This section contains the initial and continued listing requirements and standards for listing a Company's Primary Equity Security on The Nasdaq Capital Market. This section also contains the initial and continued listing requirements for Preferred and Secondary Classes of Common Stock; Convertible Debt, Rights and Warrants; and Subscription Receipts on the Capital Market. An Equity Investment Tracking Stock may be listed as a Primary Equity Security or as a Secondary Class of Common Stock, as applicable, provided it must also meet the initial and continued listing requirements, as applicable, set forth in Rule 5222.

In addition to meeting the quantitative requirements in this section, a Company must meet the requirements of the Rule 5100 Series, the disclosure obligations set forth in the Rule 5200 Series, the Corporate Governance requirements set forth in the Rule 5600 Series, and pay any applicable fees in the Rule 5900 Series. A Company's failure to meet any of the continued listing requirements will be processed in accordance with the provisions set forth in the Rule 5800 Series.

Companies that meet these requirements, but are not listed on the Nasdaq Global Market, are listed on the Nasdaq Capital Market.

Amended by SR-NASDAQ-2009-052 eff. June 16, 2009; amended June 8, 2017 (SR-NASDAQ-2017-058), operative July 8, 2017; amended Aug. 3, 2018 (SR-NASDAQ-2018-059), operative Sept. 3, 2018.

A Company applying to list its Primary Equity Security on the Capital Market must meet all of the requirements set forth in Rule 5505(a) and at least one of the Standards in Rule 5505(b).

(a) Initial Listing Requirements for Primary Equity Securities:

(1) (A) Minimum bid price of $4 per share; or

(B) Minimum closing price of $3 per share, if the Company meets the requirements of the Equity or Net Income Standards under Rules 5505(b)(1) or (b)(3), or of $2 per share, if the Company meets the requirements of the Market Value of Listed Securities Standard under Rule 5505(b)(2), provided that in either case the Company must also demonstrate that it has net tangible assets (i.e., total assets less intangible assets and liabilities) in excess of $2 million, if the issuer has been in continuous operation for at least three years; or net tangible assets in excess of $5 million, if the issuer has been in continuous operation for less than three years; or average revenue of at least $6 million for the last three years. A security must meet the applicable closing price requirement for at least five consecutive business days prior to approval.

For purposes of this paragraph (B), net tangible assets or average revenues must be demonstrated on the Company's most recently filed audited financial statements filed with, and satisfying the requirements of, the Commission or Other Regulatory Authority, and which are dated less than 15 months prior to the date of listing.

(2) At least 1,000,000 Unrestricted Publicly Held Shares;

(3) (i) At least 300 Round Lot Holders; and (ii) at least 50% of such Round Lot Holders must each hold Unrestricted Securities with a Market Value of at least $2,500; provided that (ii) shall not apply to a Company whose business plan is to complete one or more acquisitions, as described in IM-5101-2;

(4) At least three registered and active Market Makers;

(5) If the security is trading in the U.S. over-the-counter as of the date of application, such security must have a minimum average daily trading volume of 2,000 shares over the 30 trading day period prior to listing (including trading volume of the underlying security on the primary market with respect to an ADR), with trading occurring on more than half of those 30 days, unless such security is listed on the Exchange in connection with a firm commitment underwritten public offering of at least $4 million; and

(6) In the case of ADRs, at least 400,000 issued.

(b) Initial Listing Standards for Primary Equity Securities:

(1) Equity Standard

(A) Stockholders' equity of at least $5 million;

(B) Market Value of Unrestricted Publicly Held Shares of at least $15 million; and

(C) Two year operating history.

(2) Market Value of Listed Securities Standard

(A) Market Value of Listed Securities of at least $50 million (current publicly traded Companies must meet this requirement and the price requirement for 90 consecutive trading days prior to applying for listing if qualifying to list only under the Market Value of Listed Securities Standard);

(B) Stockholders' equity of at least $4 million; and

(C) Market Value of Unrestricted Publicly Held Shares of at least $15 million.

