Series 86 Mock Exams & Practice Exam Questions | FINRA Research Analyst (Part 1)

Train Series 86 like research work: macro → industry → company → model → valuation → recommendation.

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Interactive Practice Center

Start a practice session for Series 86 below, or open the full app in a new tab. For the best experience, open the full app in a new tab and navigate with swipes/gestures or the mouse wheel—just like on your phone or tablet.

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A small set of questions is available for free preview. Subscribers can unlock full access by signing in with the same account used on mobile.

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Practice modes

1) Full-length Mock Exam (timed)
Build endurance and accuracy across F1–F3.

2) Function drills (F1–F3)
Fix weak areas fast by drilling one function at a time.

3) Mixed review
Blend recent misses with high-weight F3 topics (valuation/forecasting) to keep retention high.

Timing tip

Real exam pacing is about 95 total items in 270 minutes (~170 seconds per item). Practice with timing early so complex valuation questions don’t force last-minute guessing.

Series 86 at a glance (FINRA)

• Scored items: 85
• Unscored pretest items: 10 (95 total)
• Time: 4 hours 30 minutes (270 minutes)
• Format: Multiple choice
• Passing score: 73
• Cost: $225
• 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 86 tests (job functions)

Series 86 is organized by three major functions:

• F1 — Information and Data Collection — 21% (18 items)
• F2 — Data Verification and Analysis — 33% (28 items)
• F3 — Valuation and Forecasting — 46% (39 items)

Eligibility (important)

Series 86 requires firm sponsorship. You must be associated with a FINRA member firm (or other applicable SRO member firm) to enroll and test.

The SIE is a corequisite. To obtain the Research Analyst registration, candidates generally must pass SIE + Series 86 + Series 87.

Series 86 exemption (FINRA)

FINRA indicates that candidates who have passed CFA Level I and Level II, or CMT Level I and Level II, may request an exemption from Series 86 (Part I). Confirm eligibility and the exemption process with FINRA and your firm before scheduling.

✅ Next: work through the Series 86 syllabus » and then start timed drills in Practice » .