An SIE study guide is a written walkthrough of the material FINRA tests. It follows the four sections of the official content outline, and it gives each section space in proportion to its weight on the exam.
The study guide on this site is free, and so is the 30 lesson course at /course that teaches the same material in order. The exam gives you 80 questions in 1 hour 45 minutes, so you need the material fast as well as right.
Reading on its own will not get you there. Pair each part of the guide with questions on that topic. Start with the free practice test at /free-practice-test, so you know which section needs the most reading.
What a good SIE study guide includes
Judge a guide on its structure before its length. FINRA publishes the content outline, so any guide worth using maps onto it section by section. When a guide invents its own chapter order, you cannot tell what it left out.
The second test is the writing. Read three pages on a topic you already understand. If the guide defines terms as it goes and names the traps, it will hold up when the topic is new to you.
Page count matters less than coverage. A short guide that covers all four sections beats a long one that runs deep on products and skips the regulatory rules.
- Chapters that follow the four sections of the FINRA content outline.
- Space given to each section in line with its exam weight.
- Every term defined the first time it appears.
- Practice questions on the same topic, with written explanations.
- Plain notes on how the exam words a question about a rule.
Section by section: what an SIE study guide has to cover
FINRA splits the exam into four sections and publishes the weight of each. Those weights tell you how the 75 scored questions are spread, so let them set how much of the guide you read and reread.
Knowledge of Capital Markets is 12 scored questions. It covers the regulators and who answers to whom, plus the market participants and market structure. It also covers economic factors such as Federal Reserve policy, and how new offerings reach the public. Read this part first, because it sets the vocabulary the rest of the exam uses, with more at /resources/blog/capital-markets-basics-sie.
Understanding Products and Their Risks is 33 scored questions, close to half the exam. It runs through equities, debt and options first, then packaged products such as mutual funds and variable annuities, plus municipal fund securities like 529 plans. After that come direct participation programs, real estate investment trusts, hedge funds and exchange traded funds, and it closes with the risk types and the ways to reduce them. Give this section the most hours, and read the overview at /resources/blog/sie-products-and-risks-overview.
Understanding Trading, Customer Accounts and Prohibited Activities is 23 scored questions. It covers order types, dividend dates, settlement and corporate actions. Then account types and registrations, anti-money laundering, books and records, and the rules on communicating with customers. The last part covers market manipulation and insider trading, with more at /resources/blog/sie-trading-and-accounts-rules.
Overview of Regulatory Framework is 7 scored questions, the smallest slice. It covers who has to register, continuing education, Forms U4 and U5, and the events an associated person must report. Most of it is memorization, so leave it late and learn it fast at /resources/blog/sie-regulatory-framework-explained.
- Knowledge of Capital Markets: 16 percent of the exam, 12 of the 75 scored questions.
- Understanding Products and Their Risks: 44 percent, 33 scored questions.
- Understanding Trading, Customer Accounts and Prohibited Activities: 31 percent, 23 scored questions.
- Overview of Regulatory Framework: 9 percent, 7 scored questions.
How to use a study guide with practice tests
A study guide gives you the material. Questions tell you whether it stuck. Run the two together in a short loop, instead of reading the whole guide and testing yourself at the end.
Read one topic once at normal speed, then close the guide and answer questions on that same topic. Check the explanation on every question, including the ones you got right. Each question has four choices and there is no penalty for guessing, so a lucky guess and real knowledge look the same in your score.
Go back to the guide only for what you missed. Reread that part, then retest the topic two days later. The topics that catch people out most often sit at /resources/blog/hardest-sie-exam-questions.
You can drill one section at a time at /practice-tests, and the full bank sits at /sie-practice-questions. For a week by week plan built around this loop, read /resources/blog/how-to-study-for-the-sie-exam or the method at /sie-exam-prep.
- Read one topic in the guide, once, without highlighting.
- Close it and answer 15 to 20 questions on that topic.
- Read the explanation on every question, right and wrong.
- Reread only the parts you got wrong.
- Retest the same topic two days later, then again a week later.
Write your own notes from the guide
The guide does the explaining. Your notes do the compressing, and compressing is where most of the learning happens.
After you finish a section, close the guide and write one page from memory. Then open the guide and fix what you got wrong. The gaps you find this way are the ones the exam will find too.
