A no-action letter is a letter written by the staff members of a

government agency A government agency or state agency, sometimes an appointed commission, is a permanent or semi-permanent organization in the machinery of government (bureaucracy) that is responsible for the oversight and administration of specific functions, s ...

, requested by an entity subject to

regulation Regulation is the management of complex systems according to a set of rules and trends. In systems theory, these types of rules exist in various fields of biology and society, but the term has slightly different meanings according to context. Fo ...

by that agency, indicating that the staff will not recommend that the agency take

legal action In legal terminology, a complaint is any formal legal document that sets out the facts and legal reasons (see: cause of action) that the filing party or parties (the plaintiff(s)) believes are sufficient to support a claim against the part ...

against the entity, should the entity engage in a course of action proposed by the entity through its request for a no-action letter. Often, a request is made because the legality of the course of action in question is uncertain, and in some cases a request may be granted when it is understood that the action is not technically legal, but is nonetheless acceptable according to a common sense approach to the situation.

Examples

* US

Securities and Exchange Commission The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government, created in the aftermath of the Wall Street crash of 1929. Its primary purpose is to enforce laws against market m ...

(SEC)No Action Letters
/ref> * US

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is an independent agency of the United States government responsible for consumer protection in the financial sector. CFPB's jurisdiction includes banks, credit unions, securities firms, Payday lo ...

(CFPB)CFPB Announces First No-Action Letter to Upstart Network
/ref> *

Australian Securities and Investments Commission The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) is an independent commission of the Australian Government tasked as the national corporate regulator. ASIC's role is to regulate company and financial services and enforce laws to pro ...

(ASIC)RG 108 No-action letters
/ref> *

Financial Services Agency The is a Japanese government agency and an integrated financial regulator responsible for overseeing banking, securities and exchange, and insurance sectors in order to ensure the stability of the financial system of Japan. The agency operates ...

(Japan)

References

Corporate law Financial law Business law Economic law United States civil procedure {{Law-stub