The Series 65 exam (Uniform Investment Adviser Law Examination): format, scoring and what’s on it

§ 1Series 65 at a glance

Two lines on that ledger trip people up. The pass line is a count of correct answers, not a percentage, and the outline it is measured against took effect in June 2023. A guide that quotes a percentage cut score, or section weights that do not add up to 15 / 25 / 30 / 30, was written for an older version of the exam.

§ 2Who writes and who runs the exam (NASAA, FINRA, “NASD Series 65”)

Three organizations touch the exam, and each does one job. Searches mix them up constantly, which is why you see the same test called the FINRA 65, the NASAA 65 and the NASD 65.

NASAA

The North American Securities Administrators Association, the body of state securities regulators. It develops and owns the exam and publishes the content outline you study from.

FINRA

Administers the exam for NASAA: enrollment, the fee, the testing window and the score report all go through FINRA’s systems (see its Series 65 page). In FINRA’s systems the exam code is RA.

Prometric

Delivers the exam at its test centers in the US and abroad. You book your seat with Prometric once your window is open.

NASD

FINRA’s name before 2007. “NASD Series 65” is a leftover from that era; it is the same exam.

So the exam is often called the FINRA Series 65, but FINRA’s part is administrative. The credential you are after is state registration as an IAR, filed on Form U4 through CRD/IARD, usually by the advisory firm you join. The SEC writes no part of the exam either: even representatives of an SEC-registered adviser register with the states where they have a place of business. The registration route, waivers and the 2-year clock are on the Series 65 license sheet.

§ 3Series 65 exam breakdown: the 4 sections

The 130 scored questions split 20 / 32 / 39 / 39. The 10 unscored pretest questions can come from any section and look exactly like the rest, so the split you actually see on screen will be slightly off those counts.

§ 4What the questions look like (incl. math)

Every question is multiple choice. Each test form is assembled by an algorithm from a large pool to fixed content and difficulty targets, so the person at the next station gets different questions from yours. NASAA’s Series 65 overview lists the statutes and rules that are fair game.

• Definitions under pressure. Is this person an investment adviser, an IAR or neither? Is the transaction exempt or the security exempt? Section IV lives here.
• Client scenarios. A short profile (age, goals, tax bracket, time horizon) and a question about the most suitable account, plan or strategy. Most of Section III reads like this.
• “Under the Uniform Securities Act…” The state law tested is the 1956 Act as amended by NASAA, not the 2002 version, and a question can test a NASAA model rule without naming it.
• Short calculations. Yields, ratios, returns: a handful per form, mostly in Sections I–III.

The test center gives you a four-function calculator and erasable note boards; you cannot bring your own calculator. With only + − × ÷ available, learn what IRR, NPV and duration mean and how they move, and be ready to compute the short formulas by hand:

• Current yield

  annual coupon ÷ market price

• Sharpe ratio

  (portfolio return − risk-free rate) ÷ standard deviation

  Uses total risk; the Treynor ratio swaps in beta.

• Current ratio

  current assets ÷ current liabilities

  The quick ratio takes inventory out of the top line first.

• Real return (approx.)

  nominal return − inflation

§ 5Booking the exam and test day at Prometric

There are no prerequisites: no sponsor firm, no Series 7, no SIE and no citizenship requirement. Booking takes four steps, and the first one starts a clock.

1. 01

   Enroll with FINRA

   If a firm is hiring you, it files Form U4 through CRD. On your own, you self-enroll with Form U10 through FINRA’s Test Enrollment Services. Without a Social Security number, FINRA assigns you an ID.

2. 02

   Pay the fee

   The exam fee is currently $187 per FINRA (checked Oct 2026). It is non-refundable and non-transferable.

3. 03

   Mind the window

   Once enrollment is processed you have an enrollment window (currently 120 days) to sit the exam. Extensions are granted for illness or injury, not for more study time, so start studying first and enroll once your remaining study weeks fit comfortably inside the window.

4. 04

   Book a Prometric seat

   Choose a test center, date and time with Prometric inside your window. Moving it more than 10 business days out costs nothing; 3–10 business days out costs a late fee, and within 2 business days the full exam fee (FINRA’s cancellation policy).

On the day

• Arrive 30 minutes before your appointment for check-in.
• Bring one valid, unexpired government-issued ID with your photo and signature, with your name exactly as it appears on your enrollment.
• Phone, watch, wallet and jewelry go into an assigned locker; you can’t reach it until you finish.
• You sign in, agree to FINRA’s Rules of Conduct and have your photo taken.
• The station has the calculator, note boards, markers and noise-canceling headphones (FINRA’s test-center page lists the rest).
• Breaks are for the restroom only, and the exam timer does not pause.

Use those two checkpoints instead of watching the clock on every item. A question you can’t crack in about 90 seconds gets a guess and a mark, and you come back on a second pass. The practice test on this site parks questions the same way.

§ 6Scoring and results

You pass with 92 correct answers out of the 130 scored questions, which leaves room for 38 misses spread across the four sections. There is no per-section minimum, and because the sections are weighted, averaging your section scores does not reproduce the result. You can’t tell which 10 questions are pretest items, so treat every question as one that counts.

Results appear on the screen shortly after you finish, and you leave with a printed pass/fail report. If you fail, the report breaks your score down by section, which is the map for a retake. No certificate is issued.

If you don’t pass

You enroll again and pay the fee again; each enrollment covers one attempt, and there is no cap on the number of attempts. NASAA sets a waiting period before each retest, so check the current rule on its exams page before you plan the date. Then rebuild from the section scores: the weakest section with the most items is where the next 4–6 weeks go.

After you pass

A pass is not a license. You have 2 years to become registered as an IAR, or the result lapses. In participating jurisdictions NASAA’s Exam Validity Extension Program (EVEP) can keep it valid for up to 5 years if you complete annual continuing education. The details are on the license sheet.

§ 7How hard is the Series 65?

Neither NASAA nor FINRA publishes a pass rate for the Series 65, so any percentage you see quoted comes from a course provider and can’t be checked. What can be described is where the difficulty comes from.

• Breadth. One sitting runs from the yield curve to ERISA §404(c) to who inherits a tenants-in-common share. Few candidates arrive strong in all four sections.
• Exact law. Section IV is 39 questions that turn on precise words: an exclusion vs an exemption, five clients vs six, a place of business in the state or not. Close enough is wrong.

Harder than the Series 7? They test different things. The Series 7 runs longer, 3 hours 45 minutes against 180 minutes, and leans on products, options and trading for a broker-dealer representative; the 65 carries more law, tax and planning. With no published pass rates there is no honest ranking. If you hold the 7 already, much of Section II will feel familiar and Section IV will not.

§ 8FAQ

• Practice testFree Series 65 practice test: 60 questions across all 4 sections
• Study guideSeries 65 study guide: the 4 sections, their weights, and what to study
• Study planHow long to study for the Series 65, and a plan that follows the section weights
• LicenseHow to get a Series 65 license: requirements, registering for the exam, and IAR registration
• 65 vs 66Series 65 vs Series 66: which exam you need, and where the 63 and 7 fit