(3) Net Income Standard

(A) Net income from continuing operations of $750,000 in the most recently completed fiscal year or in two of the three most recently completed fiscal years;

(B) Stockholders' equity of at least $4 million; and

(C) Market Value of Unrestricted Publicly Held Shares of at least $5 million.

Adopted March 12, 2009 (SR-NASDAQ-2009-018); amended April 18, 2012 (SR-NASDAQ-2012-002); amended July 5, 2019 (SR-NASDAQ-2019-009), operative Aug. 4, 2019; amended Jan. 21, 2021 (SR-NASDAQ-2020-069).

Generally, Nasdaq rules allow Direct Listings, as defined in IM-5315-1, provided the Company meets all applicable initial listing requirements for the Nasdaq Capital Market and the additional requirements in this IM-5505-1. This Interpretative Material describes when a Company whose stock is not previously registered under the Exchange Act may list on the Nasdaq Capital Market, where such Company is listing without a related underwritten offering upon effectiveness of a registration statement registering only the resale of shares sold by the company in earlier private placements.

(a) In determining whether such Company satisfies the initial listing requirements for the Nasdaq Capital Market based on the price of a security, including the bid price, Market Value of Listed Securities and Market Value of Unrestricted Publicly Held Shares requirements, Nasdaq will determine the security's price as follows:

(1) If the Company's security has had sustained recent trading in a Private Placement Market, Nasdaq will attribute a price, Market Value of Listed Securities, and Market Value of Unrestricted Publicly Held Shares to the Company equal to the lesser of (i) the value calculable based on a Valuation, as defined in Listing Rule IM-5315-1, that meets the requirements of IM-5315-1(e) and (f) and (ii) the value calculable based on the most recent trading price in a Private Placement Market.

(2) For a security that has not had sustained recent trading in a Private Placement Market prior to listing, Nasdaq generally requires a Valuation that meets the requirements of Listing Rules IM-5315-1(e) and (f) evidencing a price, Market Value of Listed Securities and Market Value of Unrestricted Publicly Held Shares that exceeds 200% of the otherwise applicable requirement.

(3) Notwithstanding the Valuation requirements in paragraphs (1) and (2) above, in lieu of a Valuation Nasdaq may (but is not required to) accept other compelling evidence that the security's price, Market Value of Listed Securities and Market Value of Unrestricted Publicly Held Shares exceed 250% of the otherwise applicable requirement. For this purpose:

(i) Nasdaq shall consider only a tender offer for cash by the Company or an unaffiliated third party, a sale between unaffiliated third parties involving the Company's equity securities, or equity security sales by the Company to be compelling evidence.

(ii) To constitute compelling evidence, transactions described in paragraph IM-5505-1(a)(3)(i) above must:

(A) Have been completed (and, in the case of a tender offer, have been commenced and completed) within the prior six months;

(B) Have represented at least 20% of the applicable Market Value of Unrestricted Publicly Held Shares requirement; and

(C) Not have involved affiliates of the Company unless such participation is de minimis. To be considered de minimis for purposes of this subsection, the transaction must comply and the Company must certify in writing compliance with the following requirements:

(1) Any affiliate's participation must be less than 5% of the transaction (and all affiliates' participation collectively must be less than 10% of the transaction);

(2) Such participation must have been suggested or required by unaffiliated investors; and

(3) The affiliates must not have participated in negotiating the economic terms of the transaction.

(4) For a Company transferring from a foreign regulated exchange or listing on Nasdaq while trading on such exchange, Nasdaq will determine that the Company has met the applicable price-based requirements based on the most recent trading price in such market. This provision applies only where there is a broad, liquid market for the Company's shares in its country of origin.

(5) Nasdaq will examine the trading price trends for the stock in the Private Placement Market over a period of several months prior to listing and will only rely on a Private Placement Market price if it is consistent with a sustained history over that several month period evidencing a market value in excess of Nasdaq's market value requirement.

