SIE Exam Format: 80 Questions in 105 Minutes, the Four Sections and Test-Day Tools

FINRA's own pages give the SIE as "75 questions," and many prep sites still say 85. Both numbers have a source. The count you'll actually sit through today is 80, and the difference comes from unscored items that FINRA reduced in its 2025 content outline.

SIE question count: 75 scored, 5 unscored, 80 in total

The 2025 SIE content outline says each exam has 75 scored multiple-choice items, each with four answer choices, plus 5 additional, unidentified pretest items that don't count toward your score. They're randomly distributed, so every candidate sees 80 items in total. You can't tell which five are unscored, so treat every question as if it counts.

Why you'll still see "85": the previous outline (© 2024) listed 10 pretest items and 85 items in total. Passy compared the text of the two files on October 27, 2026: apart from the copyright year, the pretest count is the only change. Time, sections and question weights are the same. FINRA's SIE page links the 2025 outline, but its student and school pages still link the 2024 file, so the older numbers are still easy to find. When a source says 85, check its date.

The four SIE sections and how many questions each gets

Section 2 alone is 33 of 75 scored questions, which is why the Products and Their Risks study guide maps it topic by topic. You can also see how the planned SIE prep splits its 625 questions across these sections.

The outline adds that the exam tests both rule-based knowledge, such as Suspicious Activity Report and Form U4 requirements, and general industry knowledge, such as the relationship between a bond's price and its yield. It names four federal laws as part of the foundation: the Securities Act of 1933, the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and the Investment Company Act and Investment Advisers Act of 1940.

How much time each SIE question gets

FINRA allows 1 hour and 45 minutes (105 minutes). Spread across all 80 items, that's about 1 minute 19 seconds per question. If you think only of the 75 scored items, it's 1 minute 24 seconds, but you can't skip the pretest items because you can't identify them.

Two rules shape your pacing:

• No penalty for guessing. The outline says so directly, and tells candidates to attempt every item. Never leave a question blank
• The clock doesn't stop for breaks. Unscheduled breaks are for the restroom only, and the time counts against your session at a test center and online

A practical approach is to check your progress at the halfway mark: around question 40 with roughly 52 minutes left keeps you on pace. That's Passy's arithmetic, not a FINRA rule.

What the SIE screen and test room give you

The SIE is computer-based, and FINRA provides a tutorial on how to take the exam before it starts. It's closed book: no reference materials or study materials at any point.

FINRA's online testing FAQ says to install the ProProctor application and run the system check on the computer you'll use at least one day before your appointment. The SIE registration guide covers choosing between the two when you book.

Does the SIE have math?

The outline doesn't put a number on it, but several listed topics are calculations: yield, yield to maturity and yield to call, total return and basis points, cost basis after stock splits, options strike prices and premiums, and net asset value and sales charges for funds. You'll have a basic calculator either way, so what matters is knowing which numbers go where, not arithmetic speed. Worked math for yields, breakevens and margin is part of the planned SIE prep, and the free practice set below includes a few of these calculations.

How FINRA's free practice test fits the format

FINRA's SIE practice test has 75 multiple-choice questions similar to those on the exam, untimed, with feedback at the end. FINRA says your score on it shouldn't be taken as an absolute prediction of your result, and that each real exam covers some, but not all, of the outline. To rehearse the timing that the practice test leaves out, give yourself 105 minutes for it anyway.

Passy's 20 free SIE practice questions are original items spread across the four sections, each with an explanation; 20 items can't mirror the real mix or predict a score. If you want a full-length rehearsal later, you can rehearse with the 80-question, 105-minute mock exam planned for full SIE prep, the same shape as the real test. The SIE passing score guide explains how those 75 scored answers turn into a result.