Alerts and Updates for CMFAS RES 5 Rules, Ethics and Skills for Financial Advisory Services (Singapore)

Two different exams that get confused

RES 5 is the rules and ethics module for financial advisory work under MAS Notice FAA-N26; the CEA paper licenses property salespersons. Nothing in the CMFAS RES series, which runs RES 1A, 1B, 1BE1, 2A, 2B, 2BE1 to 2BE3, 3, 4, 12B and RESP 10 on the IBF side plus RES 5 at SCI, covers real estate agency law.

Dates and windows

RES 5 itself has no calendar; the dated entries above are regime changes, not sittings. The two CEA rows are included only because the mislabelled exam name sends candidates here; that examination does run to fixed dates and its interest-indication window has already passed for the 2026 sitting.

What this means for your preparation

Start with the naming problem, because it is the single biggest cause of wasted money here. RES 5 is a Singapore College of Insurance module on the rules, ethics and skills of financial advisory services. The letters RES in CMFAS stand for rules, ethics and skills, not real estate. Anyone who booked RES 5 intending to sell property has booked the wrong examination from the wrong body.

How to tell which exam you actually need

Ask what you will be licensed to do. If the answer is advising on securities, collective investment schemes, derivatives contracts, foreign exchange contracts or life insurance policies as a licensed or exempt financial adviser or an appointed representative, RES 5 is the rules paper and MAS Notice FAA-N26 governs your module set. If the answer is marketing property and handling conveyancing-adjacent work for an estate agency, you need the Council for Estate Agencies salesperson examination, which is administered by NTUC LearningHub and requires a valid Certificate of RES Course Completion before you can even register. The two sit under different regulators, different fee schedules and different examination calendars, and passing one does nothing for the other.

The double pass hurdle changes how you revise

SCI requires at least 75 per cent in Part I and at least 80 per cent in Part II. Part II is only 40 questions, so 80 per cent means 32 correct and the ninth mistake fails the whole paper regardless of how well Part I went. That asymmetry matters because Part II is the professional ethics, client relationships and financial planning half, which candidates typically treat as the soft, read-it-once section. It is in fact the tighter constraint. Part I, at 110 questions and 75 per cent, allows 27 wrong answers across the regulatory framework, the Financial Advisers Act, MAS Notices, anti-money-laundering rules, guidelines, collective investment schemes and market conduct. Revise Part II as if it were the harder paper, because arithmetically it is.

What changed when M5 became RES 5

The new CMFAS examinations took effect on 1 April 2024 and study materials were released on 1 February 2024. RES 5 is longer than the module it replaced: 150 questions in 180 minutes against M5's 100 questions in 120 minutes, and the single aggregate pass mark gave way to the split 75 and 80 per cent requirement. The M5 examination ceased after 28 March 2024. Anyone working from second-hand notes, a borrowed study text or a course outline written before 2024 is preparing for a paper that no longer exists. SCI notes that updates to the study text are incorporated into the eBook, with a version control record, so check the version before relying on it.

Where RES 5 sits in the wider CMFAS map

CMFAS is split across two administrators, and this is where catalogue errors creep in. The Institute of Banking and Finance runs the capital-markets rules modules, RES 1A and 1B for securities dealers, RES 2A and 2B for derivatives dealers, the exchange add-ons RES 1BE1 and RES 2BE1 to 2BE3, RES 3 for fund management, RES 4 for corporate finance, RES 12B, RESP 10 for REIT management, and the product modules CM-EIP, CM-SIP and CM-CMP. The Singapore College of Insurance runs RES 5 plus the insurance and investment-linked product modules M8, M8A, M9, M9A and the combined CM-CIS, CM-LIP and CM-LIC. Registering on the wrong portal is a common false start.

Cost, timing and the paperwork

RES 5 is S$185.30 for SCI or IBF members and S$218.00 for others, inclusive of registration fee and GST, with S$18.53 added for sessions after 5 p.m. on weekdays or at any time at weekends. Since 1 April 2024 a re-sit costs the same as a first attempt, so there is no financial penalty for failing, only the three hours. Passing credits three CPD hours. Sittings are on demand rather than scheduled, so the binding deadline is usually the one set by an employer's compliance department. Exemption applications and administrative appeals attract separate charges, revised by SCI with effect from 1 August 2026.

Common questions

Is CMFAS RES 5 a real estate exam?

No. The Singapore College of Insurance lists RES 5 as Rules, Ethics and Skills for Financial Advisory Services. It is a CMFAS module covering the regulatory framework, the Financial Advisers Act, MAS Notices, anti-money-laundering requirements, collective investment schemes, market conduct, professional ethics, client relationships and financial planning. RES in the CMFAS naming stands for rules, ethics and skills. The Singapore examination for property salespersons is the Council for Estate Agencies Real Estate Salesperson examination, administered by NTUC LearningHub, and it has no paper numbered 5.

What is the RES 5 pass mark?

SCI states that candidates are required to obtain at least 75 per cent for Part I and at least 80 per cent for Part II. Both hurdles must be cleared; a strong Part I score does not compensate for a weak Part II. Part I contains 110 questions and Part II contains 40, out of 150 in total, sat over three hours as a closed-book, English-medium Computer Screen Examination. In practice the 40-question Part II is the tighter constraint, since 80 per cent allows only eight wrong answers.

Did RES 5 replace M5?

Yes. Under the new CMFAS examination structure that took effect on 1 April 2024, M5, Rules and Regulations for Financial Advisory Services, was replaced by RES 5, Rules, Ethics and Skills for Financial Advisory Services. SCI states the M5 examination ceased after 28 March 2024 and that candidates unable to complete M5 by that deadline could register for RES 5, with fee refunds available in extenuating circumstances. The format also changed, from 100 questions in 120 minutes to 150 questions in 180 minutes.

How much does RES 5 cost?

Under the fee standardisation in force from 1 April 2024, RES 5 is S$185.30 for SCI or IBF members and S$218.00 for non-members, both inclusive of the registration fee and GST at the prevailing rate. A peak-session surcharge of S$18.53 applies to weekday sessions after 5 p.m. and to all weekend sessions. There is no distinction between a first attempt and a re-sit. Miscellaneous charges such as exemption applications and administrative appeals were separately revised with effect from 1 August 2026.

Who administers RES 5, IBF or SCI?

The Singapore College of Insurance. This trips people up because most of the CMFAS RES series sits with the Institute of Banking and Finance: RES 1A, RES 1B, RES 1BE1, RES 2A, RES 2B, RES 2BE1 to 2BE3, RES 3, RES 4, RES 12B and RESP 10 all appear on the IBF examination register. RES 5 appears instead on the SCI exam registration page, alongside M8, M8A, M9, M9A and the combined CM-CIS, CM-LIP and CM-LIC modules. Registering on the wrong portal wastes time rather than money.

If I actually need the real estate exam, what should I book?

The Council for Estate Agencies Real Estate Salesperson examination, administered by NTUC LearningHub. It has two papers: Paper 1 covers Competency Units 1 and 2, Paper 2 covers Units 3 and 4. Each paper runs 2 hours 30 minutes with 60 multiple-choice questions worth 60 marks plus 20 case-study questions worth 40 marks, and the passing mark for each paper is 60. Full sitting is S$385.60 and a modular sitting S$192.80, inclusive of GST. A valid Certificate of RES Course Completion is required to register.