SIE eligibility: 18 or older, no firm required, valid for four years

What you need

Age 18 or older. That is the whole eligibility requirement.

There is no education requirement, no experience requirement, and no sponsorship requirement. FINRA states that the exam is open to anyone aged 18 or older, "including students and prospective candidates interested in demonstrating basic industry knowledge to prospective employers", and that association with a firm is not required.

This is the point of the SIE. It was separated from the representative-level exams so that people can demonstrate basic industry knowledge before anyone hires them, rather than needing a firm to sponsor them first.

Enrolling without a firm

Students, career changers and formerly registered people without SIE credit enrol themselves: create an account, pay by credit card or ACH or redeem a voucher, then schedule at a Prometric test centre or online. CRD-access organisations and other organisations have their own enrolment routes.

One practical note straight from FINRA's page, and it is not a joke: "For the best experience, please use a Windows laptop or desktop. Users have reported issues enrolling on Mac, mobile and tablet devices."

The four-year clock

SIE results are valid for four years. Within that window you can pair the pass with a qualification exam and register.

What a pass does not do

It does not let you transact securities business. FINRA: "Passing the SIE alone does not qualify an individual for registration with a FINRA member firm or to engage in securities business."

Registration requires both the SIE and a qualification exam matched to the work you will do — and to sit that qualification exam you must be associated with a member firm. That is the ordering that catches people out: the SIE first and alone, the qualification exam second and only with an employer.

The qualification exams FINRA lists as following the SIE: