You’ve reached the end of the Achievable Series 7 material.
This final chapter doesn’t introduce new testable content. Instead, it covers what to expect on exam day and a few practical best practices as your test date approaches.
There’s no single perfect answer, but Achievable’s exam readiness score is your best overall gauge. At the top of your homepage, you’ll see a 0-100% score that estimates your likelihood of passing. In general, the closer your score is to 100%, the better your odds on test day.
Your score reflects multiple factors, including program completion (for example, reading chapters) and practice quiz performance. If you’ve used the system as intended, you’ve likely worked through hundreds (or even thousands) of practice questions. Completing practice quizzes and assigned reviews is a key part of building the knowledge you’ll need for the exam.
One of the most important inputs to your readiness score is practice exam performance, including both your scores and the number of attempts. Practice exams help you “put the big picture together” by pulling questions from across all Achievable chapters in a format similar to the real test. One of the most effective ways to raise your readiness score is to take additional practice exams and improve your scores over time.
Before taking a practice exam, put your notes aside. Using outside resources (for example, the Achievable reading material or Google) will artificially inflate your score. On the actual exam, you won’t have access to study resources - only a notepad and a calculator.
After every practice exam, do a thorough review of each question and answer. Make sure you understand why you got each question right or wrong. Also, think beyond the question. A common pitfall is studying the questions instead of the underlying content. Our questions are designed to emulate the exam, but no one knows which questions they’ll see on test day. FINRA closely guards its question bank, and test writers use unique wording. If you’re memorizing answers without understanding the why, you’re relying on something that won’t transfer well to the real exam.
A helpful self-check is:
“If I was given another question, with a completely different scenario and wording, am I confident I would know the answer?”
If the answer is yes, keep moving forward. If the answer is no, go back and review that topic in the reading materials.
This question also has no perfect or uniform answer. You could pass without taking a single practice exam, or fail after 20 practice exams. It depends on your understanding of the material.
Generally speaking, we recommend taking at least 10 practice exams. Many students start out scoring in the 50s or 60s. Use each exam to identify weak areas, then build knowledge through your review before taking the next one.
A consistent passing score (72% or higher) over five or more exams suggests a solid grasp of the material. Higher is better. Plan to spend focused time reviewing each exam right after you take it - this is where most of the learning happens.
Another reason to take several practice finals is to expose yourself to a wide range of topics. The Series 7 can test you on thousands of subtopics. A full-length practice exam covers 125 questions, so taking only one or a few exams limits how many areas you’re actually testing.
A passing score (72% or above) is a good baseline. However, it’s smart to aim higher. If you’ve averaged a 72% on your last several practice exams, you have a good chance of passing - but the real exam can feel different. The testing environment and the pressure of the “real thing” can increase anxiety, and anxiety can negatively affect performance.
We recommend aiming for a mid-to-high 70s average (or higher) on your last 2-3 practice finals. That gives you a buffer for test-day nerves or other issues that can pull your score down.
1. You must be sponsored by a FINRA-member firm to take the Series 7 exam. This means you need to be employed by or affiliated with a firm that is a FINRA member.
2. Your sponsoring firm will need to file the Form U4 on your behalf. The Form U4 includes your personal information, professional history, and disclosures related to any potential legal or regulatory issues. This form is used to apply for registration with FINRA and must be completed by both you and your firm.
3. As part of the registration process, you’ll need to submit fingerprints to the FINRA or another authorized organization for a background check. This is a standard procedure for all financial professionals in the industry.
4. Once the Form U4 is filed and your fingerprinting is completed, you can schedule your Series 7 exam. FINRA uses the Prometric testing centers for the Series 7 exam. Your sponsoring firm will submit the required application, and you’ll receive instructions on scheduling your exam.
The FINRA Series 7 exam costs $300 per attempt. The passing score is a 72% or higher.
There are waiting periods after failed attempts: 30 days after the first two failed attempts, and 180 days after the third and subsequent failures.
As you approach test day, we recommend the following to help you perform at the highest possible level:
Review your email confirmation.
Give yourself time to review the appointment details either the night before your exam or the morning of it.
Bring your ID.
Regardless of how you are testing, bring one valid, government-issued identification document with a signature and picture, such as an unexpired driver’s license, passport, or military ID. Also, make sure the name on your ID exactly matches the name under which your exam is scheduled.
Arrive early.
This helps ensure you get to your testing center on time.
As always, refer to the FINRA website for further information.
Check out the Achievable Blog for more study tips and best practices.
Many test takers use “dump sheets” as study supplements and as a guide for a “legal cheat sheet” on the exam. Dump sheets typically include visual guides and summarized notes on high-frequency topics. The idea is to memorize the material ahead of time, then do a quick “data dump” onto your notepad at the beginning of the exam.
These are allowed in the test center as long as they’re created after the test has started (and not during the initial tutorial). They aren’t required to succeed, but some test takers find them helpful.
You can certainly create your own, but here are Achievable’s Series 7 dump sheets:
Download: Series 7 Dump Sheet - General Formulas
Download: Series 7 Dump Sheet - Product Characteristics and BRTI
Download: Series 7 Exam Dump Sheet - Regulators, Laws, and Rules
Download: Series 7 Exam Dump Sheet - Suitability
FINRA exams can feel anxiety-inducing, so it helps to plan for test day conditions. Use the Achievable system as intended, keep your practice exams closed-book, and review each exam carefully so you’re learning the underlying concepts - not just the questions.
If you have any feedback, please let us know!
Wishing you the best,
the Achievable team