Series 7 Exam

The General Securities Registered Representative Examination (Test Series 7) is taken to qualify to become a general securities registered representative. Since this is the primary qualification, the test has been created in order to protect the public interest, as well as ensure candidates are proficient enough to do the job well. The Series 7 exam assesses entry-level capability.

Candidates must need to know pertinent rules, laws and regulations. The following is a breakdown of the categories and number of questions for each:

• 9 questions - Seeks business for the broker-dealer through customers and potential customers.
• 4 questions - Evaluates customers in terms of financial needs, current holdings and available investment capital, and helps them identify their investment objectives.
• 123 questions - Provides customers and prospective customers with information on investments and makes suitable recommendations.
• 27 questions - Opens, transfers and closes customer accounts and maintains appropriate account records.
• 53 questions - Explains the organization, participants and functions of various securities markets and the principal factors that affect them.
• 13 questions - Obtains and verifies the customer's purchase and sale instructions, enters orders and follows up on completion of transactions.
• 21 questions - Monitors the customer's portfolio and makes recommendations consistent with changes in economic and financial conditions, as well as the customer's needs and objectives.

The Series 7 test takes six hours and includes 260 multiple-choice questions. Ten questions on the test are for pre-trial purposes to be used on future exams, and these do not count towards the final score. Candidates will not know which questions are scored and which are not. To pass the test, candidates must answer approximately 70% of the questions correctly.