Keep the whole set to a few pages. In your last week you should be able to review the entire exam from your own notes in about an hour. Nothing goes on the page unless you have already missed it in practice.
- Definitions you keep forgetting.
- Pairs the exam likes to swap, such as the record date and the ex-dividend date.
- Numbers and time limits you have to know cold.
- Any rule you have missed twice in practice.
The exam facts your guide should match
Check a guide's exam facts against finra.org before you trust the rest of it. Stale logistics are a fair warning about stale rules.
As of 2026 the exam costs $100. Anyone 18 or older can sit it, and no firm has to sponsor you. FINRA delivers it at Prometric test centers or online with remote proctoring. Booking steps sit at /resources/blog/how-to-register-for-the-sie-exam, the day itself at /resources/blog/sie-exam-day-what-to-expect, and the full format at /sie-exam.
You get 75 scored questions plus 5 unscored pretest items, mixed in at random. The passing score is 70, reported as an equated score, and FINRA does not publish a percent correct equivalent. So no practice percentage maps onto it exactly. Read /resources/blog/sie-exam-pass-rate for what that means, and /resources/blog/sie-exam-difficulty before you pick a date.
Plan so the first attempt counts. As of 2026, a first or second failed attempt means a 30 day wait, and a third or later failure within two years means 180 days. See /resources/blog/what-happens-if-you-fail-the-sie for the rest, and /resources/blog/pass-the-sie-exam-first-time for the habits that avoid it.
A pass stays valid for four years. Registration itself needs a firm sponsor plus a top-off exam, such as the Series 6 or Series 7. The SIE on its own does not license you. Both /sie-license and /resources/blog/sie-vs-series-7 explain that next step.
The free SIE study guide and course on this site
Our study guide is free and covers all four exam sections. It follows the outline order, defines each term where it appears, and points out the places the exam sets a trap. You can read it without an account.
The 30 lesson course at /course teaches the same material one lesson at a time. Questions follow each lesson, on the topic you just read. That is the loop above, built in. Read the guide if you like to work straight through, and take the course if you want it paced for you.
SIE Exam Ready is new, so you will find no student numbers or star ratings here. Judge the writing yourself instead. Answer a few questions at /free-practice-test and read the explanations before you decide anything.
The paid tier adds the full bank of 750 questions, each with a written explanation, plus full length timed mock exams. It costs $9.99 per week, or $79.99 once for lifetime access. Everything runs on iOS, Android and web, and /resources/blog/sie-exam-cost breaks down what you spend around the exam.
- The written study guide, all four sections, free to read.
- Thirty lessons at /course, free, in outline order.
- One full practice test at /free-practice-test, with no sign up.
- Practice split by section at /practice-tests.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a free SIE study guide?
Yes. The study guide on this site is free and covers all four exam sections, and the 30 lesson course at /course costs nothing either. FINRA also publishes the official content outline at finra.org, which lists every topic that can appear. Free material covers the teaching well, but what you tend to pay for is question volume and timed mock exams.
What does an SIE study guide need to cover?
All four sections of the FINRA content outline, in proportion to their weights. Products and risks is 33 of the 75 scored questions, so it should take the most space. Capital markets is 12, trading and customer accounts is 23, and the regulatory framework is 7. A guide that skips the small sections costs you the easiest marks on the exam.
Can you pass the SIE by reading a study guide alone?
Reading gives you the material, but the exam tests recall under time pressure. You answer 80 questions in 1 hour 45 minutes, which is under 80 seconds each. Pair every part of the guide with questions on that topic, then sit full timed mock exams before you book.
Is the FINRA content outline enough to study from?
The outline tells you what is tested, so use it as a checklist to confirm your guide covers everything. It does not teach the material or give you answers. You still need explanations and practice questions. Download it free from finra.org.
Should you use a study guide or a course?
They teach the same material in different shapes. A guide lets you read at your own speed and jump straight to a weak topic. A course paces you and puts questions right after each lesson, which helps if you lose momentum on your own. Our course and study guide follow the same outline, so pick the one you will actually finish.
When should you stop studying and book the exam?
Book once several full mock exams come in comfortably above the line, with no section trailing the others. The passing score is 70, reported as an equated score, and FINRA does not publish a percent correct equivalent. Aim well clear of the line rather than at it. One strong result can come from an easy question draw, so look for a run of them.