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Series 79 Exam Overview — Format, Weights & Eligibility

Understand the FINRA Series 79 (Investment Banking Representative) at a glance: structure, timing, passing score, function weights, eligibility and what to do after you pass.

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Series 79 at a glance (FINRA)

  • Scored items: 75
  • Unscored pretest items: 5 (80 total)
  • Time: 2 hours 30 minutes (150 minutes)
  • Format: Multiple choice
  • Passing score: 73
  • Cost: $300
  • Corequisite: SIE

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

What Series 79 tests (job functions)

Series 79 is organized by three major job functions:

  • F1 — Collection, Analysis and Evaluation of Data — 49% (37 items)
  • F2 — Underwriting/New Financing Transactions, Types of Offerings and Registration of Securities — 27% (20 items)
  • F3 — Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A), Tender Offers and Financial Restructuring Transactions — 24% (18 items)

Eligibility (important)

Series 79 requires firm sponsorship. You must be associated with a FINRA member firm (or other applicable SRO member firm) to enroll and test.

Series 79 is also a top-off: you must pass SIE + Series 79 to obtain the Investment Banking Representative registration.

Scope reminder (high yield)

Series 79 covers investment banking work like analysis, structuring, marketing materials, and transaction process. It generally does not cover acting as a sales rep actively selling securities to investors (which can require other registrations, depending on activity and offering type).

✅ Next: work through the Series 79 syllabus » and then start timed drills in Practice ».

Syllabus