SIE
The SIE exam in 2026: what it covers and how to practice
Ten questions drawn from the four sections of the official outline, each corrected and explained as you answer. Below: the format, the fee and the rules.
Your score · SIE
0 / 0
0 / 10 answered
Choose an answer to begin
| Pass: scaled score of 70; here 7 of 10 correct (70%), an approximation |
| You can still miss 3 |
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 Securities Industry Essentials (SIE) exam is FINRA's entry-level test of general securities knowledge, and the first exam most people take on the way to a Series 7 or Series 6 registration. It has 75 scored questions plus 5 unscored pretest questions, lasts 1 hour 45 minutes, and is passed with a scaled score of 70. Since January 1, 2026 the fee is $100, up from $80. Unlike the other FINRA representative exams, the SIE needs no sponsoring firm: anyone aged 18 or over can enroll, including students. The content outline splits the scored questions into four sections, from capital markets (12 questions) to products and their risks (33), trading and customer accounts (23) and the regulatory framework (7). A pass stays valid for 4 years, and it only leads to a registration once a firm sponsors you for a qualification exam such as the Series 7.
Is my mock score above the passing line?
Result against the line (approximation)
Above the line
| Passing line | scaled 70, about 53 of 75 |
| Your share | 75% |
| Margin | 3 answers |
| Questions you can miss | 22 |
FINRA reports a scaled score after equating each exam form; it publishes no table from correct answers to scaled score, so the share of correct answers is only a guide.
Questions, formats and fees by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Method
The SIE in figures
| SIE, 2026 | |
|---|---|
| Questions | 75 scored questions plus 5 unscored |
| Time | 1 hour 45 minutes |
| Passing score | 70 (scaled) |
| Fee | $100 ($80 until the end of 2025) |
| Minimum age | 18 |
| Sponsoring firm | not needed |
| Valid for | 4 years |
The scaled score is not a percentage. FINRA builds several forms of each exam and equates them, so that a slightly harder form needs a few fewer correct answers for the same score. Our passing score page explains what this means for your preparation, and why a practice score around 70% is a starting line, not a safe margin.
The four sections of the outline
FINRA's content outline lists every topic the SIE can test and gives each section a fixed number of scored questions. Our pools follow the same split, and each section has its own practice page.
| Section | Name in the outline | Scored questions | Share | Our questions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Knowledge of Capital Markets | 12 | 16% | 36 |
| 2 | Understanding Products and Their Risks | 33 | 44% | 75 |
| 3 | Understanding Trading, Customer Accounts and Prohibited Activities | 23 | 31% | 58 |
| 4 | Overview of the Regulatory Framework | 7 | 9% | 18 |
The weights tell you where the points are. Section 2 alone carries 44% of the score; sections 2 and 3 together carry three quarters. A candidate who masters bonds, funds, options basics and account rules can afford a weaker result on the regulatory section, which has only 7 questions, but not the reverse.
How to enroll and schedule
You create an account with FINRA, enroll for the SIE and pay the $100 fee. FINRA then opens a 120-day window in which the exam must be taken (scheduling page). Inside that window you choose a test center appointment or an online session. Moving or cancelling close to the date costs part or all of the fee, as our scheduling page details with a calculator.
After the exam
A pass is valid for 4 years. If no firm registers you in that time, the SIE has to be taken again before a registration (FINRA Rule 1210). A fail means a waiting period before the next attempt: 30 days after a first or second failure today, shortened to 15 days from January 19, 2027. The retake calculator gives the exact date.
A study plan that follows the outline
Start with one practice set per section, using the menu of the quiz above, to see where you stand. Then work section by section, beginning with the heaviest one, and read every explanation, including those of questions you got right by luck. When your practice sets stay comfortably above 70%, sit a full timed mock: 75 questions in the official proportions. The review page then serves again every question you missed, until it is right.
Most of the SIE is vocabulary and mechanics: what a callable bond is, why a bond price falls when rates rise, what a customer must sign before trading options. The math is light compared with the Series 7, but it is there: current yield, a breakeven on an option, the effect of inflation on a real return. The bond yield and options pages train it with calculators.
SIE or Series 7 first?
The SIE comes first for almost everyone, because the Series 7 and Series 6 registrations require it as a corequisite. The difference is in who pays and who decides: you take the SIE on your own, while a firm sponsors the Series 7. Our comparison sets the two side by side.