---
title: "Screen a deal against the Hart-Scott-Rodino thresholds"
url: "https://ailawframework.com/practice/mergers-and-acquisitions-private-equity/screen-the-deal-against-the-current-merger-notification-thresholds/united-states"
type: "task_jurisdiction_version"
site: "AI Law Framework"
id: "A2-T1-R2-US"
practice_area: "Mergers & Acquisitions / Private Equity"
tier: "red"
lawyer_review: "required"
jurisdictions: ["US"]
last_reviewed: "2026-10-22"
---

# Screen a deal against the Hart-Scott-Rodino thresholds

> Place the transaction value, party sales and assets, and deal structure the lawyer supplies beside the FTC threshold table.…

Canonical page: https://ailawframework.com/practice/mergers-and-acquisitions-private-equity/screen-the-deal-against-the-current-merger-notification-thresholds/united-states  
Last reviewed: 2026-10-22

Site index for agents: https://ailawframework.com/llms.txt

## Key facts

| Fact | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Practice area | [Mergers & Acquisitions / Private Equity](https://ailawframework.com/practice/mergers-and-acquisitions-private-equity.md) |
| Human involvement | Red: Lawyer writes; AI may check, clarify or collect data |
| How AI is used | Place the transaction value, party sales and assets, and deal structure the lawyer supplies beside the FTC threshold table. Do not state whether a filing is required, and write nothing on the Notification and Report Form. |
| What the lawyer must review | 15 U.S.C. § 18a requires both persons to file notification, and to observe a waiting period, before certain acquisitions of voting securities or assets, unless an exemption applies. The waiting period stated in the section is 30 days, or 15 days for a cash tender offer, and it can be extended by a request for additional information. The FTC current-thresholds page says the 2026 adjusted figures took effect on 17 February 2026, including $133.9 million and $535.5 million on the 7A(a)(2)(B)(i) lines, $535.5 million on 7A(a)(2)(A), and $26.8 million and $267.8 million on the 7A(a)(2)(B)(ii) lines. You apply the statute to those figures. On 19 March 2026 the FTC said a district-court judgment vacating the newer form was in effect, that filings are accepted on the form in place before 10 February 2025, and that the February 2025 form is accepted only if a filer chooses to use it. Confirm the form before anyone prepares one. |
| Written for | United States |
| Applies to | [Screen the deal against the current merger-notification thresholds](https://ailawframework.com/practice/mergers-and-acquisitions-private-equity/screen-the-deal-against-the-current-merger-notification-thresholds.md) |

## Checking plan

- What the AI does: Place the transaction value, party sales and assets, and deal structure the lawyer supplies beside the FTC threshold table. Do not state whether a filing is required, and write nothing on the Notification and Report Form.
- Basis: Checked against the linked sources on 22 October 2026. Confirm the current instrument before reliance.

## Notes

- Thresholds are adjusted annually. Use the FTC page in force at closing, not a figure copied from an old memo.
- Some filers must also send a copy to the Department of War under the notice on the FTC program page. Read that page before assuming it does not apply.
- Do not use the Australian merger-notification form or thresholds.

## Sources

- [15 U.S.C. § 18a, Premerger notification and waiting period](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/15/18a) (checked 2026-10-22)
- [FTC: Current HSR jurisdictional thresholds (2026 figures, effective 17 February 2026)](https://www.ftc.gov/enforcement/premerger-notification-program/current-thresholds) (checked 2026-10-22)
- [FTC: Premerger Notification Program, including the 19 March 2026 form notice](https://www.ftc.gov/enforcement/premerger-notification-program) (checked 2026-10-22)

## Forms and precedents for this task

| Form or precedent | Kind | AI level | Summary |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [Non-binding letter of intent for a stock or asset purchase](https://ailawframework.com/precedents/mergers-and-acquisitions-private-equity/us-nonbinding-letter-of-intent.md) | Letter | Yellow | Non-binding US letter of intent for a stock or asset purchase. Price, structure and conditions are an expression of interest only.… |
| [ACCC merger notification screening worksheet](https://ailawframework.com/precedents/mergers-and-acquisitions-private-equity/merger-notification-screening-worksheet.md) | Checklist | Yellow | A worksheet to screen a share or asset acquisition against the ACCC notification thresholds, the control and Chapter 6 exemptions, and the rule that a notifiable acquisition must not proceed before… |

Signed-in accounts can read the full text of each one.

*Practice guidance for planning and review. Confirm current primary sources and the requirements of the actual matter. This is general information, not legal advice.*