which pages need a signature, and how to return it. The letter goes to the client and the signed forms go on to the custodian or broker-dealer.
What is the difference between a NAP letter and a RAP letter?
A NAP letter carries new account paperwork. A RAP letter carries revised account paperwork, sent when something about the account changed or the first packet came back incomplete. The mechanics are the same; the difference is that a RAP letter is asking a client to sign something they believe they already handled, which is why it needs to say plainly what changed.
Why do RAP letters pile up?
Because every downstream event generates one: a corrected field, a registration change, a fee schedule update, a custodian migration, a platform change. Each is small, each requires a client signature, and none of them was on anyone's plan for the quarter.
Can NAP and RAP letters be generated automatically?
Yes, and the letter is the easy half. The letter, the packet it describes, the routing for signature, the follow-up on what has not come back, and the filing of the executed copy are one workflow driven off the client record, which is the kind of work an agent runs end to end with a person reviewing before it goes out.
Can Caddi handle this paperwork end to end?
Caddi runs the work around it: pulling the client facts out of your CRM, plan, and document systems, producing the populated form, checking it against the client record before it goes out, routing it for signature, and writing the result back into every system that holds the same fact. A person reviews and submits. Caddi is not a custodian or a broker-dealer and does not act as one.
Related forms
The filing is the easy part
Caddi does not file forms. It runs the work around them: pulling the underlying data out of your portfolio, CRM, and document systems, reconciling it against the prior filing, and evidencing delivery. See it run on your own stack.
See the compliance specialistThis page describes what the form is and the work it creates. For requirements, deadlines, and whether any of it applies to your firm, see FINRA Rule 4512: Customer Account Information.