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Series 7 Exam Overview — Format, Weights & Eligibility

Understand the FINRA Series 7 (General Securities Representative) at a glance: structure, timing, passing score, job functions/weights, eligibility and what to do after you pass.

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Series 7 at a glance (FINRA)

  • Items: 125 scored + 5 unscored pretest items (130 total)
  • Time: 3 hours 45 minutes (225 minutes)
  • Format: Multiple choice
  • Passing score: 72 (scaled)
  • Cost: $300
  • Corequisite: SIE

Note: FINRA uses unscored pretest items for question development. You won’t know which items are unscored, so treat every item as scored.

What Series 7 tests (job functions)

Series 7 is organized by four major job functions:

  1. F1 — Seeks Business for the Broker-Dealer from Customers and Potential Customers — 7% (9 items)
  2. F2 — Opens Accounts After Obtaining and Evaluating Customers’ Financial Profile and Investment Objectives — 9% (11 items)
  3. F3 — Provides Customers with Information, Makes Recommendations, Transfers Assets and Maintains Appropriate Records — 73% (91 items)
  4. F4 — Obtains and Verifies Purchase/Sale Instructions; Processes, Completes and Confirms Transactions — 11% (14 items)

Eligibility (important)

Unlike the SIE, Series 7 requires firm sponsorship. You must be associated with a FINRA member firm (or other applicable SRO member firm) to enroll and test.

After you pass

Series 7 is a top-off exam. Passing it typically supports registration as a General Securities Representative, subject to firm registration processes and role requirements.

✅ Next: work through the Series 7 syllabus » and then start timed drills in Practice ».

Syllabus