How to Get Your Series 65 License

The Series 65 license, known as the Uniform Investment Adviser Law Examination, qualifies individuals to provide investing and general financial advice to clients. Passing the Series 65 exam qualifies individuals as Investment Advisor Representatives (IARs).

Obtaining the Series 65 license is important for representatives who provide advice on ERISA-regulated retirement retirement accounts.

A recent College for Financial Planning report indicated 84% of financial professionals training related to practical soft skills, such as how to market yourself and communicate with clients as important as they develop their careers.*

How to Get the Series 65 License

Unlike many other FINRA Series exams, the Series 65 exam does not require an individual to be sponsored by a member firm. If you are not Form U4 registered or affiliated with a firm through FINRA’s Web CRD system, you should use the Form U10 to request and pay for the Series 65 exam. There is an exam fee that is commonly covered by the sponsoring firm if you are Form U4 registered, or by the individual if you are not sponsored.

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Series 65 License Exam Format

The exam consists of 130 multiple-choice questions, and you have 3 hours to complete it. To pass the exam, you must get at least 92 out of 130 scored questions correct. In other words, you need just over 70% to pass.

Series 65 License Exam Curriculum

The exam covers four topic areas:

• Economic factors and business information
• Investment vehicle characteristics
• Client investment recommendations and strategies
• Laws, regulations, and guidelines on unethical business practices

In June 2023, NASAA added new content to the exam to better reflect the skills and knowledge needed to be an IAR today. Some new specifications emphasize the characteristics of different types of investments, including SPACs, blind pools, blank check companies, non-liquid REITs, and digital assets. Alternative investments were also updated to better reflect the changing marketplace. In addition, new areas were added to highlight the importance of CE for IARs, exploitation of seniors and vulnerable adults, and Regulation BI.  Updates were also added for recent regulatory changes in the Secure Act 2.0.

While the passing score was decreased, the weighting of topics, number of questions, and length of the exam were not changed. Visit NASAA to view the most up-to-date content outline.

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*This is one of the findings of a quantitative survey conducted by the College for Financial Planning®—a Kaplan Company between June 27 and August 7, 2023. For this survey, a sample of 951 2022 and 2023 graduates of the College for Financial Planning was interviewed online in English.