The Series 3 license qualifies you to work as a commodity broker: soliciting and accepting customer orders for commodity futures contracts and options on futures. You earn it by passing the Series 3 exam (officially the National Commodities Futures Examination): 120 scored questions, $140, 70% required on each of two separate parts. Thereâs no SIE corequisite, but firm sponsorship is required to register at all. Itâs a distinct license from the Series 7, covering a different asset class under a different regulator.
What is a Series 3 license?
The Series 3 license qualifies you to work as a commodity broker, officially an associated person (AP) of a National Futures Association (NFA) member firm. You earn it by passing the Series 3 exam, officially the National Commodities Futures Examination. FINRA administers the exam on the NFAâs behalf, but the NFA and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), not the SEC, are the regulators who actually oversee this line of work.
The Series 3 qualifies you to work in futures and options on futures: a different asset class from stocks, bonds, and options on securities. For that side of the business, youâd need a Series 7 instead.
The content is futures-market mechanics and the regulations that govern them. In plain terms, the exam tests whether you understand how a futures contract works, how hedging and speculation differ, how margin and price limits function, how different order types get executed, and how CFTC and NFA rules govern the firms and people who handle customer futures accounts.
What does the Series 3 qualify you to do?
Passing the Series 3 and registering as an NFA associated person qualifies you to:
- Solicit and accept customer orders for commodity futures contracts
- Solicit and accept customer orders for options on futures
- Discuss and recommend futures and options-on-futures positions with customers
- Work as a registered commodity broker at a futures commission merchant (FCM) or introducing broker (IB)
It does not qualify you to sell securities like stocks, bonds, mutual funds, or options on securities. Those activities fall under FINRA and SEC jurisdiction and require a license like the Series 7 instead. The two asset classes (securities and futures) run on separate regulatory tracks, so a Series 3 alone doesnât open the door to securities work, and a Series 7 alone doesnât open the door to futures work.
Itâs tempting to rank these licenses by difficulty, but thatâs the wrong frame. The Series 3 is narrower in scope than the Series 7 (it doesnât touch equities, corporate bonds, or investment company products), but it goes deep on futures-specific mechanics the Series 7 never covers: contract specs, hedging and speculative strategy, and margin on futures positions. Neither exam is a subset of the other.
Who needs a Series 3 license?
If your work involves soliciting or accepting customer orders for futures or options on futures, the Series 3 is almost certainly your registration.
Futures Commission Merchants (FCMs)
Firms that carry customer futures accounts and execute orders directly. Commodity brokers working customer accounts at an FCM register under the Series 3.
Introducing Brokers (IBs)
Firms that solicit customer futures business and pass it to an FCM for execution and clearing. Associated persons soliciting that business need the Series 3.
Commodity Pool Operators (CPOs)
Firms that operate pooled investment vehicles trading futures and options on futures. Associated persons involved in soliciting pool participants typically register under the Series 3.
Commodity Trading Advisors (CTAs)
Firms and individuals that advise clients on futures trading for compensation. Associated persons with customer-facing solicitation roles need the Series 3.
If your role title includes âcommodity broker,â âfutures broker,â or âassociated personâ at an NFA member firm, the Series 3 is the standard registration. It does not apply to securities-only roles like retail stockbrokers, wealth managers, or portfolio managers working exclusively in equities and fixed income; those roles register under the Series 7 or Series 65/66 instead. For the career path this license opens up, see how to become a commodity broker.
Unlike the SIE, which anyone can register for independently, the Series 3 requires firm sponsorship before you can register at all. The NFA requires you to be registered as an associated person of a member firm first. You cannot schedule the Series 3 on your own the way you can the SIE.
What does the Series 3 exam cover?
The exam is organized into two parts, and you need 70% on each one separately to pass, not just an overall average.
Part 1: Market Knowledge (85 questions, 105 minutes)
Officially âFutures Trading Theory and Basic Functions/Terminology.â Futures contract mechanics and clearinghouse functions, market structure (normal and inverted markets), hedging and speculative theory, margin and price limits, order types and price analysis, basis calculations, spread trading, and options on futures terminology and strategies. The larger of the two parts by question count.
