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What this practice test covers
The real Series 7 has 125 scored questions in 3 hours 45 minutes. This is a proportional 50-question mini-exam at the same pace, about 1.8 minutes per scored question, so you get 90 minutes. Questions follow FINRA's content outline weights:
| Job function | Real exam | This test |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Seeks business for the broker-dealer | 9 (7%) | 4 |
| 2. Opens accounts | 11 (9%) | 4 |
| 3. Provides information, makes recommendations, transfers assets, maintains records | 91 (73%) | 36 |
| 4. Obtains and verifies instructions; processes and confirms transactions | 14 (11%) | 6 |
You'll see options strategies, margin math, bond pricing and yields, accrued interest, municipal taxation, packaged products, retirement accounts, suspicious activity, Reg BI, Regulation D, Reg SHO and T+1 settlement. Every question has four choices, like the real exam.
Exam mode vs. practice mode
- Exam mode: 90 minutes on the clock, with answers revealed at the end. Use it for your baseline and your final check.
- Practice mode: untimed by default, and you can check each answer as you go. Use it to learn. Work the math on paper before you look.
- Quick drill: 10 random questions for a daily warm-up.
Take it cold in exam mode first. The breakdown by job function on your results page shows where your study hours should go.
How the real exam is scored
FINRA lists a passing score of 72 for the Series 7. The 5 pretest questions on the real exam don't count, and FINRA doesn't publish a way to translate a practice set like this into its score. So this test reports percent correct overall and by job function, with no made-up conversion. Don't treat a result just over 72% here as “ready.” Aim for consistently strong scores on questions you haven't seen before.
What to do after you finish
- Start with Function 3 misses. It's 73% of the real exam, so a weak spot there matters most.
- Redo every calculation you missed without looking. Options breakevens, margin calls and accrued interest have to be automatic.
- Check for outdated habits. If you answered T+2 anything, update your notes. Settlement has been T+1 since May 28, 2024.
- Keep an error log listing the rule or formula behind each miss, and review it every few days.
- Retake later, cold, once your answers have faded from memory.
For format, fees, SIE rules and a full study plan, see the complete Series 7 guide.
Free official resources
- FINRA Series 7 Content Outline (PDF): the official blueprint behind these weights.
- FINRA's free SIE practice test: useful if you still have the co-requisite SIE ahead of you.
Sample questions
4 questions from this practice test, with answers and explanations. Take the full test above for timing, scoring and your weakest domains.
A customer buys $20,000 of stock in a new margin account and deposits the 50% Regulation T requirement. Using FINRA's 25% minimum maintenance requirement for long positions, below what market value would the account first get a maintenance call?
- A. $10,000.00
- B. $12,500.00
- C. $13,333.33
- D. $15,000.00
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The debit balance is $20,000 − $10,000 = $10,000. Equity must stay at or above 25% of market value, so the debit can be at most 75% of it: MV = debit ÷ 0.75 = $10,000 ÷ 0.75 = $13,333.33. Check: $13,333.33 − $10,000 = $3,333.33 of equity, which is 25% of $13,333.33. The tempting $12,500 comes from multiplying the debit by 1.25, which puts equity at only 20% of market value.
A customer buys a $1,000 par corporate bond with a 6% coupon that pays January 1 and July 1. The trade date is April 14, and the trade settles regular way on April 15. Using the 30/360 convention, how much accrued interest does the buyer pay the seller?
- A. $17.17
- B. $17.33
- C. $17.50
- D. $30.00
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Accrued interest runs from the last coupon date up to, but not including, the settlement date. Under 30/360 that's January 30 + February 30 + March 30 + April 14 = 104 days. $60 annual interest × 104/360 = $17.33. $17.50 is the trap from counting the settlement date (105 days). $17.17 stops a day short (103 days). $30.00 is the full semiannual coupon.
Which statement about Regulation Best Interest (Reg BI) is accurate?
- A. It requires a broker-dealer to recommend the lowest-cost product available
- B. It applies when a broker-dealer recommends a securities transaction, investment strategy or account type to a retail customer
- C. It applies to recommendations made to institutional customers such as banks and pension plans
- D. Disclosure alone satisfies it; once conflicts are disclosed, nothing more is required
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Reg BI covers recommendations to retail customers: natural persons, or their legal representatives, using the advice mainly for personal, family or household purposes. It includes recommendations of account types. It has four component obligations: disclosure, care, conflict of interest and compliance. That's why “disclosure alone” is the trap, since the care, conflict and compliance obligations still apply. Cost is an important factor, but Reg BI doesn't require the cheapest product, and it doesn't reach institutional customers.
A customer sells 1 JKL 40 put at 5 and buys 1 JKL 35 put at 2, same expiration. Which statement is correct?
- A. It's a bear put spread with a maximum loss of $300 and a maximum gain of $200
- B. It's a debit spread with a maximum loss of $300 and a breakeven of $43
- C. It's a bull put spread with a maximum gain of $500 and a breakeven of $35
- D. It's a bull put spread with a maximum gain of $300, a maximum loss of $200 and a breakeven of $37
Show answerHide answer
Selling the higher-strike put and buying the lower-strike put makes a credit spread that profits if the stock stays up, so it's a bull put spread. Net credit = 5 − 2 = 3, so the maximum gain is $300. Maximum loss = strike difference − credit = (40 − 35) − 3 = 2, or $200. Breakeven = higher strike − credit = 40 − 3 = $37. The $500/$35 answer is the trap: it counts only the $5 premium on the put sold and ignores the $2 paid for the one bought. The bear-spread and debit-spread choices get the direction wrong. She took in more premium than she paid, so this is a credit spread that wants the stock to stay above $37.
More Series 7 guides
Frequently asked questions
Is this Series 7 practice test current?
Yes. It's weighted to FINRA's current content outline (© 2025) and uses current rules, including T+1 settlement.
Are these real Series 7 questions?
No. Every question is original, written to mirror the real exam's style and difficulty. Real exam content is confidential.
Why is this test only 50 questions?
It's a proportional mini-exam at the real pace, long enough to show your weak functions and short enough to take in one sitting. For full stamina practice, take it back to back with another timed set.
Is there a calculator on the real Series 7?
Check FINRA's and your test center's current rules before exam day. Either way, practice the core formulas until you can set them up quickly by hand.
Sources & official links
- FINRA — Qualification Examsfinra.org