Answers to common questions about the FINRA Series 6 exam: eligibility and sponsorship, SIE corequisite, format/timing, scoring, retakes, what’s tested, and how to study.
Policies can change—confirm critical details with FINRA and your firm before scheduling.
Yes. Series 6 is a representative-level qualification exam and generally requires association with a FINRA member firm (or other applicable SRO member firm).
Yes. Series 6 is paired with the SIE as a corequisite. You must pass both to obtain the Investment Company and Variable Contracts Products registration.
Series 6 focuses on packaged products and variable contracts, especially mutual funds, variable annuities, variable life, UITs, and municipal fund securities (e.g., 529 plans). It is not the broad “stocks and bonds” scope of Series 7.
FINRA uses a scaled (equated) score. Unscored pretest items are mixed in and do not affect your result.
Put most of your time into F3 (50%): mutual fund math, share classes/fees, variable product features and disclosures, and suitability logic. Then lock in clean points with F1/F2/F4 process questions (communications, account opening, and transaction handling).
FINRA retake waiting periods can depend on attempt count and exam type. Verify current rules with FINRA at scheduling time.