Part 2: Regulations (35 questions, 45 minutes)
CFTC registration categories and NFA membership rules, account opening and Know-Your-Customer requirements, position reporting and speculative limits, financial and disclosure requirements for FCMs, IBs, CPOs, and CTAs, and NFA arbitration and disciplinary procedures.
85 of the 120 scored questions (roughly 71%) fall under Part 1, Market Knowledge; the remaining 35 (roughly 29%) fall under Part 2, Regulations. That imbalance doesnât change the passing rule: you still need 70% on each part independently, so a smaller question count on Part 2 doesnât make it a lower priority, it just means each Regulations question carries more relative weight toward that partâs own 70% line. Strong performance on one part still cannot offset a weak score on the other.
How is the Series 3 exam structured?
Here are the official specs, confirmed directly against FINRAâs and the NFAâs own exam pages:
| Total Questions | 125 questions (120 scored + 5 experimental) |
| Part Breakdown | Part 1, Market Knowledge: 85 questions (105 min) · Part 2, Regulations: 35 questions (45 min) |
| Time Limit | 150 minutes total (2 hours 30 minutes) |
| Passing Score | 70% on each of the two parts, independently |
| Exam Fee | $140 per attempt |
| Format | Multiple choice, computer-based, administered by FINRA on the NFAâs behalf |
| SIE Corequisite | None |
| Sponsor Required | Yes (registration as an NFA member firmâs associated person) |
At 150 minutes for 125 questions, thatâs a little over a minute per question, a brisker pace than the SIEâs roughly 84 seconds per question. Because you need 70% on each part separately, budget your time so you donât run long on Part 1âs calculation-heavy hedging and margin questions and leave Part 2âs regulatory material rushed.
Series 3 requirements: what do you actually need before you can take it?
Two things matter here, and one of them isnât something you can arrange on your own.
- Sponsorship: your employing NFA member firm registers you as an associated person
- No SIE or other exam corequisite to clear first
- Availability for computer-based testing at a Prometric or FINRA-affiliated test center
- Comfort with both futures market mechanics (Part 1) and NFA/CFTC regulations (Part 2)
- Registering independently the way you can for the SIE (no sponsor, no registration)
- Assuming a securities license like the Series 7 substitutes for the Series 3, it doesn't
- Treating the two parts as one combined score; each part needs its own 70%
The sponsorship requirement is the detail that surprises people coming from a self-study mindset, or from reading about the SIE first. With the SIE, you register and pay FINRA directly, no employer needed. With the Series 3, your firm has to register you as an associated person before youâre eligible to sit for the exam at all.
Is the Series 3 the same as the Series 7?
No, and the difference isnât just difficulty, itâs asset class and regulator. The Series 7 covers general securities (stocks, bonds, options on securities, investment company products) under FINRA and SEC jurisdiction. The Series 3 covers commodity futures and options on futures under CFTC and NFA jurisdiction.
- Your work is soliciting or handling customer futures and options-on-futures orders
- You work at (or are headed into a role at) an FCM, IB, CPO, or CTA
- Your firm registers you as an NFA associated person, not a FINRA representative
- You'll be selling stocks, bonds, or options on securities to clients
- Your firm requires a general-securities registration under FINRA instead
- Your role never touches futures or options-on-futures products
Some professionals in commodities-adjacent roles (certain proprietary trading desks or dual-registered brokerage operations) end up holding both licenses, but the Series 3 alone fully covers futures-only work, and neither license substitutes for the other where a role genuinely spans both asset classes.
The bottom line
The Series 3 is the standard registration for commodity brokers: associated persons of NFA member firms who solicit or handle customer orders for futures contracts and options on futures. It has no SIE corequisite (a real difference from most FINRA representative exams), but firm sponsorship through NFA registration is mandatory before you can even sit for it. The exam itself is 120 scored questions across two parts in 150 minutes, $140 per attempt, with 70% needed on each part separately.
If youâre weighing whether this is the right path, start with how to become a commodity broker for the career side, or how to study for the Series 3 once youâre ready to prep. For a sense of how demanding the exam actually is, see the Series 3 pass rate breakdown.