Series 63 Exam: Format, Content Outline, Passing Score and the Series 7

The Series 63, the Uniform Securities Agent State Law Examination, is the exam a broker-dealer agent normally needs to pass before a state will register them. NASAA, the association of state securities regulators, writes it, and FINRA runs it. This guide sets out the format, the eight sections and their weights, the pass mark, what NASAA says the questions draw on, and how the Series 63 sits beside FINRA's Series 7. ProSyllabus is an independent study site, not part of NASAA or FINRA. The facts here are quoted or summarised from NASAA's and FINRA's pages listed under Sources. Each state decides whether and how to adopt NASAA's models, so check the registration requirements of the states where you will do business, with your firm.

FINRA Series 63 page and NASAA Series 63 Exam Content Outline page.

One point to get right first: you answer 65 questions, not 60. FINRA's at-a-glance box shows 60 in its "Number of Items" field, which is the scored count. NASAA says the exam "consists of 65 multiple-choice questions": 60 count toward the score, and 5 are being pre-tested. They "may appear anywhere in the exam and are not identified". So treat every question as scored, and pace yourself for 65 questions in 75 minutes.

NASAA also explains that each candidate's exam is assembled by an algorithm from a pool of questions, using difficulty and content parameters, so that every exam matches the specifications and the same difficulty level. Two people sitting at the same time get different questions.

NASAA adds that a question "may or may not" name the rule it is testing. A question that begins "Under the Uniform Securities Act" might test the text of the Act or a NASAA model rule made under it.

NASAA's study guide names the sources the exam draws on. Candidates are not expected to know all of them in full; the guide ends with a consolidated list of testable subjects.

NASAA's description lists the model Act, NASAA's models and federal sources; it does not describe state-specific questions. Your own state's securities statute may differ in detail, and NASAA's study guide says passing does not by itself give the right to do business in any state.

The pass mark is a count: at least 43 correct among the 60 scored questions, so you can miss up to 17 of them (our arithmetic). NASAA calls the exam "criterion based": a minimum passing criterion is established, and those who pass are considered to have met the minimum competency level.

The two exams answer different questions. The Series 7 is FINRA's qualification exam for a general securities representative; FINRA says a candidate must be associated with and sponsored by a FINRA member firm or other applicable self-regulatory organization member firm, and must pass both the Series 7 and the SIE to get that registration. The Series 63 is NASAA's state law exam, and NASAA says passing it is normally a prerequisite for registration as a broker-dealer agent in a state. FINRA lists no corequisite for the Series 63.

So a person seeking both FINRA's General Securities Representative registration and state registration as a broker-dealer agent normally needs to pass both the Series 7 (with the SIE) and the Series 63 (our summary of the two pages; your firm and the states you do business in decide what you need). To schedule a candidate, NASAA's page says a firm should file an electronic Form U4, and an individual not employed by or associated with a FINRA member firm should open an enrollment window via FINRA.org. Once registered, FINRA opens a 120-day window within which the exam may be scheduled.

FINRA's page also describes NASAA's Exam Validity Extension Program (EVEP): in states that adopt NASAA's model rule, an eligible person can keep a Series 63 result valid for up to five years by completing annual continuing education.

NASAA publishes test specifications and a study guide that list what can be tested. ProSyllabus has an independent Series 63 practice exam: two timed 60-question mocks on the section split above, with the rule behind every answer. It is not the official exam and is not made or endorsed by NASAA or FINRA. Our practice questions guide has three sample questions with the reasoning.