Browse Exams — Mock Exams & Practice Tests

DFOL Overview — Options, Futures, Hedging, and Payoff Logic

High-level overview of DFOL (Derivatives Fundamentals): what’s typically tested, payoff intuition, common mistakes, and a practical prep strategy.

On this page

DFOL (Derivatives Fundamentals and Options Licensing Course) is a single 3‑hour, multiple‑choice exam focused on derivative payoffs, pricing intuition, and the real-world operational rules around options trading (accounts, margin, order entry, and market structure).

Official exam snapshot (CSI)

  • Exam format: Proctored (remote or in-person at a test centre)
  • Exam duration: 3 hours
  • Question format: Multiple Choice
  • Questions per exam: 100*
  • Passing grade: 60%
  • Attempts allowed: 3
  • Hours of study (CSI guidance): 95 – 135 Hours
  • Enrolment period: 1 Year

Source: https://www.csi.ca/en/learning/courses/dfol/exam-credits

\* If you enrolled before December 6, 2023, your DFOL exam will consist of 110 questions. (CSI)

Official topic weightings

Weightings are published by CSI. DFOL is currently 100 questions, so the weighting percentage maps directly to a target question count.

Topic (CSI)WeightTarget questionsCSI chapters (curriculum)
An Overview of Derivatives3%31
Futures Contracts11%112–5
Exchange Traded Options14%146–8
Swaps7%79–13
How Investment Funds and Structured Products Use Derivatives6%614–17
A Review of the Risk and Reward Profiles of Common Option Strategies16%1618–20
Opening and Maintaining Option Accounts25%2521–26
The Role of Clearing Corporations and Exchanges in Listed Options Trading10%1027–30
Contract Adjustments and Special Considerations and Risks of Non-Equity Options8%831–33

Curriculum source: https://www.csi.ca/en/learning/courses/dfol/curriculum

What DFOL is really testing

DFOL questions usually test whether you can reason about:

  • rights vs obligations (long vs short options)
  • payoff shapes (what happens when price moves up/down)
  • hedging intent (what risk is being reduced)
  • trade-offs (limited loss vs capped upside, cost of protection, leverage risk)
  • process and controls (account opening, margin, order entry, supervision language)
  • market structure (clearing, exchanges, market makers, contract adjustments)

Common pitfalls

  • Mixing up call vs put and buyer vs writer obligations.
  • Forgetting that options have premium and time value.
  • Confusing breakeven with max gain/max loss.
  • Underestimating leverage and margin risk.
  • Missing the “operations” side: account approval steps, required order details, margin call mechanics.

✅ Next: open the Cheatsheet and get fluent with payoffs and breakevens.

Study Plan