In an effort to curtail the burgeoning amount of fraudulent activities in the
investment world in the late 20s and early 30s, Congress passed the Securities
Act of 1933, which mandated that all new securities be registered with the federal
government.
This registration process required that companies disclose a
significant amount of information about themselves to both the federal
government and potential investors—unless the securities qualified for an
exemption.
In 1982, the SEC adopted Regulation D (Reg D), which provided 3
such safe harbor exemptions, specifically Rules 504, 505, and 506. As of
September 2013, Rule 506 is comprised of 2 separate exemptions, Rule 506(b)
and Rule 506(c).
All Reg. D’s use the Form D. This is the required form that MUST be filed when
you want to raise money under one of the Regulation D’s above.