CME Individual Membership

There are four divisions of individual CME memberships, representing the four levels of access to CME products that the Exchange has developed through the years. Each has a different badge color to represent the products traded. Individual memberships at CME became attached to a Class B share in Chicago Mercantile Exchange Holdings Inc. when the exchange de-mutualized and became a publicly traded company in 2002.

CME (B1) membership

Trades: Any CME-listed contract
Badge: Gold

International Monetary Market (IMM) (B2) membership

Trades: Foreign exchange, interest rate and equity index futures, and all IOM and GEM products.
Badge: Green

Index and Option Market (IOM) (B3) membership

Trades: Index futures contracts, random length lumber contracts, all options contracts, and all GEM products.
Badge: Blue

Growth and Emerging Markets (GEM) (B4) membership

Trades: Various products, including contracts related to emerging market countries; restricted financials
Badge: Gray

Eligibility and Requirements:

To be an individual member of CME, you must be an adult and possess good moral character, a good reputation and business integrity. In addition, you must have adequate financial resources to assume the responsibilities and privileges of membership.

Process for CME Individual Membership:

Each of the four types of individual CME memberships involve the same membership process.

To apply for CME membership you must submit:

A typewritten application for membership, which includes
Answers to questions on education, employment, residential and disciplinary history; and
Completion of a financial statement of assets, liabilities and net worth;
A $2,000 non-refundable fee made payable to CME Group;
Two 2” x 2” passport-quality color photographs; and
A certified birth certificate or passport

During the application process, CME Group will:

List the name of each applicant in our Weekly Special Executive Report
Post your photo on the CME Group trading floor

If your membership application is approved, you have 30 days to acquire a membership.

You can acquire a membership via:

Purchase
Gift
Lease
Family transfer
Firm transfer

Primary Clearing Member Authorizations:
If you plan to execute trades on the Exchange Floor or on the CME Globex electronic trading system, you must designate a primary clearing member that will accept and clear the trades.

NFA Floor Broker/Trader Registration/Authorization of Error Accounts:
You must file with the National Futures Association (NFA) either as a Floor Trader or Floor Broker if you intend to access the trading floor. If you will use your membership for the purpose of filling orders for other members or customers, you must apply to the NFA for a floor broker’s license.

Acquisitions:
Purchase or Lease of a Membership –
Following the approval of a membership application, you have 30 days to procure a membership privilege.

You may submit a bid to purchase a membership at any time, i.e., before you submit your application for membership, while your application is being processed or after your application is approved.

You may also submit a lease agreement or transfer forms once you are approved for membership.
You may lease a membership by paying a monthly ‘rent’ to an owner of any division of membership.

You can find a member to lease from through clearing firms or through a list of lessors posted in the Membership for Lease section of the CME Group website Membership Pricing section.