The FINRA SIE Exam is a new exam meant to simplify the FINRA licensing process. You start your Series 6, 7, 79, or other license by passing the SIE Exam, then taking “Top Off” exam to complete the rest of your license. The SIE Exam difficulty isn’t too bad, but it’s a new test – so we wanted to share the SIE Exam pass rate to help you understand what you are getting into. Let’s dive in.
According to FINRA, the SIE Exam Pass Rate was 74% for the first 16,000 individuals to take the test. This shows that the SIE Exam is a bit easier than the old Series 7 exam, which had a national pass rate of approximately 65%.
70% is a passing score for the SIE Exam, but FINRA will adjust it to reflect the specific mix of questions each candidate faces. Your output score at the end of the test may not reflect the same number of correct questions out of the total that your peers got due to these adjustments.
The pass rates for the most common Top-Off Exams are:
Industry observers originally thought that Top-Off Exams would become more difficult because the “easy” questions are all in the SIE Exam. However, as you can see from the pass rates above, the first time pass rates of most students have remained constant or improved since the implementation of the SIE. So far, looks like FINRA’s initiative to split out the SIE Exam is helping students pass both tests more easily. Good job, FINRA.
When putting together a study plan for the SIE Exam, we recommend the following:
With that simple action plan, the SIE Exam is in your crosshairs! All you have to do is execute and you can pass. Good luck!
