Series 9/10 — General Securities Sales Supervisor Exams

Overview

Series 9 and Series 10 are the two parts of the General Securities Sales Supervisor qualification administered by FINRA. Together they qualify a candidate to supervise sales activities at a general securities–oriented branch office. Candidates must already hold the Series 7 (General Securities Representative) license and be registered with a FINRA member firm or other self‑regulatory organization.

Series 9 focuses on options supervision and related rules; Series 10 covers broader branch sales supervision and trading practices. The exams replaced the former Series 8.

Permitted Activities

A Series 9/10 holder is qualified to supervise sales and related activities for a wide range of securities, including:
Corporate securities, rights and warrants
 Closed‑end funds and money market funds
REITs and direct participation programs
 Asset‑backed and corporate mortgage‑backed securities
Equity options and options on corporate mortgage‑backed securities
 Mutual funds, variable annuities and variable life insurance
Government securities, repos and certificates of accrual on government securities
 Municipal securities and municipal fund securities

Eligibility

  • Must have passed the Series 7 exam.
  • Must be associated with and registered by a FINRA member firm (or other SRO) before taking the Series 9/10 exams.

Exam Format and Content

  • Total questions: 215 multiple‑choice (60 for Series 9; 145 for Series 10). Each part includes a small number of unscored experimental questions (5 in Series 9; 10 in Series 10).
  • Time allowed: 90 minutes for Series 9; 4 hours for Series 10.
  • Passing score: 70%.
  • Scoring: No penalty for guessing; answer every question.
  • Administration: Computer‑based testing.

Content is organized by job functions. Representative distributions (scored questions) include:

Series 10 (Part 1)
Supervise associated persons and personnel management — ~28 questions
Supervise opening and maintenance of customer accounts — ~49 questions
 Supervise sales practices and general trading activities — ~52 questions
 Supervise communications with the public — remaining questions

Series 9 (Part 2)
Supervise opening and maintenance of customer options accounts — 18 questions
Supervise sales practices and general options trading activities — 19 questions
 Supervise options communications — 5 questions
 Supervise associated persons and personnel management — 13 questions

Questions are periodically updated to reflect new rules and industry changes. Consult FINRA’s current content outline for the authoritative breakdown.

Sample Questions (format and answer examples)

  1. Which of the following is considered retail communication?
    A. Electronic communication to institutional investors daily
    B. Social media communication with institutional investors daily
    C. Written communication distributed to 10 retail investors within 30 days
    D. Written communication distributed to more than 25 retail investors within 30 days — D

  2. A qualified person must inspect an Office of Supervisory Jurisdiction (OSJ) at least:
    A. Quarterly
    B. Annually — B
    C. Every two years
    D. Every three years

  3. Listed equity options would not be adjusted for which action in the underlying security?
    A. 2‑for‑1 stock split
    B. 1‑for‑5 reverse split
    C. 5% stock dividend
    D. Cash dividend of $0.50 — D

(Answers reflect typical FINRA sample formats; always review the current FINRA materials.)

Series 9/10 vs. Series 24

  • Series 24 (General Securities Principal) qualifies a principal to supervise a broad range of sales activities and the overall investment banking and securities business of a member firm (including corporate financing, mergers & acquisitions, venture capital, and securities traders).
  • Series 9/10 focuses more on branch‑level supervision of sales, with additional emphasis on options, municipal securities, government securities, repos, and certain mortgage‑backed and municipal fund products. Series 9/10 covers areas not included under a Series 24 (notably equity and other options).

Key Takeaways

  • You must have a Series 7 license and be registered with a FINRA member to take Series 9/10.
  • The combined exam tests supervisory competence for branch sales and options; passing requires 70%.
  • Prepare using FINRA’s official content outline and current rule updates, since question content changes with regulation.

Sources

FINRA — Series 9 and 10 Content Outline and related exam materials.