Rule 144 is the SEC’s safe-harbor pathway that tells insiders and anyone holding restricted or control stock how—and when—they can legally sell those shares. It normally imposes:
Holding period: 6 months for public companies (1 year if the issuer is private).
Volume limits: In any 3-month window, sales can’t exceed the greater of 1 % of outstanding shares or the average weekly trading volume of the prior four weeks.
Manner-of-sale limits: Must use ordinary broker transactions; no special solicitations.
Form 144 filing: Required if the planned sale exceeds 5,000 shares or $50,000.
Legend removal: Transfer agent must lift the “restricted” legend before shares become free-trading.
When an account note or term sheet states “no Rule 144 restrictions,” it simply means those hurdles have already been cleared. The shares are now freely tradable—no waiting period, no volume cap, and no extra SEC filings needed—so you can sell them on any public market just like regular stock.