The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has announced important updates to the Securities Industry Essentials (SIE), Series 7, and Series 79 exams, specifically regarding the use of experimental, unscored questions. Beginning October 27, 2025, candidates taking the SIE, Series 7 (General Securities Representative), or Series 79 (Investment Banking Representative) exams will encounter a reduced number of unscored “pre-test” questions, dropping from 10 to 5 on each exam. The overall duration for each exam will remain unchanged. Individuals scheduled to take these FINRA exams after this date should be aware of these updates to the testing format.
The majority of financial licensing exams distributed by FINRA contain a certain number of unscored items used to test possible questions for future exams. These questions are seamlessly integrated into the rest of the exam, so there’s no way for test takers to know which questions will not count toward their final score. Candidates should answer all questions assuming that they are scored test questions, and prepare by taking practice exams with the correct number of problems.
As mentioned, the SIE, Series 7, and Series 79 tests currently contain 10 of these pre-test questions in the official exam, which will soon be reduced to 5. Starting in late October, the total number of questions on each test will be as follows:
Since the time allowed for each exam will not change, test-takers will now have a little more legroom to complete each question, although the additional time gained will be minimal (a few seconds per question). However, for high-pressure exams where every second counts, even slight changes in timing could make an impact on your final performance. This change also means that there’s a higher chance that any question you encounter will be scored, so it’s more important than ever to attempt every question on the test.
At Achievable, we will be updating our online textbook, informational materials, and all other modifiable SIE and Series 7 study aids to reflect this adjustment. We are committed to providing you with the most up-to-date and accurate information across all our test preparation resources, giving you the insights and confidence needed to pass your financial licensing exams.
For questions regarding this change, contact FINRA Candidate Services directly at CandidateServices@finra.org. We welcome any questions you have about Achievable’s SIE and Series 7 courses: please reach out to us using our contact form or participate in our community forum.
