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Many students want to know how much time it takes to prepare for a securities exam. We get asked this question virtually every day. When getting ready to sit for an exam students need to allocate the time required to fully prepare. Managing a study schedule in addition to work and life obligations can be challenging. Exam preparation is not something that can be rushed. It must be a priority. It takes commitment and discipline to stay focused. These are a must to be successful on exam day.
To assist students who would like the answer to the Frequently Asked Question:
“How long does it take to prepare for the exam?”
We are publishing the details for the most commonly taken FINRA, NASAA and NFA exams.
Our methodology is based on 30 years of training more than 400,000 successful test takers. It comes right from our proprietary focus groups. These focus groups were asked to record the following information:
- How long it takes to read pages and chapters in each book
- How long it takes to complete the chapter quiz at the end of each chapter
- How long it takes to watch each video class lecture for each chapter in the book
- How long it takes to complete the quiz at the end of each video lecture
- How long it takes to complete topic focused practice exams
- How long it takes to complete simulated final exams
- How much time was spent reviewing notes and miscellaneous exercises
Some of our findings
- One of the main reasons students often ask “how many pages are in the book?”is because they want to know how long it is going to take to read the book. Our findings show that the amount of time it takes to read the book varies by the topic, the exam and the student. Yet all students reported that there were sections in all books that required them to reread the information multiple times to ensure comprehension.
- The amount of time it takes to answer chapter tests also varies by chapter. In fact, certain questions took much longer to interpret and answer within the individual exams
- The amount of time it takes to actively watch the video lectures for each chapter cannot be measured solely based on the length of the video. All students reported pausing and rewinding video class lectures. Virtually all watched the videos for challenging sections more than once.
- We found the tests at the end of each video lecture showed similar patterns to the tests at the end of each chapter
- The amount of time it took to complete topic focused tests had the most variability based on the number of questions and topics contained in each test created.
- The amount of time it takes to complete simulated final exams was impacted by the level of attention given to the exam. There can be a tendency to pay less attention to simulated final exams when just starting final preparation. Many rush or casually answer questions during this time. This results in less time being taken to answer the questions and lower scores on the simulated exam. When students were focused and serious about simulated exams, the average time spent taking the simulated exam was approximately 92% of the time limit on the real exam
What we did with the information
We used the findings to create proprietary algorithms to power our ExamPlan Study Calendar. This allows students to create a customized study plan based on the days and hours available to prepare. Based on the days and hours selected, the ExanPlan Study Calendar assigns every:
- Chapter reading
- Chapter test
- Video class lecture
- Video class test
- Practice exam
ExamPlan uses the student’s schedule to set a target test date. If a student has a scheduled date, the calendar will assign the learning requirements based on that date.
The table below shows each FINRA exam and the number of hours required to prepare along with the average number of weeks.
Securities Exam Prep Time Overview
| Exam Title | Allowable Functions | Number of Questions | Prerequisite | Time Allowed | Prep Time | Cost |
| SIE | Foundational exam required for all representative-level FINRA exams | 75 | None | 1 hour 45 minutes | 40-60 hours 6-12 weeks | $80 |
| Series 3 | Futures and commodity trading (CFTC/NFA registration) | 120 | None | 2 hours 30 minutes | 60- 75 hours 8- 12 weeks | $140 |
| Series 6 | Sell mutual funds, variable annuities, and insurance premiums | 50 | SIE | 1 hour 30 minutes | 50-60 hours 8-14 weeks | $75 |
| Series 7 | Sell all types of securities, including stocks, bonds, and options | 125 | SIE | 3 hours 45 minutes | 70-80 hours 12 -18 weeks | $300 |
| Series 9/10 | Supervise sales activities (9: options, 10: general securities sales) | 55 (9) / 145 (10) | Series 7 | 1.5 hrs (9), 4 hrs (10) | 100 -120 hours 16-24 weeks | $80 (9) / $110 (10) |
| Series 22 | Sell direct participation programs (e.g., limited partnerships) | 50 | SIE | 1 hour 30 minutes | 60 – 70 hours 8-16 weeks | $60 |
| Series 24 | Supervise general securities business and reps | 150 | SIE + Representative-level exam | 3 hours 45 minutes | 100 -120 hours 12-24 weeks | $175 |
| Series 26 | Supervise mutual fund and variable contract sales | 110 | SIE + Series 6 or 7 | 2 hours 30 minutes | 60 -80 hours 12-20 weeks | $100 |
| Series 39 | Oversee direct participation programs and limited partnerships | 100 | SIE + Series 7 or 22 | 3 hours | 70 -80 hours 12 – 16 weeks | $125 |
| Series 57 | Trade equities and equity options (proprietary trading) | 50 | SIE | 1 hour 45 minutes | 50-60 hours 8-12 weeks | $80 |
| Series 63 | Qualify as a securities agent (state registration) | 60 | None | 1 hour 15 minutes | 30-40 hours 4-8 weeks | $147 |
| Series 65 | Act as an investment adviser representative | 130 | None | 3 hours | 60-70 hours 12-18 weeks | $187 |
| Series 66 | Combined Series 63 and 65 (for state-registered advisors) | 100 | Series 7 | 2 hours 30 minutes | 50-60 hours 5- 12 weeks | $177 |
| Series 79 | Advise on investment banking (M&A, underwriting) | 75 | SIE | 2 hours 30 minutes | 60 – 90 hours 15-20 weeks | $300 |
| Series 99 | Perform back-office operations for broker-dealers | 50 | SIE | 1 hour 30 minutes | 50 -60 hours 10-14 weeks | $60 |
