General Securities Principal Exam

The general securities principal exam, commonly referred to as the Series 24 exam, is administered by the U.S. Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) which qualifies a registered individual to supervise or manage branch activities such as corporate securities, REITs, variable contracts, and venture capital; a general principal may also approve advertising and sales literature, including communications regarding municipal securities. The exam covers topics such as supervision of investment banking, trading, customer accounts, and the primary/secondary markets.

A Series 24 license does not qualify an individual to function as a:

  • Registered options principal – Series 4
  • General securities sales supervisor for options and municipal securities – Series 9
  • Municipal securities principal – Series 53
  • Municipal fund securities principal – Series 51
  • Financial and operations principal – Series 27
  • Introducing broker/dealer financial and operations principal – Series 28

The Series 24 Exam is made up of 150 questions. Candidates have up to 3.5 hours to take the exam. 70% (105 correct answers) is considered a passing grade. In order to take the Series 24 exam, a candidate must be sponsored by a member firm of FINRA or another SRO (self-regulatory organization).

Test breakdown Number of questions % of exam
Supervision of investment banking activities 33 22%
Supervision of trading and market making activities 31 21%
Supervision of brokerage office operations 29 19%
Sales supervision; general supervision of employees; regulatory framework of FINRA 43 29%
Compliance with financial responsibility rules 14 9%

See also


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