Broker-Dealer Candidates Get Faster Exam Retakes Under FINRA Rule Change

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority will cut the wait to retake a failed qualification exam to 15 days from 30 after a first or second attempt. After a third or subsequent failure within two years, the wait drops from 180 days to 60 days.

The amendments to FINRA Rule 1210 take effect Jan. 19, 2027, FINRA said in Regulatory Notice 26-18, published late last week. They apply to all FINRA qualification exams, including the Securities Industry Essentials, or SIE, exam, the Series 7 General Securities Representative exam, and the exams most closely tied to alternative investment distribution: the Series 22 Direct Participation Programs Limited Representative and the Series 82 Private Securities Offerings Representative exams.

A waiting period applies only to the exam a candidate failed. A candidate who fails the SIE, for example, can still sit for the Series 7.

The current waiting periods date to 1989. In its rule filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, FINRA said it had received input from various industry channels that the waits placed a burden on people trying to enter the securities industry.

The change follows a narrower move by the North American Securities Administrators Association. In August, NASAA said it would shorten the waiting period for its Series 63, 65, and 66 exams, cutting the wait after a third failed attempt from 180 days to 60 days, effective Jan. 4, 2027. NASAA left its 30-day wait after a first or second failure unchanged.

FINRA administers the NASAA exams but said its amendments do not apply to exams it administers on behalf of NASAA or self-regulatory organizations. Starting in January, a candidate who fails the Series 7 can retest in 15 days, while a candidate who fails the Series 66 must still wait 30 days. Both exams will carry a 60-day wait after a third failure.

For candidates who fail an exam before Jan. 19 and are still in a waiting period that day, FINRA said retake enrollments requested on or after that date will reflect the shorter wait automatically. For retake enrollments requested before Jan. 19 with no appointment scheduled, FINRA said it will adjust the testing window on the effective date. Candidates who have already scheduled an appointment will need to cancel it to take advantage of the shorter wait, and FINRA said it will contact those individuals to review their options.

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