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FINRA Series exams

The core FINRA qualification exams.

12 published exams, administered by FINRA and NASAA. Official exam lengths run from 50 to 200 questions. Time limits run from 1h 15m to 5h 30m. 2,173 free practice questions are live across the family.

12
Exams
2,173
Free practice questions
12
Study guides
12
Cheat sheets

12 exams

Every exam in this family

Most searched first.

Which FINRA Series exam is yours?

This family holds the exams FINRA writes for people who work at broker-dealers: the SIE that anyone can take, the representative-level exams that qualify you for one registration, and the principal exams for the people who supervise them. It also lists the Series 63, because almost everyone takes it together with a Series 6 or 7 — but the 63 is a NASAA exam that FINRA administers, and its siblings, the Series 65 and 66, sit on the NASAA state exams page.

FINRA splits representative qualification into two exams. The SIE tests knowledge the whole industry shares — products, markets, regulatory structure, prohibited practices — and is open to the public without a sponsor. The representative-level exam then tests the job you are being registered for, and only a FINRA member firm can enroll you in it. Passing the SIE alone does not qualify you for registration; passing a representative-level exam without the SIE does not either. Both are needed.

Principal exams are the third tier. A principal supervises registered representatives or a function of the firm, and FINRA requires an appropriate representative-level pass before you sit the principal exam. Which principal exam depends on what you will supervise: the whole firm's securities business, investment company products, sales, options, finance and operations, or research.

The three tiers, exam by exam

Each row is one registration. Links go to the exam guide, where the question count, time limit, fee and passing score are verified against FINRA's page for that exam.

Entry: prove industry knowledge before a firm hires you
SIE

Securities Industry Essentials. No sponsor, no prerequisite, result valid for four years. Required as a co-requisite for every representative-level exam below.

Representative: sell investment company products and variable contracts
Series 6

Investment Company and Variable Contracts Products Representative. Mutual funds, variable annuities, unit investment trusts. Sponsor required; SIE co-requisite.

Representative: sell the full range of securities
Series 7

General Securities Representative. Covers everything the Series 6 does plus stocks, bonds, options and more; you must pass both the SIE and the Series 7 to hold the registration. Sponsor required.

Representative: a specialised desk
Series 79Series 82Series 57Series 22Series 86/87Series 99

Investment Banking Representative (79), Private Securities Offerings Representative (82), Securities Trader (57), Direct Participation Programs Representative (22), Research Analyst (86/87), Operations Professional (99). Each needs a sponsoring firm and the SIE.

State law: register as an agent with your state
Series 63

Uniform Securities Agent State Law Examination, written by NASAA and administered by FINRA. Taken alongside the Series 6 or 7; it can only be taken at a test center. Candidates who also advise take the Series 66 instead, listed with the NASAA exams.

Principal: supervise the firm's general securities business
Series 24Series 23

General Securities Principal. Requires the SIE and an appropriate representative-level exam such as the Series 7 first; enrollment goes through the firm, so self-enrollment is not available. The Series 23 is the sales-supervisor module for candidates who already hold the Series 9/10.

Principal: supervise sales, options or investment company products
Series 9/10Series 4Series 26

General Securities Sales Supervisor (9/10), Registered Options Principal (4), Investment Company and Variable Contracts Products Principal (26). Each supervises the representatives whose exam sits one tier below it.

Principal: finance, operations, compliance or research
Series 27Series 28Series 14Series 16Series 39

Financial and Operations Principal (27), Introducing Broker-Dealer Financial and Operations Principal (28), Compliance Official (14), Supervisory Analyst (16), Direct Participation Programs Principal (39).

The order FINRA requires

  1. 01SIE first, or alongside. It has no prerequisite and no sponsor requirement, so most candidates pass it before a firm hires them; the result is valid for four years.
  2. 02Representative-level exam through your firm. Association with and sponsorship by a FINRA member firm is required, and the firm enrolls you — self-enrollment is not offered for these exams.
  3. 03Series 63 with the representative exam if your state requires state registration for agents; the Series 66 instead if you will also act as an investment adviser representative.
  4. 04Principal exam after the representative-level pass. The Series 24 requires the SIE and an appropriate representative-level exam such as the Series 7; the other principal exams sit above their own representative tier the same way.
  5. 05Registration lapses are governed by time. A representative who has been out of the industry long enough must requalify by exam, and after a longer gap must retake the SIE as well — the exam guide for each Series states the windows FINRA applies.

Fee, format and passing standard

All 12 exams on this page. Each figure is that exam's verified fact, cited to the regulator's page on the exam guide it links to. A blank cell means the regulator publishes no fixed figure.

ExamFeeQuestionsTimePassingWritten by
SIE$100751h 45m70%FINRA
Series 6$100501h 30m70%FINRA
Series 7$3951253h 45m72%FINRA
Series 63$147651h 15m72%NASAA
Series 79$395752h 30m73%FINRA
Series 57$105501h 45m70%FINRA
Series 99$100501h 30m68%FINRA
Series 24$2351503h 45m70%FINRA
Series 26$2001102h 45m70%FINRA
Series 9/10$4102005h 30m70% each partFINRA
Series 4$2001253h 15m72%FINRA
Series 14$3501103h70%FINRA

Who writes these exams

FINRA
Writes, administers and scores every exam in this family except the Series 63, sets who may sit which exam under Rule 1210, and defines the co-requisite structure that ties the SIE to each representative-level exam.
NASAA
Writes the Series 63 as the state-law test for broker-dealer agents. FINRA delivers it, but the content, the study outline and the rules on retakes come from NASAA.

Official pages this section is drawn from

FINRA Series exams articles

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Pass-rate breakdowns and independent prep-course comparisons for finra series exams exams. Every figure links back to the body that publishes it.

Grounding

Official sources

Every exam number on this page traces to a document published by the body that sets or administers the exam. These are the primary publishers cited across FINRA Series exams.

Last verified against these documents: