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🗓️ SIE guideUpdated November 20266 min read4 practice questions

SIE exam day: what to bring, what happens, and your result

Most exam-day problems are avoidable: the wrong ID, arriving late, a room that fails the online check. This guide covers the SIE exam day at a Prometric test center and online, from FINRA's appointment pages and rules of conduct.

The day before

  • Check your ID. You need one valid, unexpired, government-issued ID with your photo and signature, such as a driver's license, passport or military ID. The name must be exactly the name your exam is scheduled under. Electronic, photocopied or faxed IDs are not accepted.
  • Know your appointment. Have the email address you used to schedule; test center staff may ask for it.
  • Online: prepare the room now. A clean, quiet space with nothing on the desk, a working camera and microphone, and no other people.
  • Stop studying new material. A light review and a full night's sleep do more than a late cram.

At a test center

  1. Arrive 30 minutes early for check-in. If you arrive more than 30 minutes after your appointment time you will not be allowed to test.
  2. Everything goes in a locker: phone, watch, wallet, jewelry, study materials. You cannot open the locker or leave the center during the exam.
  3. You are given a four-function calculator and erasable note boards with dry-erase markers, all returned at the end.
  4. The room is video and audio monitored, and the exam is closed book.

Online

  1. Check in 30 minutes early. Late check-in may mean you cannot test and may cost extra fees.
  2. Show your ID and your room: a 360-degree camera view of the workspace, with your pockets, sleeves and ears checked. Phones, other electronic devices and large jewelry must be out of the room.
  3. Tools are on screen: an onscreen calculator and a virtual notepad. No paper.
  4. Stay in view. Leaving or blocking the camera during the exam is prohibited, and the session is video and audio recorded.

During the exam

What to know
Length80 items (75 scored, 5 unscored pretest) in 1 h 45 min
PaceAbout 1 minute 18 seconds per item
BreaksUnscheduled breaks for the restroom only; the timer does not pause, and you repeat the security check
Extra timeNone: you do not get time back for a break

Two habits help. Read the last line of the stem first, so you know whether it asks for the item that is true or the one that is not (EXCEPT questions are easy to misread under time pressure). And answer every item: a blank cannot earn credit. Reading SIE questions has more on stems.

Your result

When you finish, the result appears on screen, and at a test center you also get a printed pass or fail report.

  • Pass: that is all you get, with no further scoring details. Your SIE is valid for four years.
  • Fail: the report shows your overall score and your performance in each section. Keep it; it is the best study plan you will get.

If you need to retake, you wait 30 days after a first or second failed attempt and 180 days after a third, until January 18, 2027. From January 19, 2027 those waits become 15 and 60 days (FINRA Regulatory Notice 26-18). See what is the SIE exam for the details.

A last-minute checklist

  • One unexpired government photo ID with signature, name matching the appointment
  • Arrival or online check-in 30 minutes before the start
  • Nothing else: no phone, watch, notes or calculator of your own
  • A plan for pace: roughly one item every 78 seconds, a quick check at the halfway mark

✅ Test yourself: 4 questions

Three quick checks on exam-day rules. Exam practice only, not investment advice.

Question 1 of 4

A customer asks a rep how much cash she can deposit 'without the government hearing about it,' then makes several deposits of $9,000. What is she doing?

  1. Structuring
  2. Integration
  3. Layering
  4. Marking the close
Show the answer and rationale

Answer: A

Breaking cash into amounts under the CTR threshold to avoid a report is structuring, a federal crime even if the money is legitimate. It should be escalated for a possible SAR. Layering and integration are later laundering stages; marking the close is manipulation.

📚 Learn it: Placement, Layering, Integration

Question 2 of 4

Which requirement does Section 352 of the USA PATRIOT Act impose on financial institutions?

  1. Customer identification
  2. An AML compliance program
  3. Currency transaction reports
  4. Voluntary information sharing
Show the answer and rationale

Answer: B

Section 352 requires financial institutions to have AML compliance programs. CIP comes from Section 326, information sharing from 314, and CTRs predate the PATRIOT Act under the Bank Secrecy Act.

📚 Learn it: Know Who You're Dealing With

Question 3 of 4

How long must a broker-dealer keep its general ledger?

  1. Three years
  2. Four years
  3. Life of the firm
  4. Six years
Show the answer and rationale

Answer: D

The general ledger, like blotters and customer account ledgers, is a six-year record. Three years covers items such as confirmations, four years is the FINRA complaint-record period, and life-of-firm is for charter-type documents.

📚 Learn it: Six, Three, and Forever

Question 4 of 4

Which item is an example of nonpublic personal information protected by Regulation S-P?

  1. A company's quarterly earnings release
  2. A customer's account balance
  3. The closing price of a listed stock
  4. A fund's published expense ratio
Show the answer and rationale

Answer: B

A customer's account balance is personal financial information the firm obtained in serving that customer. Earnings releases, closing prices and published expense ratios are public information about issuers or funds, not customers.

📚 Learn it: Reg S-P and Red Flags

Rehearse with a timed SIE practice set →

Get used to the pace before the real clock starts. Rationales for every answer, no sign-up.

❓ Frequently asked

What ID do I need for the SIE?

One valid, unexpired, government-issued ID with your photo and signature, with exactly the name your exam is scheduled under.

How early should I arrive for the SIE?

30 minutes before your appointment, at a test center or online. At a center, arriving more than 30 minutes late means you cannot test.

Is a calculator allowed on the SIE?

One is provided: a four-function calculator at test centers and an onscreen calculator online. You cannot bring your own.

Can I take a break during the SIE?

Only for the restroom, and the timer keeps running.

When do I get my SIE results?

On screen when you finish. A pass shows no further details; a fail shows your overall score and section performance.

📝 Practice this topic

📚 Learn it in the lessons

Sources

  1. FINRA, Prepare for Your Test Center Appointment: arrival, ID, calculator, note boards, breaks, results
  2. FINRA, Prepare for Your Online Test Appointment: check-in, ID, room scan, onscreen calculator and notepad, breaks
  3. FINRA, Qualification Examinations Rules of Conduct
  4. FINRA, SIE Examination Content Outline (2025 edition): 75 scored + 5 pretest items, 1 h 45 min, the four sections and their weights
  5. FINRA Regulatory Notice 26-18 (Oct. 14, 2026): shorter retake waiting periods effective Jan. 19, 2027

Checked November 2026. Rules in transition name their date; FINRA updates its exam pages and content outline from time to time, so check finra.org before you test. SIE is administered by FINRA; SIE Ready is not affiliated with or endorsed by FINRA. Exam preparation only, not investment advice.

📘 More SIE guides