Securities Industry Essentials (SIE) Exam — exam facts
United States (FINRA)
Every source below was read on 2026-09-22
| Administering body | Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) — exam delivered by Prometric FINRA develops and administers the SIE; candidates test either at a Prometric test center or online. Association with a broker-dealer is not required to take it, and a passing result is valid for four years. Passing the SIE alone does not register anyone: a representative-level qualification exam such as the Series 7, taken through a sponsoring firm, is still required. Source: FINRA — Securities Industry Essentials Exam (SIE) (2026-09-22) |
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| Questions | 80 questions (75 scored, 5 unscored pretest) FINRA's content outline: each candidate's exam "consists of a total of 80 items (75 scored and 5 unscored)", the unscored pretest items unidentified and scattered through the exam. FINRA's own at-a-glance box says "Number of Questions: 75" — that is the scored count, not the number of items on screen. There is no penalty for guessing. Source: FINRA — Securities Industry Essentials (SIE) Examination Content Outline (PDF, © 2025 FINRA) (2026-09-22) |
| Time limit | 105 minutes FINRA: "Candidates will be allowed 1 hour and 45 minutes to complete the SIE exam." FINRA's SIE page states the same duration. Candidates approved under FINRA's Limited English Proficiency policy receive extra time. Source: FINRA — Securities Industry Essentials (SIE) Examination Content Outline (PDF, © 2025 FINRA) (2026-09-22) |
| Passing score | Scaled score of 70 on a 0–100 scale FINRA's words: "The passing score for the SIE is 70 (on a scale of 0 to 100)." Scores are equated onto a common scale to adjust for small differences in difficulty between exam forms, so this is a scaled score and not a percentage of questions answered correctly. If you fail, FINRA requires a 30-day wait after the first and second attempts and 180 days after the third and each later attempt. Source: FINRA — SIE Exam and Exam Restructuring Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) (2026-09-22) |
| Fees |
FINRA's FAQ: "The cost of the SIE exam is $100." The SIE page's at-a-glance box shows the same figure. FINRA publishes no separate retake price, so each attempt is a new enrollment at this fee. Source: FINRA — Securities Industry Essentials Exam (SIE) (2026-09-22) |
| Languages offered | Not published by FINRA None of FINRA's SIE page, content outline, SIE FAQ or Limited English Proficiency page names the languages the SIE is offered in. The only language provision FINRA publishes is extra testing time for candidates whose primary language is not English and who meet its LEP criteria — more time, not a translated exam. PrepPass does not infer a language list FINRA has not stated. What we read and found nothing in: FINRA — Securities Industry Essentials Exam (SIE) (2026-09-22) · FINRA — Securities Industry Essentials (SIE) Examination Content Outline (PDF, © 2025 FINRA) (2026-09-22) · FINRA — SIE Exam and Exam Restructuring Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) (2026-09-22) · FINRA — Candidates with Limited English Proficiency (LEP) (2026-09-22) |
Change log
- 2026-09-22Fact sheet drafted from FINRA's SIE page, the SIE content outline and the SIE FAQ. The item count is recorded as 80 items (75 scored, 5 unscored pretest) per FINRA's current outline; the passing score as 70 on FINRA's 0–100 scale, never as a percentage. FINRA publishes no list of exam languages, so that row says so.