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SIE questions

How many questions are on the SIE?

The SIE has 75 scored questions plus 5 unscored pretest questions: 80 in all, in 1 hour and 45 minutes.1,2

Build a practice set by section

The format

  • Multiple choice, four answer choices per question.1,2
  • 5 pretest questions are mixed in at random and do not count.1
  • 1 hour and 45 minutes in total. That is about 79 seconds a question across all 80.1,2
  • No penalty for guessing.1
  • Closed book. Online exams give you an onscreen calculator and notepad.1,3

Questions by section

Section 1, Knowledge of Capital Markets: 12 questions (16%). Section 2, Understanding Products and Their Risks: 33 (44%). Section 3, Understanding Trading, Customer Accounts and Prohibited Activities: 23 (31%). Section 4, Overview of the Regulatory Framework: 7 (9%).1,2

Section 2 alone is close to half the exam.1,2

Our study advice: give it close to half your study time.

Questions

Can I tell which questions are pretest questions?

No. They are unidentified, so treat every question as scored.1

Are your practice questions real SIE questions?

No. They are original. FINRA treats exam content as confidential, and using real exam questions to study is prohibited.4

Related

Sources

Each source below shows the date it was last checked. Rules change; the linked page is the authority.

  1. SIE Examination Content Outline (2025) · FINRA · checked 2026-10-12
  2. Securities Industry Essentials (SIE) Exam · FINRA · checked 2026-10-12
  3. Prepare for Your Online Test Appointment · FINRA · checked 2026-10-12
  4. FINRA Rule 1210 — Registration Requirements · FINRA · checked 2026-10-30

Exemplar Prep is an independent, free study resource. It is not affiliated with FINRA, and nothing on this page predicts an exam result.