On February 26, 2026, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued a Final Order denying a whistleblower an award because SEC officials did not read their submitted TCR. This determination affirms growing concerns among whistleblower advocates that the SEC is under-utilizing the TCR system, wrongfully denying whistleblowers awards.
The SEC whistleblower program, established by the Dodd-Frank Act, incentivizes whistleblowers to report original, timely information in return for monetary awards between 10% and 30% of recovered sanctions over $1 million. The program guarantees whistleblowers’ identities remain confidential and anonymous, and can remain so until an award application is processed.
In order to be eligible for an award, federal law requires all whistleblowers to submit a Tip, Complaint, or Referral (TCR) form when providing information to the SEC. The SEC has cited numerous reasons why a TCR is essential to operating a whistleblower program, including increased efficiency and ability to manage high volume of tips, accurate record of what information the whistleblower deems important, and a clear indication the whistleblower seeks heightened confidentiality protections. The federal register states, “the requirement to file a TCR has been a necessary initial step for an individual to obtain treatment as a ‘whistleblower’ under our rules and, in our experience, has proved beneficial to the effective administration of our whistleblower program.”
The SEC’s strong commitment to using the TCR program is demonstrated through its provision that failing to submit a TCR form constitutes grounds for denial of an award. “The Commission has treated the failure to file a properly executed TCR as grounds for denial of a claim for award.” So, in order for any whistleblower to be eligible for a monetary award, they must file a TCR form.
With this in mind, some applicants are denied awards even after they submitted an appropriate TCR under the correct procedures because the SEC failed to review the TCR. For example, in a Final Order issued on February 26, the SEC denied an award to a whistleblower applicant who submitted a TCR, but whose information went unreviewed. The claimant challenged their award denial by stating, “it was a violation of the Commission’s Enforcement Manual not to search the TCR system before the opening of and during the Covered Action investigation.” Not only did the applicant submit a TCR, the information they provided was used in the investigation, “the overlap between the TCRs and the subject matter of the Commission’s enforcement action further reinforce that Claimant 2’s information was used and relied upon to open the investigation or otherwise significantly contributed to the investigation and enforcement action.” The Order demonstrates that whistleblowers are submitting valid TCRs and their information is being used to conduct investigations, but are being denied awards because these forms are not being examined. Here, the SEC did not open a submitted TCR relevant to an ongoing investigation, which is not consistent with their claim that TCRs are essential to operating an effective whistleblower program.
If this trend continues, it could have further consequences on whistleblowers’ ability to provide information and receive awards. If TCRs go unreviewed, cases of fraud could go undetected by federal agencies. If award incentives decrease, whistleblowers will be less likely to provide information, not wanting to risk speaking up without the chance they will be rewarded for doing so.
