Prepare for Your Online Test Appointment

FINRA offers online delivery of the Securities Industry Essentials (SIE) exam. Please see the Schedule an Exam page for more information about the ability to take other exams online. 

Candidate Online Testing: Additional Quick Links:

Before Your Online Test Appointment

There are a number of technical and procedural requirements you need to be able to meet or be aware of before you can sit for a remotely proctored test appointment. Please carefully review the information provided in this section.

In order to access Prometric's ProProctorTM system, you will be required to download and install the ProProctor application from the Prometric website as well as perform a system check. This will ensure that your laptop or desktop operating system meets the minimum requirements. We recommend you complete this step prior to scheduling your online testing appointment. For complete details, please review the ProProctor User Guide.

If you are using your company-issued equipment to take this exam online, note that your company may have several restrictions that will not allow you to install and or use this software. It is important that you contact your company's technical support to ensure a smooth testing experience.

A 360-degree view of your workstation and surrounding environment will be required. You can use either an external, movable USB cable camera or an embedded computer camera. If you use an embedded computer camera, you will also be required to have a large, free-standing mirror able to reflect the unseen areas, e.g., the laptop face, the keyboard, underneath the base of the laptop, etc. Similar to the checks performed in a physical testing site, you will also be asked to participate in a visual person check, including but not limited to a sleeve, pocket and glasses check. Additional test center procedures, including prohibited items/conduct, can be reviewed in the ProProctor User Guide.

The following applies while the exam is in progress:

  • Leaving, moving out of or obstructing the camera view while the exam is in progress is strictly prohibited without prior authorization from the proctor.
  • The exam clock will continue to count against your scheduled testing time during any unscheduled breaks.

FINRA, in compliance with provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), continues to provide testing modifications and aids to individuals with disabilities and/or learning impairments that substantially limit a major life activity, such as learning, speaking, hearing and vision. FINRA makes efforts to ensure equal opportunity for persons with disabilities. At this time, FINRA is able to accommodate extra time for online appointments of candidates with an approved testing accommodation or limited English proficiency (LEP) request. FINRA is still testing various provisions to make additional online delivery accommodations available to candidates with disabilities. For all accommodation requests, you must complete and submit the FINRA Testing Accommodations Eligibility Questionnaire and Testing Accommodations Verification Request Form. If you do not submit the appropriate forms, your request cannot be considered.

Individuals who have scheduled their SIE exam appointment with Examity should review the Examity User Guide for more information.

Launching Your Online Qualification Exam

Arrival

  • Be sure to review your confirmation email for important appointment details.
  • If you are using a laptop, ensure it is connected to a power source so that you do not run out of battery power in the middle of your test.
  • If possible, use a wired internet connection instead of a wireless signal.
  • While internet connectivity varies, remember that all your household internet connections are competing for bandwidth, including online gaming, streaming services, etc. You are encouraged to limit household internet usage during your test session. Additional suggestions to enhance your internet connectivity during testing can be found on Prometric's ProProctor Candidate Information page.
  • Access Prometric's ProProctor site to launch your online exam session.
  • Please plan to check in to your online test appointment 30 minutes before your scheduled appointment time in order to complete the check-in process and begin your online exam on time. If you are late, you may not be able to test and will incur additional fees to test.
  • Bring one valid, government-issued identification document with a signature and picture, such as an unexpired driver's license, passport or military ID.
    • Ensure that your name on this ID is the exact same name under which your exam is scheduled. No electronic, photocopied or faxed ID or name change documentation will be accepted.

Inspection and Sign-in Requirements

  • You will be required to have a clean workspace and an environment suitable for testing. You are prohibited from having any personal items. Prohibited items include but are not limited to: electronic devices, cameras, phones, any communication or recording devices, spyware and large jewelry.
  • You will be required to show that you are not in possession of any prohibited items by verifying your pockets are empty, pulling up your pant legs and your sleeves. You will also be asked to show your ears to ensure nothing that could provide an unfair advantage (such as a Bluetooth earpiece) is in your ears.
  • Your picture will be taken, and your ID will be verified.
  • You will be required to agree to or abide by Prometric's security guidelines provided in the ProProctor User Guide. You will also be required to agree to and abide by the relevant rules of conduct: 
    If you refuse to agree to or abide by the aforementioned rules, you will not be allowed to test. A late cancellation fee will be charged to your firm, or you will lose the paid exam fee. Any violation of the rules will subject you to possible disciplinary action, including forfeiture of your test results.

In the Testing Room

FINRA online exams have an onscreen calculator and a virtual notepad to capture your notes digitally.

Remember, FINRA-delivered exams are closed book. You are not permitted to use reference materials for the duration of your appointment. If you need to take an unscheduled break, remember that you must notify your test proctor first. You are only permitted to use the restroom. Following any unscheduled break, you will be required to repeat the security check of your testing environment and person. The time used for unscheduled breaks and subsequent security checks will be deducted from the remaining time on the exam session.

Your actions in the online testing environment are video- and audio-recorded. The impacts of cheating are severe and could result in an invalidation of your exam results or prohibition from retaking an exam or registering with a FINRA member firm.

For more information about what to expect with online testing, please view Prometric's ProProctor User Guide and ProProctor Candidate Information page.

Test Results

Upon completing your remote test, you will receive your unofficial pass or fail notification on screen via the PROCTOR® system. Within three business days, test results will be posted to FINRA's systems.

Results Report

Your official results report will be sent within three business days to the email address provided at the time of appointment scheduling. If you receive a pass result, no additional scoring details will be provided. However, if you receive a fail result, additional details regarding your exam performance will be provided in the results report, including your overall exam score and your performance on each of the topic sections on the exam. This information is provided to help inform your study efforts should you retest at a later date.

Equating of Scores

In some cases, the results report will indicate that the score provided is an equated score. If that is the case, then your test score is being placed on a common scale with all other candidate test scores for that exam, and statistical adjustments are made to the score to account for slight variations in the difficulty that may exist among different sets of exam questions. This method allows for a fair comparison of scores and ensures that every candidate is held to the same passing standard regardless of which set of exam items they receive.

If You Do Not Pass

If you do not pass your qualification exam, a waiting period will apply based on FINRA Rule 1210 Supplementary Material .06. Generally, you may take the exam again 30 days after the date of the prior exam. However, if you fail the exam three or more times in succession, you must wait until 180 calendar days have elapsed since the date of your last attempt to pass the exam.

  • Did your firm request your exam enrollment? To take an exam again, your firm must re-request the exam for you through the CRD program. Another exam fee will be charged. You will then receive a new 120-day enrollment period to schedule the exam appointment.
  • Did you request your own exam enrollment? Self-enrolled exam candidates must submit a new request and pay another exam fee using TESS to secure a new valid enrollment.

Concerns About Your Testing Experience

If you have any suggestions or concerns regarding your testing experience, you may provide your input to FINRA using the survey link provided with your emailed score report. During the exam, you can ask the virtual exam proctor to file an incident report on your behalf. You may also contact your firm's registration department to follow up.

If you have questions or require assistance, please contact FINRA's Online Testing Support Team or review the Online Testing FAQ page.

Content Challenge

An exam candidate who wishes to challenge the content of one or more questions on their FINRA exam must complete and submit the FINRA Exam Question Challenge Form within 30 days of the date they tested. The challenge must be specific in nature. FINRA will review the question or questions specified in the challenge form and provide a written response within 20 days of the receipt of your challenge form.

For a list of FINRA exams, including the Securities Industry Essentials® (SIE®) Exam, please see the FINRA Qualification Exams page.