The Series 6 exam is taken by individuals working in the financial and insurance industries who are looking to sell securities or other types of funds. Prepare for this exam with our Series 6 practice exams below.
By passing the Series 6 exam, you’ll receive a license that compliments what you’re allowed to offer clients.
In short, if you want to sell products in the financial and insurance industries, then you are required to pass this exam.
The purpose of the Series 6 is to assess an individual’s understanding of the job requirements necessary to work in either of these industries. It’s not an extremely difficult test as long as you properly prepare.
Summary: Learn about the Series 6 and prepare with a Series 6 practice exam below.
Series 6 Practice Exams and Resources
Our resources listed below will help you prepare for this exam and pass the first time around.
| Resource | Notes | Provider |
| Series 6 Practice Exam | 10 question practice exam to prepare. | Securities Institute |
| Series 6 Practice Exam | 15 question exam with option to see more questions. | Cert Library |
| Series 6 Flashcards | Review 249 flashcards. | Quizlet |
| Series 6 Flashcards | Review 700+ flashcards. | Quizlet |
| Series 6 Study Guide | Review this shortened study guide to prepare. | ExamZone |
Series 6 Test Breakdown
The Series 6 exam tests four specific areas to make sure the test taker is able to perform the job functions required.
| Job Function | % of Test |
| Business opportunities and their development for Brokers and/or Dealers. | 24% |
| Questions that relate to opening customer accounts. | 16% |
| Client recommendations, transferring assets, client information, and upkeep of customer records. | 50% |
| Questions related to gathering, verification, and confirmation of transactions. | 10% |
Series 6 Scoring Requirements
The required passing score is 70% so you’ll need to properly prepare to hit that mark. Although the questions are all randomly selected, the types of questions will always match the format listed in the previous section. All questions on the test are scored equally.
With that said, the test is laid out quite strategically. It will start out easy and get progressively more difficult. Its difficulty reaches a peak halfway through the exam. Then the questions get progressively easier until the end.
The test also has 5 random questions that do not contribute toward the score. These are not identified and randomly placed throughout the exam.
Series 6 exam scores are based on a common scale. That scale accounts for the slight variations in difficulty so it ensures that all candidates’ scores are reflected equally.
Requirements for Taking the Series 6 Exam
Individuals looking to take the Series 6 exam have to be sponsored by an SRO or FINRA firm. If you are to become sponsored, the firm will submit the paperwork for you. This form is called the Form U4. When a firm hires a new employee, they will generally have a Series 6 licensing program included as part of the training process.
Other than that, there are no other educational requirements but most firms require candidates to possess a college degree in order to apply for the job.
Ace the Series 6 Exam by Following These Tips
Passing the Series 6 exam isn’t too difficult as long as you are prepared. Here are some tips that are highly recommended.
#1: Read All Questions Carefully
The key to passing the Series 6 exam is to get all of the easy and moderately difficult questions correct. So you cannot afford to mess up these questions so make sure you read them carefully. Furthermore, read all of the answers correctly as well before you answer it. One of the biggest mistakes that individuals make is answering too quickly. They choose the answer that looks right without reading through all of the possible answers.
#2: Create a Study Plan
You probably won’t have a lot of time to prepare so it’s essential that you make the most of the time you have so that you pass the Series 6 exam. Start out by taking a Series 6 practice exam so that you know where you stand. A practice exam reveals the areas where you need to focus your studies.
Use this information to develop a study plan that ensures you use your limited time efficiently. Read through the questions you missed on the practice exam so that you know exactly why you missed it. Schedule about 30% of your time working on your weakest areas and use the remainder of it to build on your strengths.
#3: Use the Process of Elimination
Even if you know the answer to the question, reviewing all answers and eliminating those you know are incorrect is still the best practice. Most multiple-choice questions will only have a couple of answers that are valid. The rest are obviously wrong so eliminate them from contention.
Not only is this a time-tested approach to answering questions you don’t know, it will also make you slow down and read through all questions carefully.
#4: Guessing is Better than Not Answering
If you have gone through the process of elimination but still don’t know the answer, then you will have to guess. Since there’s no penalty for incorrect answers, guessing is a much better option than skipping the question entirely. In most cases, you’ll have about a 50% chance of guessing correctly if you use the process of elimination.
#5: Get Plenty of Sleep and Never Cram
Never try to cram for an exam. If you try to push too much information into a small window of time, then you might give yourself information overload. This will cause your brain to completely shut down. Avoid this by spreading your studies out over a prolonged period of time.
On that same note, getting plenty of sleep is also important. Don’t stay up all night studying because your mind won’t recall a lot of that information. Instead, get plenty of sleep leading up to the test.
#6: Eat Healthy the Day of the Exam
I’m sure you’ve read this advice before. I mean, it’s plastered on every study guide you’ll ever find! But the majority of these guides just say to eat a good breakfast. They don’t really go into detail.
Don’t just grab a bowl of cereal or a power bar and call it good. You want to eat a healthy dinner the night before the exam and a healthy breakfast the morning of the exam. Lean protein, vegetables, and whole fruit are the three foods you should stick to. Don’t eat refined carbs or anything loaded with sugar. These foods will make you restless while trying to sleep and will make you crash on the day of the exam.
Series 6 FAQs
How is the Series 6 exam administered?
The Series 6 exam is taken via computer and you will receive an orientation. It consists of 55 questions but only 50 of them are scored. There’s no penalty for guessing incorrectly so be sure that you give an answer to every question.
Testers are given 90 minutes to complete the entire exam. That means you have less than 2 minutes per question so it’s important that you don’t get hung up on a single question.
You are not allowed to bring any reference materials into the testing session.
How is the Series 6 different from Series 7?
Individuals who hold a Series 6 license are considered a “limited representative.” They can sell funds, annuities, and variable insurance policies. In comparison, a Series 7 license allows individuals to sell corporate stock, bonds, and collateralized mortgage obligations.
So in short, the Series 6 license is much more restrictive and is designed for individuals who are just getting into the industry.
How difficult is the Series 6 exam?
The Series 6 exam is designed to test a candidate’s ability to perform tasks in their industry. So you can expect questions to involve scenarios that will come up in day-to-day activities of a representative.
This makes it above average in terms of difficulty but it’s not that hard to pass it on the first attempt as long as you properly prepare.
Final Thoughts
The Series 6 exam is an important step in the career path of someone working in the financial and insurance industries. One of the biggest problems is preparation. It’s difficult to prepare for an exam in such a short amount of time. However, there’s nothing to say that you can’t start studying for it even before you apply to a job.
With that said, make sure you take a Series 6 practice exam just to be sure you’re properly prepared for this exam.
