Checked 25 October 2026. Low for the format (FINRA Series 7 page and the 2025 Series 7 Content Outline, read 25 Oct 2026). The retake waiting periods change on 19 January 2027 (Regulatory Notice 26-18); check the fee and the waits on FINRA's pages before you enrol.
The Series 7, FINRA's General Securities Representative Qualification Examination, is the exam a registered representative passes to sell the full range of securities products: corporate and municipal securities, investment company products, variable contracts, direct participation programs, options and government securities. This guide sets out what FINRA itself says about the exam today: its length and timing, the passing score, how the questions are spread across four job functions, what the content outline lists under each, and how the SIE corequisite and firm sponsorship fit together. ProSyllabus is an independent study site, not part of FINRA. The facts here are quoted or summarised from the official pages listed under Sources.
FINRA Series 7 page and the 2025 Series 7 Content Outline, read 25 Oct 2026.
FreeTests: Function 2: Opens Accounts · Function 3: Information and Recommendations · Function 4: Processes and Confirms Transactions
Series 7 Practice Exam: free sample
Answer 3 questions against the clock, like the real exam. You then see the right answer, the reason and your time on each. About 5 minutes · free · no sign-in.
3 questions to answer
Start nowabout 5 minThis one is free · no sign-in needed
Your result shows how long each question took you.
The Series 7 at a glance
FINRA's Series 7 page and its content outline give the following, as read on 25 October 2026:
| Item | What FINRA says | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Scored questions | 125 multiple-choice items, each with four answer choices | Series 7 page, content outline |
| Unscored pretest questions | 5 additional, unidentified items spread through the exam, so each exam has 130 items | Content outline (2025) |
| Time allowed | 3 hours and 45 minutes | Series 7 page, content outline |
| Passing score | 72 | Series 7 page |
| Guessing | No penalty, so candidates should attempt every item | Content outline |
| Reference materials | Not permitted at the testing session | Content outline |
| Corequisite | The SIE | Series 7 page |
| Cost | $395 | Series 7 page |
Since 27 October 2025: 5 unscored items, not 10
- FINRA's weekly update of 1 October 2025 announced that, effective 27 October, candidates on the SIE, Series 7 and Series 79 "will receive five unscored questions instead of 10", adding: "The duration of these exams will not change."
- Immediately before that change, the Series 7 had 125 scored items plus 10 unscored items: 135 in all.
- The 2025 content outline now on the Series 7 page says each exam consists of "a total of 130 items (125 scored and 5 unscored)", in 3 hours and 45 minutes.
FINRA weekly update of 1 October 2025 and the 2025 Series 7 Content Outline.
The four job functions and how the items are split
FINRA builds the Series 7 around what an entry-level general securities representative does, not around product chapters. The content outline names four major job functions and fixes how many of the 125 scored items come from each. The same split is printed on FINRA's Series 7 page.
Series 7 Content Outline (2025), structure of the exam: 125 scored items. The 5 unscored pretest items are spread through the exam.
| Function | Description (FINRA's wording) | Share of scored items | Items |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Seeks Business for the Broker-Dealer from Customers and Potential Customers | 7% | 9 |
| 2 | Opens Accounts After Obtaining and Evaluating Customers' Financial Profile and Investment Objectives | 9% | 11 |
| 3 | Provides Customers with Information About Investments, Makes Recommendations, Transfers Assets and Maintains Appropriate Records | 73% | 91 |
| 4 | Obtains and Verifies Customers' Purchase and Sales Instructions and Agreements; Processes, Completes and Confirms Transactions | 11% | 14 |
Function 3 carries 91 of the 125 scored items. It is where the products live: equity and debt securities, municipal securities, packaged products such as mutual funds and variable annuities, options and their strategies, and the analysis, risk, tax and disclosure topics that go with recommending them. The other three functions are smaller but are tested on every exam.
FreeTests: Function 2: Opens Accounts · Function 3: Information and Recommendations · Function 4: Processes and Confirms Transactions
Series 7 Practice Exam: free sample
Answer 3 questions against the clock, like the real exam. You then see the right answer, the reason and your time on each. About 5 minutes · free · no sign-in.
3 questions to answer
Start nowabout 5 minThis one is free · no sign-in needed
Your result shows how long each question took you.
What the content outline lists under each function
The outline breaks each function into tasks and lists the knowledge and rules behind each task. A condensed view of the headings, in FINRA's order (our summary of the outline's own words):
| Function | Tasks in the outline | Examples of what is listed |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Seeks business (9 items) | 1.1 Contacts current and potential customers and develops promotional and advertising materials, with the required approvals. 1.2 Describes investment products and services to solicit business. | Standards and approvals of public communications (FINRA Rule 2210 and the product-specific rules), options communications and the options disclosure document, municipal advertising (MSRB Rule G-21), the new-issue process, syndicates and the underwriting spread, Regulation D, Regulation A, Rules 144, 144A and 147, primary municipal offerings. |
| 2. Opens accounts (11 items) | 2.1 Informs customers of account types and gives the disclosures. 2.2 Obtains and updates customer information and identifies and escalates suspicious activity. 2.3 Makes reasonable efforts to obtain the customer's investment profile information. 2.4 Obtains the supervisory approvals to open accounts. | Account types and registrations, retirement plans and ERISA, 529 and Coverdell accounts, customer identification and know your customer (Rule 2090), privacy under Regulation S-P, powers of attorney and discretionary accounts (Rule 3260), Regulation Best Interest and Rule 2111 suitability, supervision (Rule 3110). |
| 3. Information and recommendations (91 items) | 3.1 Provides information about investment strategies, risks and rewards. 3.2 Reviews customers' profiles and product options so recommendations meet the standards. 3.3 Gives the required disclosures on products, risks, services and expenses. 3.4 Communicates about account information and keeps records. | Portfolio theory, fundamental and technical analysis, equity and preferred stock, rights and warrants, investment companies, variable annuities, REITs, direct participation programs, options strategies with profit, loss and break-even, corporate, Treasury, agency and municipal debt, yields and tax treatment, confirmations and statements, account transfers. |
| 4. Processes transactions (14 items) | 4.1 Provides current quotes. 4.2 Processes and confirms transactions and informs customers of delivery and settlement. 4.3 Helps resolve discrepancies, disputes, errors and complaints. 4.4 Addresses margin issues. | Order types, short sales under Regulation SHO, best execution (Rule 5310), trade reporting (TRACE, EMMA, RTRS), settlement under SEC Rule 15c6-1 and good delivery, customer complaints and arbitration, Form U4, Regulation T and Rule 4210 margin calculations, the special memorandum account. |
What this means for study time (our reading, not FINRA's)
- Function 3 is nearly three items in four. Options, municipal securities and packaged products all sit inside it, and each comes with its own arithmetic.
- The calculations in the outline are concentrated in a few places: options profit, loss and break-even; bond yields, accrued interest and taxable-equivalent yield; mutual fund sales charges; and margin under Regulation T and Rule 4210.
- Function 4 is only 14 items, but margin alone gets a whole task (4.4) with a long list of calculations, so it is worth practising until the steps are automatic.
- Functions 1 and 2 are mostly rules and procedures: who approves what, which document is delivered when, and which account needs which paperwork.
Our suggestions, based on the outline's structure. The FINRA pages listed under Sources give no study-time guidance.
The passing score of 72
FINRA's Series 7 page gives the passing score as 72. The content outline explains that all candidate scores are placed on a common scale "using a statistical adjustment process known as equating", which accounts for slight differences in difficulty between the sets of items candidates receive, so that every candidate is held to the same passing standard. The FINRA pages listed under Sources do not publish a way to turn 72 into a number of correct answers, and they do not publish a Series 7 pass rate. Treat any page that converts 72 into an exact count of right answers as a guess.
Because there is no penalty for guessing, an unanswered item can only cost you. At the real pace, 3 hours 45 minutes for 130 items, you have about 104 seconds an item on average (our arithmetic).
The SIE corequisite and firm sponsorship
Two conditions sit around the Series 7 itself. First, sponsorship: FINRA's Series 7 page says candidates "must be associated with and sponsored by a FINRA member firm or other applicable self-regulatory organization (SRO) member firm to be eligible to take FINRA representative-level qualification exams". The SIE FAQ adds that a person must be associated with a broker-dealer to take "any qualification exams, such as the General Securities Exam (Series 7)". Second, the SIE: it is a corequisite, not a prerequisite. FINRA says candidates "must pass both the Series 7 exam and the SIE exam to obtain the General Securities registration", and the SIE FAQ says: "The order in which you pass the exams does not matter as long as you pass both exams." It also says that a person associated with a broker-dealer may take both on the same day, as separate sessions.
| Question | SIE | Series 7 |
|---|---|---|
| Do I need a sponsoring firm? | No: open to anyone aged 18 or older | Yes: association with and sponsorship by a member firm |
| Which comes first? | Either order: both must be passed for the registration | Either order: both must be passed for the registration |
| Questions | 75 (FINRA's SIE page) | 125 scored + 5 unscored pretest = 130 |
| Time allowed | 1 hour 45 minutes | 3 hours 45 minutes |
| Passing score | 70 | 72 |
Before FINRA restructured its exams on 1 October 2018, the Series 7 was a 250-question exam; FINRA's Exam Restructuring page shows it at 125 questions on or after that date, with the general knowledge moved into the SIE. That is why older study material can look twice the size of today's exam. If you are still preparing for the SIE, our guide to the SIE, Series 7 and Series 65 sets out which exam can be taken first.
