SIE Exam Pass Rate: 74% First-Time

About 74% of first-time candidates pass the SIE® (Securities Industry Essentials®) exam, according to FINRA’s published figures. That’s the only official pass rate that exists, and it comes from the exam’s early years of administration, not from a live feed. FINRA has not published updated pass-rate data since (verified July 2026).

So the honest version is: roughly three in four first-timers pass, one in four doesn’t, and the number is a dated benchmark rather than a current statistic. Here’s how to read it.

Where the 74% figure comes from

FINRA released the figure based on results from the exam’s first years after its October 2018 launch. It covers first-time test-takers only. FINRA has published no refreshed pass-rate data since then, so any site quoting a different, more precise-sounding SIE pass rate is estimating, whether it says so or not.

We quote 74% because it’s the official number, and we date it because that’s the only honest way to use it.

What the number doesn’t tell you

A single pass rate hides a few things worth knowing before you lean on it:

• It’s a first-attempt figure. It says nothing about how candidates do on retakes, and FINRA publishes nothing on that either. If you don’t pass the first time, the retake rules and waiting periods matter more than this statistic.
• Passing is a scaled 70, not a raw 70%. Your score is equated across exam versions, so a slightly harder form needs slightly fewer raw correct answers. The details are on what score passes the SIE.
• Anyone 18 or older can sit for the SIE, no firm sponsorship required. The candidate pool includes college students, career-switchers, and people taking it cold. That breadth is part of why one in four first-timers doesn’t pass an entry-level exam.
• There’s no penalty for guessing. Everyone answers every question, so the pass rate reflects prepared-versus-unprepared candidates, not test-taking tactics.

How it compares with other securities exams

It mostly can’t, not officially. FINRA doesn’t publish pass rates for the Series 7, and NASAA doesn’t publish them for the Series 63, 65, or 66. Prep-industry estimates put the Series 7 somewhere around 65–72% for first-timers, but those are estimates and should be labeled as such (ours just was).

What can be said with confidence: the SIE is the broad, entry-level exam, and the top-off exams that follow it go deeper. How hard is the SIE exam compares the difficulty in more detail, and our guide to what the SIE exam is shows where it sits in FINRA’s exam ladder.

What 74% means for your prep

The useful part of the statistic is the 26%. An exam that most people pass still fails one in four first-timers, and a failed attempt costs you the $100 exam fee again (FINRA raised it from $80; verified August 2026, see how much the SIE exam costs) plus a waiting period before your next try.

The way to make sure you’re in the 74% isn’t to study longer on faith. It’s to measure. Practice until your scores tell you you’re consistently above the passing line, not hovering at it.

You can start now: try 10 questions, no signup. Every answer is verified against current FINRA and SEC rules and explains the trap it’s testing.