The Series 24 is the exam you take when your firm wants you to supervise. It's FINRA's General Securities Principal exam, and FINRA's exam page says it "assesses the competency of an entry-level principal." Questions ask what you'd approve, review or escalate as the supervisor.
I run FreeFellow, which doesn't have Series 24 practice questions, so everything here comes from FINRA's pages and FINRA and SEC rules.
Scroll horizontally to view all columns.
| Format | Series 24 |
|---|---|
| Questions | 150 scored, plus 10 unscored pretest items |
| Time | 3 hours 45 minutes |
| Passing score | 70% |
| Fee | $235 |
FINRA doesn't publish a pass rate, so treat any figure you see as someone's estimate.
Who can sit for it
You can't sign up on your own. FINRA says you have to be associated with and sponsored by a member firm (or another applicable SRO member firm). You also need the SIE and a representative-level exam to hold the registration, and which one depends on the principal registration you want:
Scroll horizontally to view all columns.
| To register as | Exams you need alongside the Series 24 |
|---|---|
| General Securities Principal | SIE and Series 7 |
| Securities Trader Principal | SIE and Series 57 |
| Investment Banking Principal | SIE and Series 79 |
| Private Securities Offerings Principal | SIE and Series 82 |
| Research Principal | SIE, Series 86 and Series 87, or the Series 16 |
Under Rule 1210.04, your firm can have you act as a principal for up to 120 calendar days before you pass. You have to be registered as a rep with that firm, have at least 18 months of experience actually working as a registered rep in the past five years, and have met the registration, fee and exam prerequisites before you're designated. You can't keep doing it past day 120 without passing, so if your firm has already designated you, sit early enough to fit a retake inside the 120 days.
What FINRA tests
The 150 questions are split across five job functions:
Scroll horizontally to view all columns.
| Function | Questions | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Supervision of registration of the broker-dealer and personnel management | 9 | 6% |
| Supervision of general broker-dealer activities | 45 | 30% |
| Supervision of retail and institutional customer activities | 32 | about 21% |
| Supervision of trading and market making | 32 | about 21% |
| Supervision of investment banking and research | 32 | about 21% |
If you came up through retail, the last two rows are probably the new part. That's 64 questions on trading, market making, investment banking and research, about 43% of the exam.
FINRA's content outline runs 30 pages and cites more than 450 separate rules and regulations. Read it with the current rule text next to it, because the rules change and the outline can lag. Its title for Rule 504 still says $5,000,000, and the limit has been $10 million since 2021. The Rule 3220 gift limit went from $100 to $300 on March 30, 2026 (Regulatory Notice 26-05), and standard settlement moved to T+1 in May 2024. If your notes still say $100 or T+2, they're out of date. Rule 3290 replaces Rules 3270 and 3280 on October 25, 2027 (Regulatory Notice 26-20).
If you fail, the wait is 30 days today and 15 days from January 19, 2027, or 180 and then 60 days after a third failure. The retake rules post has the details.
How it differs from the Series 7, 9/10 and 23
Scroll horizontally to view all columns.
| Exam | Who it's for | Questions and time | To pass | Fee |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Series 7 | General securities representatives | 125 in 3 hours 45 minutes | 72% | $395 |
| Series 9 and 10 | Principals who supervise sales | 55 in 1 hour 30 minutes, plus 145 in 4 hours | 70% on each | $175 and $235 |
| Series 23 | Sales supervisors moving up to General Securities Principal | 100 in 2 hours 30 minutes | 70% | $135 |
| Series 24 | General Securities Principals | 150 in 3 hours 45 minutes | 70% | $235 |
FINRA says the general securities principal qualification doesn't cover municipal securities or options, and Rule 1220 gives some functions, such as options, their own principal registration. Check with compliance if you'll supervise those.
The Series 9 and 10 are the narrower route. FINRA calls them limited principal exams, and they don't cover underwriting, trading or overall firm compliance with financial responsibility rules. Within sales, though, they reach municipal securities and options. Rule 1220 lets you register as a Sales Supervisor if your supervisory duties are limited to sales. Together they run longer and cost more than the Series 24 alone, so go by what your job needs.
The Series 23 is for someone who already holds that Sales Supervisor registration and now needs General Securities Principal. It's an alternative to the Series 24, and it leans toward what the 9 and 10 leave out: 56 of its 100 questions are on trading, market making, investment banking and research.
You usually won't choose on your own, because your firm's compliance department decides which registration your duties need.
If you're still working toward the Series 7, the Series 7 practice post and the SIE practice post are where to start. If you're headed for investment banking supervision, start with the Series 79 overview.