What is the FINRA Series exams exam?
FINRA qualification exams are licences rather than credentials. You do not take a Series exam to demonstrate expertise in the abstract; you take it because a specific securities activity is legally closed to you until you pass it. That makes them quite different from the CFA or FRM, which nobody requires you to hold.
The system has two layers. The Securities Industry Essentials exam covers general industry knowledge and anyone aged 18 or over can sit it without a job. On top of that sits a representative exam matched to what you will actually do: the Series 7 for general securities, the Series 6 for mutual funds and variable products, the Series 79 for investment banking, the Series 57 for trading. Those require sponsorship by a member firm, so in practice you need the job first.
Alongside them sit the state law exams, the Series 63, 65 and 66, which are written by the North American Securities Administrators Association and merely administered by FINRA. A further tier of principal exams, such as the Series 24, qualifies people to supervise others rather than to transact.
Who sits it
- Anyone starting a career at a US broker-dealer or investment adviser
- Students and career changers, who can sit the SIE before finding a sponsoring firm
- Investment advisers, who need the Series 65 or 66 rather than the Series 7
- Experienced representatives moving into supervision, who need a principal exam
Exam format at a glance
- Two layers
- The SIE, open to anyone, plus a representative 'top-off' exam matched to your role. Both are needed to register
- Co-requisite, not prerequisite
- The SIE and the top-off exam can be taken in either order; both must be passed
- Sponsorship
- Required for every representative and principal exam, but not for the SIE, the Series 65 or the Series 63
- Who writes them
- FINRA writes the SIE and the Series 6, 7, 24, 57 and 79. The Series 63, 65 and 66 are NASAA exams and the Series 3 is an NFA exam, all administered by FINRA
- Delivery
- Prometric test centres. Online proctoring is open to any SIE candidate, but for other exams only by approved accommodation
- Scheduling
- No fixed windows; enrolment opens a 120-day scheduling period
- Results
- Pass or fail on screen shortly after finishing. Candidates who pass get no score breakdown; those who fail see their score by section
- Retakes
- FINRA's candidate guidance currently sets 30 days after a first or second failure and 180 days after a third. A reduction to 15 and 60 days has been filed but is not yet in effect
- Pass rates
- FINRA publishes none for any of these exams
Exam-body facts last checked September 2026. Fees, dates and formats change; confirm the current details with Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) before registering.
Syllabus and topic weights
FINRA publishes a detailed content outline with question counts per section for each exam. The list above gives the shape of the system rather than the weights within any one exam; our SIE and Series 7 guides carry those.
- 1.SIE — Securities Industry Essentials75 questions, 1h45m, $100. Open to anyone aged 18 or over; the result stays valid four years
- 2.Series 7 — General Securities Representative125 scored questions, 3h45m, $395. The broadest representative licence
- 3.Series 6 — Investment Company and Variable Contracts Products50 questions, 1h30m, $100. Mutual funds, variable annuities and variable life
- 4.Series 63 — Uniform Securities Agent State Law (NASAA)60 scored questions, 75 minutes, $147. State registration for broker-dealer agents
- 5.Series 65 — Uniform Investment Adviser Law (NASAA)130 scored questions, 3 hours, $187. For investment adviser representatives; no sponsorship needed
- 6.Series 66 — Uniform Combined State Law (NASAA)100 scored questions, 2h30m, $177. Combines 63 and 65; the Series 7 is a co-requisite
- 7.Series 79 — Investment Banking Representative75 questions, 2h30m, $395. Offerings, mergers and acquisitions, restructurings
- 8.Series 57 — Securities Trader50 questions, 1h45m, $105. Proprietary and off-exchange equity trading
- 9.Series 24 — General Securities Principal150 questions, 3h45m, $235. Supervision of underwriting, trading and compliance
- 10.Series 3 — National Commodity Futures (NFA)120 scored questions, 2h30m, $140. Futures and commodities; no prerequisite
How to prepare for FINRA Series exams
- 1
Sit the SIE first if you do not yet have a job in the industry. It needs no sponsorship, the result is good for four years, and having it makes you materially more employable.
- 2
Match the top-off exam to the role rather than taking the broadest one. The Series 7 is not automatically the right answer: an investment adviser needs the Series 65, and an investment banking analyst needs the Series 79.
- 3
Remember the state law exam. Passing the Series 7 alone does not let you transact in a given state; most people also need the Series 63 or 66.
- 4
Do not treat these as knowledge exams. They test rules, thresholds and permitted conduct, so the work is memorisation and scenario drilling rather than understanding.
- 5
Check the current retake waiting period before you sit. A failure can cost 30 days or, after a third attempt, 180, and the rule is in the middle of changing.
We don't cover FINRA Series exams yet
We have no Series exam material and none planned. These are US securities licences rather than analytical credentials, and they sit outside what we build for. If you are looking at investment analysis qualifications alongside your licences, our CFA Level I material is the closest fit.
FINRA Series exams FAQ
Can I take a Series exam without a job?
You can sit the SIE, the Series 65 and the Series 63 without sponsorship. Every other representative and principal exam requires a sponsoring member firm, so you need the job first.
Do I have to pass the SIE before the Series 7?
No. FINRA treats the SIE as a co-requisite rather than a prerequisite, so the order does not matter, but both must be passed before you can register.
Does FINRA publish pass rates?
No. Every pass-rate figure you will find for the SIE or the Series 7 is a prep provider's estimate, not an official statistic.
Does StudyOptima cover the Series exams?
No, and none are planned. These are US-specific licensing exams and sit outside the analyst and risk credentials we build for.