FreeTests: Function 2: Opens Accounts · Function 3: Information and Recommendations · Function 4: Processes and Confirms Transactions
Series 7 Practice Exam: free sample
Answer 3 questions against the clock, like the real exam. You then see the right answer, the reason and your time on each. About 5 minutes · free · no sign-in.
3 questions to answer
Start nowabout 5 minThis one is free · no sign-in needed
Your result shows how long each question took you.
What a Series 7 pass lets you do
FINRA's Series 7 page says a candidate who passes is qualified for the solicitation, purchase and sale of all securities products, including corporate securities, municipal fund securities, options, direct participation programs, investment company products and variable contracts. The page adds one limit on municipal securities: anyone who obtained the Series 7 registration on or after 7 November 2011 is qualified to sell municipal securities to and buy them from customers, but must pass the Series 52 to structure municipal underwritings or for other municipal activities beyond those sales and purchases. Nothing on this page is investment advice: securities products appear here only as exam content.
If you do not pass
Retake waiting periods are set by FINRA Rule 1210.06. Regulatory Notice 26-18 shortens them from 19 January 2027: from 30 calendar days to 15 after a first or second failed attempt, and from 180 to 60 after a third or later failed attempt within a two-year period. Until then the 30- and 180-day waits apply, and the notice explains how the new waits apply to an exam failed before 19 January 2027. Check FINRA's page before you plan a retake date.
| After this failed attempt | Wait until 18 January 2027 | Wait from 19 January 2027 |
|---|---|---|
| First or second | 30 calendar days | 15 calendar days |
| Third or later, within two years | 180 calendar days | 60 calendar days |
Practice is the part you control. Our independent Series 7 practice exam, linked below the article, has two timed mocks of 125 questions on the official function split, each with an explanation for every answer. It is not FINRA's exam and its questions are not FINRA items.
FreeTests: Function 2: Opens Accounts · Function 3: Information and Recommendations · Function 4: Processes and Confirms Transactions
Series 7 Practice Exam: free sample
Answer 3 questions against the clock, like the real exam. You then see the right answer, the reason and your time on each. About 5 minutes · free · no sign-in.
3 questions to answer
Start nowabout 5 minThis one is free · no sign-in needed
Your result shows how long each question took you.
Frequently asked questions
How many questions are on the Series 7?
125 scored multiple-choice questions, each with four answer choices, plus 5 unidentified unscored pretest questions: 130 in all (2025 Series 7 Content Outline). Before 27 October 2025 there were 10 pretest questions.
How long is the Series 7 exam?
3 hours and 45 minutes, according to FINRA's Series 7 page and the content outline.
What is the passing score for the Series 7?
72. FINRA places all candidate scores on a common scale through equating, so 72 is not simply 72% of the questions right.
Do I have to pass the SIE before the Series 7?
No. The SIE is a corequisite: you must pass both to obtain the General Securities Representative registration, but the order does not matter, and a sponsored candidate can take both on the same day.
Can I take the Series 7 without a sponsor?
No. FINRA says candidates must be associated with and sponsored by a FINRA member firm or another applicable SRO member firm. The SIE can be taken without a sponsor.
Which part of the Series 7 has the most questions?
Function 3, which covers providing information about investments, making recommendations, transferring assets and keeping records: 91 of the 125 scored items (73%).
Can I bring notes or a reference sheet?
No. The content outline says candidates are not permitted to bring reference materials to their testing session.
Sources
- official — FINRA — Series 7: General Securities Representative Exam page ("At A Glance": 125 items, multiple choice, 3 hours and 45 minutes, passing score 72, corequisite SIE, cost $395; items per job function; eligibility and sponsorship; permitted activities)
- official — FINRA — Series 7 Content Outline, (c) 2025 (125 scored + 5 unscored pretest items = 130; four answer choices; no penalty for guessing; equating; no reference materials) (PDF)
- official — FINRA — Weekly update archive entry 10012025 (the page shows no date line), "Pretest Questions to be Reduced for Key Securities Exams": from 27 October 2025, five unscored questions instead of 10 on the SIE, Series 7 and Series 79; duration unchanged
- official — FINRA — SIE and Exam Restructuring FAQ (association with a broker-dealer needed for qualification exams such as the Series 7; SIE and Series 7 on the same day; either order)
- official — FINRA — Exam Restructuring (Series 7: 250 questions before 1 October 2018, 125 on or after)
- official — FINRA — Regulatory Notice 26-18 (Rule 1210.06 retake waiting periods: 15 calendar days after the first and second failed attempts and 60 after the third and later attempts within two years, effective 19 January 2027; 30 and 180 before)
- official — FINRA — Securities Industry Essentials (SIE) Exam page
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.
