Checked 7 October 2026. Pattern is from the NISM exam page, FAQ and Annexure I (August 2021), all agreeing on 100 questions, 100 marks, 2 hours, pass 50 and no negative marking. NISM can revise the pattern by communique; the page tiles were read on 7 October 2026. NISM does not publish pass rates, the number of options per question or a count of questions per unit on the page.
NISM Series V-A, the Mutual Fund Distributors Certification Examination, is a computer-based test of 100 multiple-choice questions, one mark each, to be finished in 2 hours. The passing score is 50 marks (50 per cent), and there is no negative marking. That last point is the one most pages get wrong, because the majority of other NISM series do deduct marks for wrong answers. NISM states it in plain words on the exam page: "There shall be no negative marking." The certificate is valid for 3 years and the fee shown on the page is Rs 1,500 plus payment gateway charges.
The first three tiles and the fourth are printed by NISM on the exam page and in Annexure I; only the 72 seconds is our arithmetic.
ProSyllabus is an independent study site. We are not affiliated with, or endorsed by, the National Institute of Securities Markets, SEBI or AMFI. Every rule below is quoted or summarised from their published documents, and every sum, ratio or date calculation is labelled as our own arithmetic. NISM can change fees, pattern and rules; check the exam page before you pay.
The scheme at a glance
Three NISM documents describe the pattern: the exam page (read on 7 October 2026), the FAQ and Annexure I of August 2021. They agree on every number below. Where a document says something the others do not, the last column says which.
| Item | What NISM says | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Exam name | NISM-Series-V-A: Mutual Fund Distributors Certification Examination | Exam page |
| Mode | Computer-based examination with multiple-choice questions | Annexure I |
| Questions and marks | 100 questions of 1 mark each, 100 marks | Exam page, FAQ, Annexure I |
| Duration | 2 hours (tile shows 120 minutes) | Exam page, Annexure I |
| Passing score | 50 marks, shown as 50 per cent | Exam page, FAQ, Annexure I |
| Negative marking | None. "No negative marks for incorrect answers." | Exam page, Annexure I |
| Fee | Rs 1,500 (tile: 1500+, "Payment gateway charges extra") | Exam page, FAQ |
| Certificate validity | 3 years | Exam page, FAQ |
| Certificate condition | A passing certificate is issued only to candidates who have furnished their PAN in the registration details | Exam page footnote, FAQ |
| Language | The page is titled English; a separate Hindi test-objectives page exists | Exam page |
| Study material | Workbook is free to download and also sent in soft copy after enrolment | FAQ |
Everything else about the sitting, such as the centre, slot, identity documents and how to book, is on the fees, centres and booking guide; the unit-wise split of the 100 marks is on the weightage guide.
Where other pages get this wrong
NISM Series V-A has no negative marking.
Commonly published instead: Many exam-prep pages apply NISM’s usual 25 per cent deduction (a quarter of a mark per wrong answer) to every series, or say "negative marking applies" without naming the series.
The 25 per cent rule is real for the derivatives, operations, compliance, investment adviser and research analyst series, as the table below shows. V-A, the Mutual Fund Foundation exam, the Securities Markets Foundation exam, the AML exam and the RTA exams are among those NISM itself marks as having none. Read the pattern line on the exact exam page, not a general NISM article.
What no negative marking changes for you
With no deduction, a wrong answer and a blank cost exactly the same: nothing. The sensible rule is to answer every question before the timer ends, and to mark doubtful items to come back to. The only cost of a guess is the seconds it takes, and at 72 seconds a question (our arithmetic) there is room to check a flagged answer. NISM’s candidate instructions say you must stay seated and submit before leaving; the exam software does the scoring objectively with no human intervention, as the re-evaluation policy explains.
That does not make guessing a plan. Chance alone gives about one mark in four if each question has four options (the pages we read do not state the option count, so treat four as an assumption). The table is our calculation of what a mix of sure answers and blind guesses is worth against the 50-mark line, and the tool under it lets you try your own mix.
| Questions you are sure of | Questions you guess blindly | Questions left blank by choice | Expected score (4 options) | Chance of 50 or more |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 50 | 0 | 50 | 50.0 | 100.0% |
| 45 | 20 | 35 | 50.0 | 58.5% |
| 40 | 30 | 30 | 47.5 | 19.7% |
| 35 | 40 | 25 | 45.0 | 5.4% |
| 30 | 50 | 20 | 42.5 | 1.4% |
| 20 | 60 | 20 | 35.0 | <0.1% |
| 10 | 80 | 10 | 30.0 | <0.1% |
Pass-chance checker (our arithmetic)
Type how many questions you would answer correctly for certain and how many you would guess blindly. There is no negative marking, so a blank earns exactly what a wrong answer earns: nothing. The tool assumes each guess is a pure chance with the number of options you choose; NISM’s pages do not state the option count, so change it if your mock paper differs.
Passing score printed by NISM: 50 marks of 100. Blind guessing at one in four is the textbook assumption; real guesses after eliminating two options do better. Sure answers are assumed to be right, which a mock paper should confirm.
The pattern is readable from the table: sure answers on half the paper are enough, and every blind guess adds only a quarter of a mark on average. A candidate who is sure of 40 and guesses 30 more reaches the pass mark only about one time in five (19.7 per cent) by our binomial arithmetic, which is not a position to sit the paper in. The reliable route is knowing 55 to 60 questions well, which is what the weightage guide helps you aim at.
Passing mark: 50 marks, and what comes after
The passing score is 50 marks of 100. NISM does not publish a cut-off that moves with the paper, a percentile or a section minimum on the pages we read; the single threshold is the whole rule. The score card is generated by the system at the end of the test, and a candidate who contests a question must raise it on the spot, before leaving the test centre, for at most two questions, with the specific problem stated; a request to re-evaluate the whole paper is not entertained (NISM re-evaluation policy).
The certificate is the second step. NISM issues it only if your PAN is on your registration, because the certificate carries your name as per the income tax records. A candidate who did not give a PAN at registration gets only a temporary mark sheet and can furnish the PAN later to the test administrator without paying again (FAQ). NISM’s documents give four different delivery times, which we print rather than pick: the FAQ says within two weeks of the examination, the registration guidelines say the soft copy is emailed after 72 hours, the flowchart in the same guidelines says 3 to 4 working days, and the candidate instructions say certificates are generally issued within 10 to 15 working days. Plan for the longest of the four if an application deadline depends on it.
How V-A compares with the neighbouring NISM series
Candidates often prepare for V-A and another series in the same season, usually V-B, V-D or the equity derivatives exam. The table puts the figures NISM prints on each series page side by side. Among the 25 NISM series pages we saved and read (our count), V-A, V-B, XII, XXIV, XXV-A, XXV-B and the two RTA exams are the ones that say there is no negative marking; the rest deduct 10 or 25 per cent.
| Series | Questions | Time | Pass mark | Negative marking | Fee |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| V-A Mutual Fund Distributors | 100 (1 mark) | 2 hours | 50 of 100 | None | Rs 1,500+ |
| V-B Mutual Fund Foundation | 50 (1 mark) | 2 hours | 25 of 50 (50%) | None | Rs 1,200+ |
| V-D MF and SIF Distributors (from 22 July 2026) | 150 (1 mark) | 3 hours | 90 of 150 (60%) | 10% of a question’s marks | Rs 3,000 plus taxes |
| VIII Equity Derivatives | 100 (1 mark) | 2 hours | 60% | 25% of a question’s marks | Rs 1,500+ |
| VII Securities Operations and Risk Management | 100 (1 mark) | 2 hours | 50% | 25% of a question’s marks | Rs 1,500+ |
| XV Research Analyst | 100 (80 MCQs plus 5 case studies of 4 questions) | 2 hours | 60 marks | 25% of a question’s marks | Rs 1,500+ |
| XXI-A PMS Distributors | 100 MCQs | 2 hours | 60% | 10% of a question’s marks | Rs 1,500+ |
| XXIV AML and CFT | 50 (1 mark) | 1 hour | 50% | None | Rs 885+ |
Read the table as "which paper punishes a wrong tick". Moving from V-A to VIII, for instance, changes the strategy completely: on V-A you answer everything, on VIII a quarter mark comes off each wrong answer, so a guess has a negative expectation unless you can eliminate at least one option. The cost and eligibility of each series is in the guide to which NISM series a job or ARN needs.
Durations and question counts are printed by NISM; seconds are our arithmetic and ignore reading time for case studies.
What the papers do not tell you
NISM publishes no pass rate, no question-level statistics and no past papers: its re-evaluation policy says questions and answers are not disclosed so as to keep the question bank confidential, and the FAQ points candidates to the chapter-end sample questions and worked examples in the workbook. We therefore make no claim about difficulty or about how many candidates pass. What can be said from the official material is structural. The paper is one section, covering the 12 units in the curriculum; there is no sectional time limit and no sectional cut-off in the documents we read; and there is no description of case-based items for V-A, which the XV page does describe for its own paper (80 MCQs plus 5 case studies); the XXI-A page lists only 100 multiple-choice questions.
On the day, NISM allows any silent calculator that has no computer connectivity (candidate instructions), which matters for the NAV, return and tax questions in Units 7, 8, 10 and 11. You must bring the admit card and an original photo identity proof, and report 30 minutes before the slot. Mobile phones and notes stay outside. Rough sheets are given by the invigilator and returned before you leave.
| Exam-day rule | What NISM says |
|---|---|
| Reporting time | 30 minutes before the slot; late arrival can mean no entry and the fee is not refunded or rescheduled |
| Documents | Admit card (physical or soft) and one original photo ID: PAN, Aadhaar, driving licence or passport, or the same in DigiLocker with the photograph |
| Calculator | Bring your own; silent, no computer connectivity; all types allowed |
| Phones, books, bags | Switched off and left outside the test centre or in the locker assigned |
| Rough work | Only on the sheets the invigilator gives; return them before leaving |
| Question disputes | On the spot, at most two questions, with a stated reason; nothing after you leave |
| Re-evaluation of the paper | Not permitted |
Once you are comfortable with the pattern, the next job is deciding where the 100 marks come from. The unit weights (Investor Services and Scheme Selection are 15 marks each) are on the weightage and syllabus guide, and what happens after you pass, including the three-year validity and the CPE route, is on the validity and renewal guide.
Frequently asked questions
How many questions are there in NISM Series V-A?
100 multiple-choice questions of 1 mark each, for 100 marks, to be completed in 2 hours (NISM exam page, FAQ and Annexure I).
What is the passing mark in NISM Series V-A?
50 marks out of 100, shown as 50 per cent on the exam page. NISM prints a single threshold with no sectional cut-off in the documents we read.
Is there negative marking in the NISM Mutual Fund Distributors exam?
No. NISM states "There shall be no negative marking" and the exam page footnote says "No negative marks for incorrect answers". Other series such as VIII, VII and XV do have a deduction of 25 per cent of the marks assigned to a question.
How long is the NISM Series V-A exam?
2 hours, shown as 120 minutes on the exam page. That is about 72 seconds a question by our division.
Does NISM publish the pass percentage or past papers for V-A?
No. NISM says question and answer disclosure would breach the confidentiality of the question bank. The FAQ points to the workbook’s chapter-end sample questions instead.
Can I use a calculator in the NISM exam?
Yes. Candidates bring their own; it must be silent and have no computer connectivity, and all types are allowed, according to NISM’s candidate instructions.
How soon do I get the certificate after passing?
NISM’s own documents differ: within two weeks (FAQ), after 72 hours (registration guidelines), 3 to 4 working days (the guidelines’ flowchart) or generally 10 to 15 working days (candidate instructions). The certificate is issued only if your PAN is on your registration.
Sources
- official — NISM: Mutual Fund Distributors Exam and Certification Program page (NISM-Series-V-A; fees, duration, questions, pass marks, validity tiles and assessment structure; read 7 October 2026)
- official — NISM: FAQ, NISM-Series-V-A Mutual Fund Distributors Certification Examination (English)
- official — NISM: Annexure I, NISM-Series-V-A (August 2021): examination specifications and syllabus outline with weightages
- official — NISM: Re-evaluation Policy
- official — NISM: Candidate Instructions (terms and conditions for NISM certification examinations)
- official — NISM: How to Register and Enroll for NISM Certification Examination, CPE and eCPE Program Online (Registration Guidelines, 26 June 2025)
- official — NISM: NISM-Series-V-B, Mutual Fund Foundation Certification Examination
- official — NISM: NISM-Series-V-D, Mutual Fund and Specialized Investment Fund Distributors Certification Examination (launch w.e.f. 22 July 2026)
- official — NISM: NISM-Series-VIII, Equity Derivatives Certification Examination
- official — NISM: NISM-Series-XV, Research Analyst Certification Examination
- official — NISM: NISM-Series-XXI-A, Portfolio Management Services (PMS) Distributors Certification Examination
- official — NISM: NISM-Series-XXIV, AML and CFT Provisions in Securities Markets Certification Examination
official = a document published by the conducting body. reported = a news or coaching site we could not check against an original. Where sources disagree this page says so rather than picking one.
