U.S. Roadmap: FINRA, CFP, NASAA and Insurance

Apr 9, 2026

Suggested order for U.S. securities licensing, financial-planning, municipal, futures-related, and insurance request routes. Non-official study guidance.

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This is a practical study roadmap, not official licensing guidance.

Best page to open next

If you need to…	Best page	Why
Stay in the U.S. path	U.S. Roadmap	Best route when the target role is U.S. licensing or U.S. financial-planning rather than another market.
Compare exact U.S. exam pages	Securities Exams	Best route when you already know the family or code and want the exact page first.
Compare broad U.S. planning credentials	CFP Board and American College	Best route when the real target is CFP, ChFC, or RICP rather than a Series exam.
Open the research-supervision route guide	Series 16 Route Guide	Best route when the real target is Series 161 and 162 rather than representative or principal licensing.
Switch to NFA futures or forex routes	NFA	Best route when the real target is Series 30, 31, 32, 34, or the broader futures lane.
Switch to U.S. insurance producer or adjuster routes	U.S. Insurance	Best route when the target is state life, health, P&C, personal lines, adjuster, or variable insurance licensing rather than securities registration.
Switch to a Canada path instead	Canada Roadmap	Best route when the target role is CIRO, CSI, RIBO, LLQP, or FP Canada rather than FINRA/NASAA/MSRB.
Switch to the UK CISI path instead	United Kingdom Roadmap	Best route when the target role is UK advice, operations, or CISI foundation study.

Typical starting points (U.S.)

Representative baseline

FINRA: SIE -> Series 7

Representative + state law (common add-on)

NASAA: add Series 63 (role-dependent)

Adviser path (high-level)

NASAA: Series 65 or Series 66 (depends on your role and required registrations)

Research supervision path (high-level)

FINRA research route: Series 86 + Series 87 -> Series 16 route guide -> Series 161 and Series 162

Municipal path (high-level)

MSRB: Series 50 , Series 51 , Series 52 , Series 53 , and Series 54 depending on advisor, representative, limited-principal, or principal scope

Futures / forex path (high-level)

NFA-adjacent routes: Series 3 for the broad futures baseline, then NFA routes such as Series 30, 31, 32, or 34 when the work narrows into branch management, managed funds, foreign registrant regulation, or retail forex

Financial-planning route (high-level)

CFP Board: CFP when you want the broad U.S. personal-financial-planning exam route
The American College: ChFC for broad program-based planning study, or RICP when the real need is retirement-income specialization

Insurance producer and adjuster update requests

U.S. insurance: Life , Health , Life & Health , Property & Casualty , Personal Lines , Adjuster , and Variable Life & Annuity let candidates request state-specific Securities Prep updates.

Which U.S. planning route usually fits best?

If your real target is…	Open first	Why
One broad U.S. financial-planning credential centered on a major cumulative exam	CFP	Best route when you want the CFP Board exam itself and broad planning judgment across insurance, investment, tax, retirement, and estate topics.
Broad personal-financial-planning depth through a course-program path	ChFC	Best route when you want broader planning study without centering the path on one certification-exam day.
Retirement-income specialization for pre-retiree and retiree households	RICP	Best route when withdrawals, Social Security, Medicare, longevity risk, and retirement-income design matter more than general planning breadth.
Adviser-law registration rather than a planning credential	Series 65	Best route when the role requires adviser-law, fiduciary, and registration coverage instead of a personal-financial-planning designation.
A broad route comparison before you choose between CFP, ChFC, and RICP	CFP Board and American College	Best route when you are still sorting exam-led versus program-based planning credentials.

Visual roadmap (non-official)

    flowchart TD
	  A["Start<br/>U.S. securities licensing"] --> B["Foundation: SIE<br/>(FINRA)"]
	  B --> C["Representative baseline: Series 7<br/>(FINRA)"]
	  C --> D["State law add-on: Series 63<br/>(NASAA)"]
	  C --> E["Adviser path (role-dependent)<br/>Series 65 or Series 66<br/>(NASAA)"]
	  C --> H["Research path<br/>Series 86 + Series 87"]
	  H --> I["Research supervision route<br/>Series 161 + Series 162"]
	  C --> F["Municipal paths<br/>Series 50 / 51 / 52 / 53 / 54<br/>(MSRB)"]
	  A --> G["Futures / forex baseline<br/>Series 3 and NFA routes"]
	  A --> J["Financial planning credentials<br/>CFP / ChFC / RICP"]
	  J --> J1["Broad exam route<br/>CFP"]
	  J --> J2["Broad program route<br/>ChFC"]
	  J --> J3["Retirement-income specialization<br/>RICP"]
	  A --> K["Insurance licensing update pages<br/>Life / Health / P&C / Adjuster"]

Plain-text version:

U.S. baseline: SIE -> Series 7.
Common add-on: Series 63.
Adviser path: Series 65 or Series 66 (role-dependent).
Financial-planning path: CFP for the broad U.S. planning exam, ChFC for a broader program-based planning route, and RICP for retirement-income specialization.
Series 65 is often nearby in the decision set, but it is an adviser-law registration exam rather than a planning credential.
Research supervision path: Series 86 + Series 87 first when needed, then the Series 16 route into Series 161 and Series 162.
Municipal path: Series 50/51/52/53/54 depending on advisor, representative, or principal role.
Futures and forex path: Series 3 first, then the narrower NFA routes when relevant.
Insurance licensing path: use the U.S. insurance update-request pages when the target is state producer, adjuster, personal lines, or variable insurance licensing rather than FINRA/NASAA registration.

Notes

Keep your study aligned to the official outline weights and practice under time pressure.
If your path requires an additional exam (for example, packaged products, principals/supervision, municipal routes, or specialist tracks), add it after your foundation is stable.
NFA routes are usually not substitutes for the core FINRA or NASAA retail securities path; use them when the target role is specifically futures, managed funds, branch supervision, foreign-registrant regulation, or retail forex.
CFP, ChFC, and RICP are not interchangeable with Series 65. Use the planning pages when the goal is a planning credential, and use Series 65 when the role requires adviser-law registration coverage.
U.S. insurance pages support route-specific Securities Prep update requests. They are useful for state-specific line-of-authority requests and should route candidates to live insurance practice only when the exact route is available.

What to open next

Need one exact U.S. exam page? Securities Exams
Need U.S. planning routes instead of Series exams? CFP Board and American College
Need the futures / forex family map? NFA
Need U.S. insurance producer or adjuster routes? U.S. Insurance
Need web access, login, or downloads? Securities Prep Web App and Securities Downloads
Need a different market? Canada Roadmap or United Kingdom Roadmap

Revised on Sunday, May 3, 2026

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