SEQ 001
MSG=DEF
Definition
One record of the whole market
The consolidated tape is the single, continuous record of trades and quotations in US National Market System (NMS) stocks. Every national securities exchange, and every off-exchange venue that reports through a trade reporting facility, sends its trades and quotations to a central processor. The processor consolidates them into one stream that any firm can license.
No single exchange sees the whole market, so no single exchange’s own feed can show it. The tape is what makes one complete, public view possible — and it is what a price on a broker’s screen, a closing price in a newspaper and a best-execution review are all measured against.
Consolidation is required by Regulation NMS. From the Operative Date, the CT Plan governs it for all three Tapes, replacing the legacy CTA and UTP Plans, with DataCT as the independent administrator.
SEQ 002
MSG=TAPE
Tapes A · B · C
Tapes A, B and C
The tape is divided into three by where a security is listed. The CT Plan covers all three; the legacy plans did not.
| Tape | Securities | Legacy plan |
|---|---|---|
| Tape A | SecuritiesSecurities listed on the New York Stock Exchange | LegacyCTA Plan |
| Tape B | SecuritiesSecurities listed on exchanges other than NYSE and Nasdaq — NYSE American, NYSE Arca, Cboe and IEX among them | LegacyCTA Plan |
| Tape C | SecuritiesSecurities listed on Nasdaq | LegacyUTP Plan |
SEQ 003
MSG=SIP
SIPs & the NBBO
Securities information processors, and the NBBO
-
01
What a SIP does
A securities information processor (SIP) is the central processor the tape runs through. It receives quotations and trade reports from every venue, consolidates them, and disseminates the result to licensed recipients in real time.
-
02
Two products, not one
The consolidated stream carries last sale data — the trades, with price, size and venue — and quotation data, the bids and offers each venue is showing. Fees and licensing treat them as distinct products; see the Fee Schedule.
-
03
The national best bid and offer
The NBBO is the highest bid and the lowest offer available across all venues at a given moment, calculated from the consolidated quotations. It is the reference price the order protection rule is applied against, which is why it can only be derived from the tape and not from any one venue’s feed.
SEQ 004
MSG=ACCESS
Access to data
How to get access to CT Data
-
01
Execute the agreements
Access, usage and distribution are granted by agreement. Firms that receive and use the data execute the Data Usage Agreement; firms that pass it on to others execute the Distribution Agreement. Both cover all three Tapes and replace the legacy CTA and UTP agreements. See Agreements.
-
02
Know which fees apply
One simplified fee schedule applies across Tapes A, B and C, with charges depending on the product taken and how it is used and counted. See Fees.
-
03
Follow the policies
The Policies do not grant rights themselves; they set out how Data Licenses are implemented — subscriber classification, per-person Non-Professional counting, reporting, and guidance for modern use cases including APIs, datasets and AI. See Policies.
-
04
Register with the administrator
DataCT administers licensing, usage reporting, billing and support for the CT Plan, and will migrate legacy CTA and UTP account information across. Registering early is what makes that migration unhurried.
SEQ 007
MSG=SUB
Subscribe
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