Summary of the Listing Requirements of the AMEX , BBX,
Nasdaq, OTCBB, TSX, TSX Venture Exchange and US Pink Sheets



As a company you have several decisions to make when selecting a secondary trading system for your publicly held securities. First, do you go with a formal exchange or do you chose a quotation system. NYSE, AMEX, TSX, TSX Venture and the new CNQ are all formal exchanges. NASDAQSM, NASDAQNM, OTCBB and the Pink Sheets are all quote systems. The National Association of Securities Dealers, which own AMEX, NASDAQSM and NASDAQNM, have requested SEC approval to change NASDAQSM and NASDAQNM into formal exchanges.

Another decision is where to list. Some choices will be eliminated on the basis that your company doesn't meet the listing requirements of all secondary trading systems. Out of the choices which remain you will need to decide which market will serve you and your stockholders best. You also always have the option of moving to a different trading system as your economic and stockholder needs change.


A master chart summarizing the main North American markets you may chose to list your company's securities follows. This chart provides a general overview of the minimum tier requirements for technology and industrial companies.  It is important to understand that several of these trading systems have more than one tier or standard with different requirements for each.   The TSX Venture Exchange, for instance, has three tiers and different requirements for mining, oil and gas, technology, industrial, and real estate companies and a separate category for their version of blank check companies. 

You can access more information about a specific exchange or quotation system by  following the page link to our summary of the listing requirements of that exchange or quotation system. 

Skip to Listing Requirement Summary of:

Amex , TSX, NASDAQNM, NASDAQSM, TSX Venture, CNQ, OTCBB, US Pink Sheets

Summary of Listing Requirements: Master Chart

Requirements

NYSE1

AMEX2

TSX3

NASDAQNM4

NASDAQSM5

TSX Venture6

CNQ7

OTCBB8

Pre-Tax Income Last Year

$2,500,000

$750,000

a. C$300,000

b. C$200,000

c. C$200,000

N/A

$ 750,000

a. $50,000

b. $250,000

c. N/R

N/A

N/A

Two Year Avg Pre-Tax Income

$2,000,000

$750,000 two out of 3 years

a. C$500,000

a. $1,000,000

b. N/A

c. N/A

$ 750,000

a. $50,000 two out of 3 years

N/A

N/A

Net Tangible Assets

$60 mil.

N/A

a. C$75,000,000

b. C$2,000,000

c. C$7,500,000

d. N/A

e. N/A

a. N/A

b. N/A

c. $75,000,000 and $75,000,000 Total Revenue

N/A

a. $500,000

b. $750,000

c. $750,000

N/A

N/A

Mrkt Value Publicly Held Stock

$18,000,000

$3,000,000

C$4 mil. (Ind)

C$10 mil. (tech)

a. $8,000,000

b. $18,000,000

c. $20,000,000

$5,000,000

$500,000

$50,000

N/A

# of Shares Publicly Held

1,100,000

a. 1,000,000

b. 500,000

c. 500,000 with 2,000/d trading vol. previous six  months

1,000,000

1,100,000

1,000,000

500,000

20% of Float

500,000

10% of Float

25,000

# Public Board Lot Holders

2,000

a. 400

b. 800

c. 400

300

400

300

300

150

40

Trading Price of Listed Securities

No Minimum

$3.00

No Minimum

$5.00

$4.00

No Minimum

No Minimum

No Minimum

Shareholders Equity

No Minimum

$4,000,000

No Minimum

a. $15,000,000

b.$30,000,000

c. N/A

$5,000,000

No Minimum

No Minimum

No Minimum
 

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Go to the individual listing requirement pages of exchanges:

Amex , TSX, NASDAQNM, NASDAQSM, TSX Venture, CNQ, OTCBB, US Pink Sheets

 

      Alixe B. Cormick
Venture Law Corporation

618 - 688 West Hastings St.
Vancouver, B.C.
V6B 1P1
Phone: 604-659-9188
Fax: 604-659-9178
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