Checked 25 October 2026. Low for the format (FINRA SIE page and the 2025 SIE Content Outline, read 25 Oct 2026). Rule figures in the drill list are as the rule pages read on 25 Oct 2026 give them; check FINRA before relying on one in practice.
We suggest using practice questions to find what you do not know yet, rather than to collect scores. This guide covers how to use practice tests well, including FINRA's own free one, the pace the real exam asks for, what to drill in each of the four sections of FINRA's content outline, and three practice questions you can try now, each with the reasoning behind the answer. 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 SIE page and the 2025 SIE Content Outline, read 25 Oct 2026.
FreeTests: Understanding Products and Their Risks · Trading, Customer Accounts and Prohibited Activities · Knowledge of Capital Markets
SIE Exam Practice Test: 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.
Start with FINRA's free practice test
FINRA offers a free SIE practice test of 75 multiple-choice questions "similar to those you might find on the SIE exam". It is not timed and gives feedback at the end. FINRA adds two cautions: your result "should not be taken as an absolute prediction" of how you will do, and each real exam "will include some, but not all, of the content covered" in the outline. That makes it a good diagnostic. Take it early, note which topics you got wrong, and come back to those.
A practice routine that uses each test once
- Week one: take FINRA's practice test untimed and list your wrong answers by outline section.
- Study the sections that cost you most, from the outline's own sub-headings, before taking another test.
- In the last two weeks, take full tests with the real clock: 1 hour 45 minutes, in one sitting, no notes.
- After each test, read the explanation for every question you got wrong or guessed, not only the score.
- Do not retake the same questions until you score well: you would be measuring memory, not knowledge.
Our suggestions, not FINRA's.
2025 SIE Content Outline, structure of the exam: 75 scored items. The 5 unscored pretest items are spread through the exam.
The pace the real exam asks for
The real SIE gives you 1 hour 45 minutes for 80 items, of which 5 are unscored pretest items you cannot identify. That is about 79 seconds an item (our arithmetic). The outline says there is no penalty for guessing, so FINRA advises answering every item. A simple way to check your pace during a timed test is to note the clock at fixed points:
| After this many items | Time used at an even pace (ours) |
|---|---|
| 20 | about 26 minutes |
| 40 | about 53 minutes |
| 60 | about 79 minutes |
| 80 | 105 minutes |
If you are well behind at the 40-item mark, you are probably spending too long on items you cannot work out. Pick your best answer, mark it if your test lets you, and move on.
FreeTests: Understanding Products and Their Risks · Trading, Customer Accounts and Prohibited Activities · Knowledge of Capital Markets
SIE Exam Practice Test: 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 to drill in each section
The outline sets how many scored items each section gets. Our drill list below combines concepts, calculations and rule figures from the outline's headings. It is ours, not FINRA's list of what appears on any exam.
| Section (scored items) | Worth drilling (ours) |
|---|---|
| 1. Knowledge of Capital Markets (12) | Who regulates what: SEC, FINRA, MSRB, state regulators, SIPC and FDIC. Primary, secondary, third and fourth markets. What open market operations do. Firm commitment vs best efforts underwriting, offering documents and registration filing requirements. |
| 2. Understanding Products and Their Risks (33) | The relationship between bond price and yield; coupon, par value and yield. Option strike price, premium, in and out of the money, covered vs uncovered. Mutual fund share classes, breakpoints, letters of intent and rights of accumulation. Matching each named risk to an example. |
| 3. Understanding Trading, Customer Accounts and Prohibited Activities (23) | Order types (market, limit, stop) and when each is used. Dividend dates and T+1 settlement. Stock splits and cost basis. Account registrations, AML stages and reports, and the prohibited practices by name: front running, marking the close, backing away, freeriding. |
| 4. Overview of the Regulatory Framework (7) | Who must register; Forms U4 and U5; statutory disqualification; continuing education; outside business activities and private securities transactions. |
A few rule figures that are easy to mix up, from the official pages listed under Sources:
| Rule or topic | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| SIPC protection | $500,000, including a $250,000 limit for cash | SIPC (official) |
| Standard settlement cycle | T+1 since 28 May 2024 | Investor.gov (SEC) (official) |
| Retail communication (FINRA Rule 2210) | any written (including electronic) communication distributed or made available to more than 25 retail investors within any 30 calendar-day period | FINRA Rule 2210 (official) |
| Outbound telemarketing calls by members to a residence (FINRA Rule 3230) | not before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m. local time at the called party's location, unless an exception applies | FINRA Rule 3230 (official) |
| SIE passing score | 70 on a scale of 0 to 100, after equating | SIE FAQ (official) |
FreeTests: Understanding Products and Their Risks · Trading, Customer Accounts and Prohibited Activities · Knowledge of Capital Markets
SIE Exam Practice Test: 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.
Try three practice questions
These three are original questions written to the outline: one from Section 2, one from Section 3 and one from Section 1. Try each before you open the answer.
Practice question · Section 2 · bond yields
A bond with a 6% coupon and a $1,000 par value trades at $960. What is its current yield?
- A. 6.00%
- B. 6.25%
- C. 5.76%
- D. 4.00%
Show the answer and why
Answer: B.
Current yield = annual interest / market price = $60 / $960 = 6.25%. The coupon is 6% of par ($60 a year); because the bond trades below par, the current yield is above the coupon rate.
An original ProSyllabus practice question, written to the topics in FINRA's SIE Content Outline. It is not a FINRA exam question.
Practice question · Section 3 · settlement
A customer buys common stock in a regular-way trade on a Monday with no holiday that week. When does the trade settle?
- A. Monday (T+0)
- B. Wednesday (T+2)
- C. Tuesday (T+1)
- D. Thursday (T+3)
Show the answer and why
Answer: C.
Since 28 May 2024, the standard settlement cycle for most U.S. securities trades, including stocks, is one business day after the trade date (T+1).
An original ProSyllabus practice question, written to the topics in FINRA's SIE Content Outline. It is not a FINRA exam question.
Practice question · Section 1 · SIPC
A customer of a failed SIPC member firm held stock that fell 40% in value before the firm failed. Which loss does SIPC cover?
- A. The full 40% fall in value, because it occurred while the firm was still a SIPC member
- B. Half of the 40% fall, with the rest shared among the other customers of the failed firm
- C. None of the market loss; SIPC restores missing securities and cash, not a fall in value
- D. The fall in value, but only on the part of the account above $250,000 in cash
Show the answer and why
Answer: C.
SIPC protection replaces customer securities and cash missing when a member firm fails, up to its limits. It does not protect against a decline in the market value of securities.
An original ProSyllabus practice question, written to the topics in FINRA's SIE Content Outline. It is not a FINRA exam question.
Reading a practice score
A percentage on a practice test is not an SIE score. FINRA reports the SIE on a scale of 0 to 100, with 70 to pass, after a statistical step called equating that adjusts for small differences in difficulty between sets of exam items. The FINRA pages listed under Sources give no way to turn the scaled 70 into a number of correct answers, so treat any practice percentage as a rough guide to where you are strong and weak, not as a forecast. Our passing score guide goes through what is and is not published about the score.
FreeTests: Understanding Products and Their Risks · Trading, Customer Accounts and Prohibited Activities · Knowledge of Capital Markets
SIE Exam Practice Test: 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
Is there an official SIE practice test?
Yes. FINRA offers a free practice test of 75 multiple-choice questions, linked from its SIE page. It is untimed and gives feedback at the end.
How many questions are on the real SIE?
75 scored multiple-choice items with four answer choices each, plus 5 unidentified unscored pretest items: 80 in all, in 1 hour 45 minutes (2025 SIE Content Outline).
How long should I spend on each SIE question?
About 79 seconds on average, by our arithmetic: 1 hour 45 minutes divided by 80 items.
Is there a penalty for guessing on the SIE?
No. The content outline says there is no penalty for guessing, so FINRA advises answering every item.
Are practice test questions the same as real SIE questions?
FINRA says the questions in its own practice test are similar to those you might find on the exam, and that a real exam covers some of the same content as well as content the practice test does not. Our questions are our own.
What score should I aim for on practice tests?
The FINRA pages listed under Sources set no practice-test target, and FINRA says practice results should not be taken as an absolute prediction. A practice percentage is not the scaled score of 70: use it to find weak sections.
Sources
- official — FINRA — Free SIE practice test (75 questions, untimed)
- official — FINRA — SIE Content Outline, (c) 2025 (75 scored + 5 pretest = 80 items) (PDF)
- official — FINRA — Securities Industry Essentials (SIE) Exam page ("At A Glance": 75 questions, 1 hour 45 minutes, passing score 70, cost $100; enrolment routes; exams taken after the SIE)
- official — FINRA — SIE Exam and Exam Restructuring FAQ (age, citizenship, SSN or mother's maiden name, co-requisite, scoring, waiting periods, validity, BrokerCheck and CRD)
- official — SIPC — What SIPC Protects (limit of $500,000, including a $250,000 limit for cash)
- official — Investor.gov (SEC) — New "T+1" Settlement Cycle: What Investors Need To Know (standard settlement cycle T+1 from 28 May 2024)
- official — FINRA Rule 2210 — Communications with the Public (a retail communication is any written, including electronic, communication distributed or made available to more than 25 retail investors within any 30 calendar-day period)
- official — FINRA Rule 3230 — Telemarketing (no outbound telephone calls by members or their associated persons to a residence before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m. local time at the called party's location, unless an exception applies)
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.
