Pass your FINRA exam with Adaptive Learning
CertFuel is adaptive prep for the SIE and other securities and futures exams. Spaced repetition, weak-spot targeting, and a live readiness score tell you when you're actually ready. SIE is free, and Series 3, 24, 65, and 99 prep is free for the rest of 2026.
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Securities Industry Essentials
The SIE is the first exam everyone in the securities industry needs. No sponsor required, anyone 18+ can register directly with FINRA.
We made it completely free so you can prove you're serious before recruiters even ask.
Start Free SIE Prep →General Securities Rep
Stockbrokers selling all securities products. Pair the Series 7 with the Series 63 for state-blue-sky registration.
Insurance & Mutual Fund Representative
For representatives selling mutual funds, variable annuities, and variable life insurance. Requires the SIE and Series 6, plus Series 63 where required by the state. State insurance licensing is separate.
Insurance Professional Adding Advisory Services
For insurance professionals pursuing investment adviser representative registration. Series 65 addresses the adviser exam requirement, subject to state rules. If you also sell Series 6 products, your path may include SIE + 6 + 63 + 65. Series 66 requires Series 7; it is not a substitute with Series 6 alone. State insurance licensing is separate.
Investment Adviser Rep
Fee-based advisers (RIA route). Single exam, no SIE required, but the SIE rep path stacks well. Series 65 prep is free through the end of 2026.
Broker + Adviser
For professionals combining securities sales and investment advice. Take SIE + Series 7 + Series 66, or SIE + Series 7 + Series 63 + Series 65. Confirm the registration requirements with your firm and state.
Securities Agent
The Series 63 covers state securities law and ethics. Many states require it alongside the applicable representative registration, such as SIE + Series 6 or Series 7. Passing Series 63 alone does not authorize securities sales.
Investment Banking Rep
For junior bankers on a deal team. Covers data analysis, underwriting, and M&A. Requires the SIE as a co-requisite.
Securities Trader
For securities traders working in market making, proprietary trading, and order execution. Requires firm sponsorship and the SIE as a co-requisite.
Private Securities Offerings Rep
For representatives selling private placements in primary offerings. Requires firm sponsorship and the SIE as a co-requisite.
Securities Principal
Supervisory exam for producers stepping into a branch-manager or compliance role. Requires an underlying rep license like the Series 7 first. Series 24 prep is free through the end of 2026.
Operations Professional
Back-office and middle-office staff who move a trade from execution to settlement. Requires the SIE as a co-requisite. Series 99 prep is free through the end of 2026.
Commodity Futures Broker
Futures and options-on-futures brokers registering with the NFA, not FINRA. No SIE required, but the exam is graded as two parts that each need 70%. Series 3 prep is free through the end of 2026.
Failed your exam? Try a different way to learn.
Work through real situations, understand why an answer makes sense, and use that reasoning on questions you haven't seen before. Choose your exam to build a different plan for the next attempt.
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Take a full practice exam first.
Before you watch a single video, sit a full-length, timed practice exam in the Prometric view. No music, no phone, no interruptions. The end-of-exam report ranks every unit by your score and its weight on the real exam: that report is your study plan.
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Work units by the report, not the book.
Go down the report list in order. The lowest-scoring unit isn't always the most valuable to fix. CertFuel sorts by weakest area combined with how many points the unit is worth on the real exam, so your time goes where it actually moves your score.
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Run the unit loop, then move on.
For each unit: watch the videos, listen to the podcast, do one Study Quiz and one Flashcard session, read the section, then do one more Quiz and Flashcard set. Don't camp on a single unit. Fly through the content and trust the loop to tighten it up.
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Take a full practice exam every week.
Once a week, sit another timed practice exam. New weak units will surface as old ones improve. Re-rank your queue and run the loop again on whatever's at the top.
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Book the real exam after three 75%+ practice exams in a row.
Real-exam scores tend to land within a few points of your last full practice exam. Three consecutive practice exams at 75% or above is the readiness signal. 80%+ if you want margin for a bad day.