(b) Securities qualified for listing under this IM-5505-1 must begin trading on Nasdaq following the initial pricing through the mechanism outlined in Rule 4120(c)(8) and Rule 4753. To allow such initial pricing, the Company must: (i) in accordance with Rule 4120(c)(9), have a broker-dealer serving in the role of financial advisor to the issuer of the securities being listed, who is willing to perform the functions under Rule 4120(c)(8) that are performed by an underwriter with respect to an initial public offering and (ii) list upon effectiveness of a Securities Act of 1933 registration statement filed solely for the purpose of allowing existing shareholders to sell their shares.

Adopted Dec. 3, 2019 (SR-NASDAQ-2019-059).

(a) Penny Stock Provisions. Rule 5505(a)(1)(B) provides an alternative initial listing requirement for certain companies with a minimum bid price below $4. A company that qualifies for initial listing only under this alternative could become a "penny stock" if it later fails the net tangible assets and revenue tests after listing and does not satisfy any of the other exclusions from being a penny stock contained in Rule 3a51-1 under the Act. In order to assist brokers' and dealers' compliance with the requirements of the Penny Stock Rules, Nasdaq will monitor companies listed under the alternative requirement and publish on its website on a daily basis a list of any company that initially listed under the alternative requirement, which no longer satisfies the net tangible assets or revenue test contained in Rule 5505(a)(1)(B), and which does not satisfy any of the other exclusions from being a penny stock contained in Rule 3a51-1 under the Act. If a company initially lists with a bid price below $4 under the alternative requirement contained in Rule 5505(a)(1)(B), but subsequently achieves a $4 closing price for at least five consecutive business days and, at the same time, satisfies all other initial listing criteria, it will no longer be considered as having listed under the alternative requirement and Nasdaq will notify the Company that it has qualified for listing under the price requirement contained in Rule 5505(a)(1)(A).

Brokers and dealers are reminded that the list published by Nasdaq is only an aid and that the Penny Stock Rules impose specific obligations on brokers and dealers with respect to transactions in penny stocks.

(b) Determination of closing price. For purposes of Rule 5505(a)(1)(B) and this IM- 5505-2, the closing price will be the Nasdaq Official Closing Price, if there is one, or the consolidated closing price distributed under the applicable National Market System Plan if there is no Nasdaq Official Closing Price. Nasdaq will require that a security maintain the necessary closing price for five consecutive business days, but may extend this five day period, based on any fact or circumstance, including the margin of compliance, the trading volume, the Market Maker montage, the trend of the security's price, or information or concerns raised by other regulators concerning the trading of the security.

Adopted April 18, 2012 (SR-NASDAQ-2012-002); amended Dec. 3, 2019 (SR-NASDAQ-2019-059).

(a) When the Primary Equity Security is listed on the Capital Market or is a Covered Security, a Company's preferred stock or secondary class of common stock must meet all of the requirements in Rules (1) through (6) below in order to be listed.

(1) Minimum bid price of at least $4 per share;

(2) At least 100 Round Lot Holders and at least 50% of such Round Lot Holders must each hold Unrestricted Securities with a Market Value of at least $2,500;

(3) At least 200,000 Unrestricted Publicly Held Shares;

(4) Market Value of Unrestricted Publicly Held Shares of at least $3.5 million;

(5) At least three registered and active Market Makers; and

(6) If the security is trading in the U.S. over-the-counter as of the date of application, such security must have a minimum average daily trading volume of 2,000 shares over the 30 trading day period prior to listing, with trading occurring on more than half of those 30 days, unless such security is listed on the Exchange in connection with a firm commitment underwritten public offering of at least $4 million.

(b) In the event the Company's Primary Equity Security is not listed on the Capital Market or is not a Covered Security, the preferred stock and/or secondary class of common stock may be listed on the Capital Market so long as it satisfies the initial listing criteria for Primary Equity Securities set forth in Rule 5505.

Adopted March 12, 2009 (SR-NASDAQ-2009-018); amended July 5, 2019 (SR-NASDAQ-2019-009), operative Aug. 4, 2019.

The following requirements apply to a Company listing convertible debt, rights or warrants on The Nasdaq Capital Market.

(a) For initial listing, rights, warrants and put warrants (that is, instruments that grant the holder the right to sell to the issuing company a specified number of shares of the Company's common stock, at a specified price until a specified period of time) must meet the following requirements:

(1) At least 400,000 issued;

(2) The underlying security must be listed on Nasdaq or be a Covered Security;

(3) At least three registered and active Market Makers; and

(4) In the case of warrants, at least 100 Round Lot Holders that are also Public Holders (except that this requirement will not apply to the listing of rights or warrants in connection with the initial firm commitment underwritten public offering of such warrants).

(b) For initial listing, a convertible debt security must meet the requirements in (1) through (3), and one of the conditions in (4) must be satisfied:

(1) Principal amount outstanding of at least $10 million;

(2) Current last sale information must be available in the United States with respect to the underlying security into which the bond or debenture is convertible;

(3) At least three registered and active Market Makers; and

(4)

(A) the issuer of the debt must have an equity security that is listed on Nasdaq, NYSE American or the New York Stock Exchange;

(B) an issuer whose equity security is listed on Nasdaq, NYSE American or the New York Stock Exchange, directly or indirectly owns a majority interest in, or is under common control with, the issuer of the debt security, or has guaranteed the debt security;

(C) a nationally recognized securities rating organization (an "NRSRO") has assigned a current rating to the debt security that is no lower than an S&P Corporation "B" rating or equivalent rating by another NRSRO; or

(D) if no NRSRO has assigned a rating to the issue, an NRSRO has currently assigned: (1) an investment grade rating to an immediately senior issue; or (2) a rating that is no lower than an S&P Corporation "B" rating, or an equivalent rating by another NRSRO, to a pari passu or junior issue.

(c) In the case of Index Warrants, the requirements established in Rule 5725 for Nasdaq Global Market securities apply.

Adopted Mar. 12, 2009 (SR-NASDAQ-2009-018); amended Feb. 19, 2010 (SR-NASDAQ-2010-024); amended Nov. 13, 2018 (SR-NASDAQ-2018-070); amended Dec. 5, 2019 (SR-NASDAQ-2019-092).

Subscription Receipts are securities used to raise money for a specific acquisition. Nasdaq will list Subscription Receipts on The Nasdaq Capital Market subject to the following requirements:

(a) The security that the Subscription Receipts are exchangeable for must be listed on the Nasdaq Global Select, Global or Capital Market.

(b) At the time of listing the Subscription Receipts, the issuer must not have received a Staff Delisting Determination with respect to the security the Subscription Receipt is exchangeable for and must not have been notified about a deficiency in any continued listing standard with respect to the issuer of the security or the security that the Subscription Receipt is exchangeable for, except with respect to a corporate governance requirement where the issuer of the Subscription Receipt has received a grace period under Rule 5810(c)(3)(E).

(c) The proceeds of the Subscription Receipts offering must be designated solely for use in connection with the consummation of a specified acquisition that is the subject of a binding acquisition agreement (the "Specified Acquisition").

(d) The proceeds of the Subscription Receipts offering must be held in an interest-bearing custody account controlled by an independent custodian.

(e) The Subscription Receipts will promptly be redeemed for cash: (i) at any time that the acquisition agreement in relation to the Specified Acquisition is terminated; or (ii) if the Specified Acquisition does not close within twelve months from the date of issuance of the Subscription Receipts, or such earlier time as is specified in the operative agreements. If the Subscription Receipts are redeemed, the holders will receive cash payments equal to their pro rata share of the funds in the custody account, including any interest earned on those funds.

(f) If the Specified Acquisition is consummated, the holders of the Subscription Receipts will receive the shares of common stock for which their Subscription Receipts are exchangeable.

(g) At the time of initial listing, the Subscription Receipts must have:

(1) a price per Subscription Receipt of at least $4.00;

(2) a minimum Market Value of Unrestricted Publicly Held Shares of $100 million;

(3) At least 1,100,000 Unrestricted Publicly Held Shares; and

(4) At least 400 Round Lot Holders and at least 50% of such Round Lot Holders must each hold Unrestricted Securities with a Market Value of at least $2,500.

