Series 63, 65, 66
The Series 65 exam for investment adviser representatives
Ten corrected questions from the Series 65 pool, with a menu to stay on one of the four subjects. The format and how to study it follow.
Your score · Series 65
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0 / 10 answered
Choose an answer to begin
| Pass: 92 of 130 correct, so 8 of 10 here |
| You can still miss 2 |
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.
The Series 65, the Uniform Investment Adviser Law Examination, qualifies a person to register in most states as an investment adviser representative, someone who gives investment advice for a fee rather than earning commissions on sales. NASAA writes it and FINRA delivers it (FINRA Series 65 page). No exam covered on this site has more scored questions: 130 of them plus 10 pretest items, with 180 minutes to answer them. The pass is a count, at least 92 correct answers out of the 130 scored. The fee is $187 in 2026. Unlike the Series 7, it needs no sponsoring firm and no SIE: anyone can enroll and sit it on their own. The NASAA study guide divides the exam into 4 subjects: economics and business information (20 questions), investment vehicles (32), client recommendations and strategies (39) and laws, regulations and ethics (39). Half of it is therefore investment knowledge with real calculations, and half is advice and regulation, with the fiduciary duty of an adviser running through both.
Is my mock score above the passing line?
Result on the official scale
Above the line
| Passing line | 92 of 130 correct |
| Your share | 73% |
| Margin | 3 answers |
| Questions you can miss | 38 |
NASAA sets the pass as a number of correct answers out of the scored questions, so this is exact for a mock of the same length.
Questions, formats and fees by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Method
The four subjects of the Series 65
| Subject | Questions | Share | In our pool | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Economics and business information | 20 | 15% | 43 |
| 2 | Investment vehicles | 32 | 25% | 64 |
| 3 | Recommendations and strategies | 39 | 30% | 73 |
| 4 | Laws, rules and ethics | 39 | 30% | 67 |
Economics and business information
The business cycle, monetary and fiscal policy, inflation, interest rates and the yield curve, then reading financial statements, and a block of analytical methods: present and future value, internal rate of return, basic statistics and risk measures. It closes with systematic and unsystematic risk and the order of claims in a liquidation.
Investment vehicles
Cash equivalents, every family of bonds, stocks and how they are valued, pooled investments from mutual funds to private funds and REITs, options and futures, alternative investments and insurance-based products such as annuities. The angle is the adviser's: what each product does for a client, at what cost and with which risks.
Client recommendations and strategies
The largest subject along with the law. It starts from the client profile and objectives, then covers capital market theory, portfolio styles, taxes, retirement plans and ERISA, special account types, estate planning and trading, and how performance is measured. Many questions describe a client and ask for the most suitable approach.
Laws, regulations and ethics
Registration of advisers, their representatives, broker-dealers and agents under state and federal law, remedies and the powers of the state administrator, communications with clients, and above all ethical practices and fiduciary duty: disclosure of conflicts, custody, fees, contracts. NASAA's model rule on unethical practices of advisers and the Uniform Prudent Investor Act are named in the guide.
Format and scoring
| Series 65, 2026 | |
|---|---|
| Questions | 130 scored questions plus 10 unscored |
| Time | 180 minutes (3 hours) |
| To pass | 92 of 130 correct |
| Fee | $187 |
| Sponsor or corequisite | none |
| Book | closed; scratch paper on request |
Because the mark is a number of correct answers, our practice and mocks for this exam use the exact line. The calculator under this text checks a mock score against it; the passing score page looks at the line in detail and explains why no official pass rate exists.
Passing the exam is one step, not the registration itself. NASAA's guide is explicit that a pass does not by itself allow anyone to do business in a state: the adviser representative registration is filed with each state where you will work, through the adviser firm, and each state applies its own requirements on top of the exam.
Studying for the Series 65
The exam rewards two different kinds of work. The law and ethics subject is about precise rules, best learned from the definitions outward, with a practice set after each topic. The investment subjects need understanding: why a bond's duration matters, what a beta of more than one means for a client, when an annuity makes sense. The bond yield page trains one of the recurring calculations. Start with the sets above by subject, then move to the full timed mock once each subject runs comfortably above the line. If you will also hold the Series 7, compare with the Series 66; the license finder lays out both paths.