Fees and rules
Firm sponsorship: who enrolls you, and for which exams
Independent site, not affiliated with FINRA, NASAA or Prometric. Enrollment and scheduling happen only through FINRA and your firm.
The finder shows, for each kind of job, which exams a firm must sponsor and which you can sit on your own before anyone hires you.
Which exams does my job need?
Exams to pass
SIE + Series 6 + Series 63
| Exam fees, 2026 | $347 |
| Scored questions in all | 185 |
| Seat time in all | 4.5 hours |
| Firm sponsorship | needed for Series 6 |
Series 6 needs a sponsoring firm; the state agent registration usually rests on the Series 63.
Sponsorship means that a FINRA member firm, usually your employer, enrolls you for an exam and associates the result with a registration it files for you. The Series 7 and the Series 6 cannot be taken without it (Series 7 page, Series 6 page): the firm files the registration on Form U4, which also opens the exam enrollment, and pays or charges the fee, $395 for the Series 7 in 2026. The SIE is the exception among FINRA exams: anyone aged 18 or over can enroll on their own (SIE page), and a pass stays valid for 4 years while you look for a firm. The NASAA exams, the Series 63, 65 and 66, do not need a sponsor to be taken either (Series 65 page), but the state registration they lead to is filed through a firm. In practice, a job seeker passes the SIE, sometimes the Series 65, then lets the hiring firm sponsor the Series 7 or 6 and the state exam once the offer is signed.
Your score · SIE
0 / 0
0 / 5 answered
Choose an answer to begin
| Pass: scaled score of 70; here 4 of 5 correct (70%), an approximation |
| You can still miss 1 |
Practice questions written by Radif Partners from the official outline topics. They are not questions from the real exam. Progress is kept in this browser only (local storage) and never sent.
Questions, formats and fees by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Method
Which exams need a sponsor
| Exam | Sponsor needed to enroll | Who usually pays |
|---|---|---|
| SIE | no | you |
| Series 7 | yes, a FINRA member firm | the firm, often |
| Series 6 | yes, a FINRA member firm | the firm, often |
| Series 63 | no | the firm if it asked for it, otherwise you |
| Series 65 | no | the firm if it asked for it, otherwise you |
| Series 66 | no (the Series 7 is also needed for the registration) | the firm, often |
What the firm files
The firm submits Form U4 for the registrations it wants you to hold, for example general securities representative. FINRA enrolls you in the matching exams and posts a 120-day window. The firm also files the state registrations, which is when the Series 63, 65 or 66 comes in. When you pass, the registration is approved once every exam it needs is passed, including the SIE as corequisite of the Series 7 or 6, and once the firm has finished its own checks.
Background checks
The registration process includes fingerprinting and disclosure questions on past regulatory, criminal and financial events. Some events can lead to statutory disqualification. If you have something to disclose, discuss it with the firm's compliance department before the filing rather than after.
Building a profile before sponsorship
Passing the SIE early shows a firm that you can handle the basics and spares it one exam on your start date. A pass lasts 4 years (SIE expiration calculator), long enough to cover a degree's final years and a job search. Candidates aiming at advisory work can also pass the Series 65 without a sponsor, though it only becomes useful once an adviser firm registers them.
When the firm is paying
A sponsored exam often comes with conditions: a date by which you must pass, a limit on the number of attempts the firm will pay for, sometimes a repayment clause if you leave within a year. Ask for these conditions in writing. The waiting periods after a failure, described on the retake page, can push your start in the job back by weeks, so a first-time pass is worth the extra mock exam. The five questions above train the regulatory section of the SIE, where registration and Form U4 sit in the outline.
Questions to ask the firm before it files
- Which registrations will you file for me, and therefore which exams, in which order?
- Who pays the fees, including retakes, and is there a repayment clause?
- By what date must I pass, and what study time or material does the firm provide?
- Which states will I be registered in, and which state exam do they accept?
The answers fix your study plan and your budget. The fee calculator prices the whole path in 2026 terms.
Keep a copy of what the firm tells you in writing. If you leave before passing, the enrollment ends with the association, and a new firm will have to file again; your SIE, which needed no sponsor, stays yours for its four years.