(h) The sale of the Subscription Receipts and the issuance of the common stock of the issuer in exchange for the Subscription Receipts must both be registered under the Securities Act.

Adopted Aug. 3, 2018 (SR-NASDAQ-2018-059), operative Sept. 3, 2018; amended July 5, 2019 (SR-NASDAQ-2019-009), operative Aug. 4, 2019.

A Company that has its Primary Equity Security listed on the Capital Market must continue to meet all of the requirements set forth in Rule 5550(a) and at least one of the Standards set forth in Rule 5550(b). Failure to meet any of the continued listing requirements will be processed in accordance with the provisions set forth in the Rule 5800 Series.

(a) Continued Listing Requirements for Primary Equity Securities:

(1) At least two registered and active Market Makers, one of which may be a Market Maker entering a stabilizing bid;

(2) Minimum bid price of at least $1 per share;

(3) At least 300 Public Holders;

(4) At least 500,000 Publicly Held Shares; and

(5) Market Value of Publicly Held Shares of at least $1 million.

(b) Continued Listing Standards for Primary Equity Securities:

(1) Equity Standard: Stockholders' equity of at least $2.5 million;

(2) Market Value of Listed Securities Standard: Market Value of Listed Securities of at least $35 million; or

(3) Net Income Standard: Net income from continuing operations of $500,000 in the most recently completed fiscal year or in two of the three most recently completed fiscal years.

Adopted March 12, 2009 (SR-NASDAQ-2009-018); amended June 16, 2009 (SR-NASDAQ-2009-052).

(a) When the Primary Equity Security is listed on the Capital Market or is a Covered Security, a Company's preferred stock or secondary class of common stock must meet all of the requirements in (1) through (5) below in order to be listed. Failure to meet any of the continued listing requirements will be processed in accordance with the provisions set forth in the Rule 5800 Series.

(1) Minimum bid price of at least $1 per share;

(2) At least 100 Public Holders;

(3) At least 100,000 Publicly Held Shares;

(4) Market Value of Publicly Held Shares of at least $1 million; and

(5) At least two registered and active Market Makers, one of which may be a Market Maker entering a stabilizing bid.

(b) In the event the Company's Primary Equity Security is not listed on the Capital Market or is not a Covered Security, the preferred stock and/or secondary class of common stock may be listed on the Capital Market so long as the security satisfies the continued listing criteria for Primary Equity Securities set forth in Rule 5550.

Adopted March 12, 2009 (SR-NASDAQ-2009-018).

(a) For rights, warrants, and put warrants (that is, instruments that grant the holder the right to sell to the issuing company a specified number of shares of the Company's common stock, at a specified price until a specified period of time), the underlying security must remain listed on Nasdaq or be a Covered Security, and there must be at least two registered and active Market Makers, one of which may be a Market Maker entering a stabilizing bid.

(b) A convertible debt security must meet the following requirements for continued listing:

(1) A principal amount outstanding of at least $5 million;

(2) At least two registered and active Market Makers, one of which may be a Market Maker entering a stabilizing bid; and

(3) Current last sale information must be available in the United States with respect to the underlying security into which the bond or debenture is convertible.

Adopted March 12, 2009 (SR-NASDAQ-2009-018).

Subscription Receipts must meet all of the requirements in paragraphs (a) through (e) below in order to remain listed. Failure to meet any of the continued listing requirements will be processed in accordance with the provisions set forth in the Rule 5800 Series.

(a) At least 100,000 Publicly Held Shares;

(b) At least 100 Public Holders;

(c) At least $15 million Market Value of Listed Securities for the Subscription Receipts over 30 consecutive trading days;

(d) the common equity security that the Subscription Receipt is exchangeable for must remain listed on Nasdaq and not have received a Staff Delisting Determination with respect to the security such Subscription Receipt is exchangeable for; and

(e) the Company must not have announced that the Specified Acquisition (as defined in Rule 5520) has been terminated.

Adopted Aug. 3, 2018 (SR-NASDAQ-2018-059), operative Sept. 3, 2018.