"A huge shout out to Alex for creating this and making it available. I only learned about CertFuel a few days before my exam so I jammed through it in 3 days. It's thorough and clear and really well organized. The testing features are fantastic."r/Sieexam · Passed it → vs. paid prep
"Possibly the best website to study on to pass the SIE. I paid for Kaplan, Achievables, and study.com and this one is the best and doesn't make me feel like I am struggling to understand the material."r/Sieexam · Reddit → passed the Series 65
"More importantly, CertFuel allowed me to identify my weaker subject areas, dial in on them, and become genuinely proficient instead of simply memorizing enough information to get through the exam."r/CertFuel · CertFuel is amazing → passed the Series 66
"Passed my Series 66 in July using CertFuel as my primary study resource. I didn’t use a textbook at all. I mainly relied on CertFuel for the reading/content and supplemented it with Dtinney and CapAdvTutoring videos when I needed a different explanation of certain topics."r/CertFuel · Passed 66 → passed the Series 63
"Passed the S63 earlier today while only using CertFuel for test prep. Actual exam felt slightly harder based on the questions but I PASSED."r/CertFuel · Passed Series 63 → studying after work
"The ease of use and structure of this website really made me understand concepts properly. It made it easy to study after work every day for at least 2 hours."r/CertFuel · Passed the SIE first try →
Spaced repetition
Each flashcard is scheduled around your forgetting curve, so it shows up right before you forget. Retention up, study time down.
Adaptive drilling
The engine watches every miss and resurfaces your weak areas more often. Every session targets what you actually need.
Weighted by exam %
Topics are scored by their actual weight on the real exam, so your time goes where the points are. No more uniform study slog.
I spent over a decade at Gleim, one of the largest test-prep companies in the country, helping people pass some of the hardest professional exams (CPA, CIA, CMA). I learned what actually works in exam prep, and more importantly, what doesn't.
Most people don't fail because they didn't study hard enough. They fail because traditional prep hasn't evolved. CertFuel is built on the parts that work: spaced repetition for when, adaptive drilling for what, and topic weights for which. Same science across every exam.
When you're starting out, you don't have money to waste on overpriced courses. That's why the SIE is free. Pass it, land your first job, and when you're ready for a top-off, we'll be here.
— Alexander Davila, Founder
What is the SIE exam?
The Securities Industry Essentials (SIE) exam is a FINRA introductory-level exam. It covers fundamental securities industry knowledge including types of products, the structure of the markets, regulatory agencies, and prohibited practices. The SIE is a corequisite for representative registrations such as the Series 7 and Series 82.
Is the SIE prep really free?
Yes, 100% free. No trial period, no credit card required, and no surprise paywalls. We know that when you're starting out, you don't have money to throw at expensive prep courses. The SIE is the first exam everyone in the industry needs, so we made it completely free. Full access to all practice questions, flashcards, adaptive quizzes, and the Exam Readiness Score. Our hope is that once you pass and land a job, you'll come back for your top-off exam prep.
Which other CertFuel courses are free?
Four more courses are free for the rest of 2026 (through December 31, 2026): Series 3, Series 24, Series 65, and Series 99. Each one gives you full access to practice questions, flashcards, adaptive quizzes, and the Exam Readiness Score, with no credit card required. Series 57 and Series 82 are also available in Free Beta. We are running these promotions so candidates on the adviser, principal, operations, and futures paths can get started without a paywall in the way.
How is CertFuel different from Kaplan or STC?
Traditional prep courses like Kaplan and STC give you 600+ pages of content and hope something sticks. CertFuel takes a different approach: our adaptive learning system continuously analyzes your performance and adjusts what you study next. Combined with spaced repetition to lock in knowledge and an Exam Readiness Score that tells you exactly when you're ready, you spend less time studying and more time passing.
How long does it take to pass?
It depends on the exam and your starting knowledge. Short state-law exams like the Series 63 often take one to two weeks. The SIE and Series 6 usually take 2 to 6 weeks of consistent study. Broader exams like the Series 7 and Series 65 take 4 to 10 weeks. Your Exam Readiness Score tracks your progress in real time so you know exactly where you stand.
What exams does CertFuel cover?
CertFuel covers 12 exams across FINRA, NASAA, and the NFA: the entry-level SIE, Series 6, Series 7, Series 63, Series 65, and Series 66 (every major path into the securities industry, whether you want to be a stockbroker, mutual fund rep, investment adviser, or some combination), plus the Series 57 (securities trading), Series 82 (private securities offerings), Series 79 (investment banking), Series 24 (general securities principal), and Series 99 (operations professional) for people moving into a more specialized, supervisory, or back-office role, and the Series 3 (commodity futures) for the futures side of the business.