Series 6 Account Types and Registration practice questions
2 of the 50 scored Series 6 questions come from Account Types and Registration (~4% of the exam). Free CertFuel-authored sample questions, common mistakes, and the glossary terms you need to know.
Account Types and Registration is part of Function 2: Opens Accounts, one of the four FINRA Series 6 functional areas. This topic carries roughly 4% of the exam (2 of the 50 scored questions). The full function weight is 16% (8 scored questions).
Series 6 questions on individual vs joint accounts, JTWROS vs tenants in common, custodial accounts, retirement registrations, and entity accounts.
These are the exam traps that pull the highest miss rates from Series 6 candidates on Account Types and Registration questions:
- Treating JTWROS and tenants in common as interchangeable when the death-of-owner outcome is the central difference
- Forgetting that UGMA/UTMA accounts become the minor’s property at the age of majority (no clawback)
- Misclassifying a community-property account as joint tenants in a community-property state
8 hand-checked Series 6 sample questions on Account Types and Registration, sampled from the CertFuel practice bank. Click any answer choice to reveal the explanation and the "why it matters" note. Every question is multiple choice (A/B/C/D, one correct answer) and matches the format of the real FINRA exam.
A customer with a taxable portfolio asks a Series 6 representative to manage a mix of mutual funds and variable annuities on a discretionary basis for an ongoing 1% advisory fee. The representative's firm is registered only as a broker-dealer, and the representative holds only the Series 6. The most appropriate action for the representative is to:
Correct answer: A. Correct. The fee arrangement described is an advisory relationship. Without the firm's IA registration and the representative's IAR credential, the arrangement cannot be offered regardless of whether the products are within Series 6 scope.
Why not the others?
- B (Accept the engagement as long as the customer signs an investment advisory contract.): A signed advisory contract does not substitute for the required IAR credential and IA firm registration. Entering into this arrangement without either would be a violation.
- C (Accept the engagement as a wrap fee program within the Series 6 commission structure.): Wrap fee programs are advisory products, not part of the Series 6 commission structure. They cannot be offered by a BD-only firm or by a representative without IAR registration.
- D (Accept the engagement and disclose the fee on each trade confirmation instead of on Form ADV.): Confirmation disclosure is a broker-dealer requirement for transaction compensation. It cannot convert an advisory fee into a commission-based compensation event, and it cannot substitute for the IAR registration and the adviser's Form ADV delivery.
Discretionary advisory fee requires IAR plus IA firm. This pattern shows up repeatedly on the Series 6, and recognizing it cold is what separates first-try passes from retests.
Which of the following investments is permitted inside a Traditional IRA?
Correct answer: A. Variable annuities, mutual funds, stocks, bonds, CDs, and ETFs are all permitted inside a Traditional IRA.
Why not the others?
- B (A collection of rare coins): Collectibles, including art, antiques, gems, and most coins, are prohibited investments inside an IRA.
- C (A life insurance policy on the account owner): Life insurance contracts are not permitted inside an IRA (they may be held inside some qualified plans, but not IRAs).
- D (S-corporation stock): S-corporation stock is not a permitted IRA investment because S-corp ownership requirements exclude IRAs as eligible shareholders.
Permissible IRA investments. This pattern shows up repeatedly on the Series 6, and recognizing it cold is what separates first-try passes from retests.
How does an Employee Stock Purchase Plan (ESPP) typically allow employees to acquire employer stock?
Correct answer: D. Employee Stock Purchase Plans allow employees to buy employer stock at a discount through payroll deductions over a specified offering period.
Why not the others?
- A (receive employer stock as a profit-sharing contribution at no cost): That description matches an ESOP or stock bonus plan. ESPPs require employees to purchase the stock.
- B (defer current salary to a non-qualified account payable at retirement): That description matches NQDC plans, not ESPPs.
- C (receive stock options exercisable at the grant-date price): Stock options, not ESPPs, grant the right to buy stock at a specified exercise price.
ESPP definition. This pattern shows up repeatedly on the Series 6, and recognizing it cold is what separates first-try passes from retests.
When opening a non-institutional customer account, the firm must make a reasonable effort to obtain the name and contact information of a trusted contact person age:
Correct answer: D. The TCP must be age 18 or older. The firm makes a reasonable effort to obtain the TCP's name and contact information when the account is opened, but the customer may decline.
Why not the others?
- A (16 or older): The minimum trusted contact person age is higher than 16. A TCP at 16 would still be a minor in most states.
- B (17 or older): A 17-year-old does not satisfy the minimum age requirement. The TCP must be an adult.
- C (21 or older): The minimum TCP age is not 21. The rule uses a lower adult threshold.
Trusted contact person age requirement. This pattern shows up repeatedly on the Series 6, and recognizing it cold is what separates first-try passes from retests.
A customer completes a new account application and checks the box indicating she works at another FINRA member firm. What should the registered representative do next?
Correct answer: C. Whether the customer is an associated person of another member firm is one of the required customer-information items. Capturing this on the new account record allows the firm to follow outside-account notification practices.
Why not the others?
- A (Decline to open the account, because associated persons of another member cannot hold outside accounts): Associated persons of another member firm may hold outside accounts. The receiving firm must record the affiliation and, as a matter of practice, notify the employing member firm.
- B (Open the account without recording the affiliation): The firm is required to record whether the customer is an associated person of another member firm. Omitting this field would leave the account record incomplete.
- D (Treat the customer as an institutional account): Institutional accounts are reserved for entities such as banks, insurance companies, registered investment advisers, and plans or entities meeting specified asset thresholds. An individual who happens to work at another member firm is still a non-institutional customer.
Associated person of another member firm disclosure. This pattern shows up repeatedly on the Series 6, and recognizing it cold is what separates first-try passes from retests.
Written authorization for the firm to draw checks from a customer's outside account may be provided in which of the following formats?
Correct answer: D. Either format is acceptable: the customer's signature on the negotiable instrument itself, or a separate authorization form signed by the customer.
Why not the others?
- A (Only on the negotiable instrument itself): The customer's signature on the negotiable instrument itself is one accepted format, but it is not the only accepted format.
- B (Only on a separate authorization form signed by the customer): A separate authorization form signed by the customer is accepted, but a signature on the instrument itself is also accepted.
- C (Only through a notarized letter of instruction from the customer's bank): A notarized letter from the customer's bank is not one of the two accepted formats. The authorization must come from the customer.
Permitted formats for written authorization. This pattern shows up repeatedly on the Series 6, and recognizing it cold is what separates first-try passes from retests.
Which of the following small-employer plans vests employees 100% in employer contributions from day one and permits mutual funds and variable annuities as investments?
Correct answer: A. SEP IRAs vest employer contributions immediately, so the employee is always 100% vested. Permissible investments include mutual funds, variable annuities, and other IRA-eligible securities.
Why not the others?
- B (A 401(k) plan using 2-to-6-year graded vesting): 401(k) plans may use graded vesting over 2 to 6 years for employer contributions, so the employee is not immediately 100% vested in matches. This does not match the facts.
- C (A defined benefit pension plan with 3-year cliff vesting): Cliff vesting delays full vesting until a service milestone, so it does not match the immediate-vesting description.
- D (A non-qualified deferred compensation plan): NQDC is a select-employee arrangement that is typically unfunded and subject to employer creditors, not a small-employer IRA-style plan with immediate vesting and mutual fund investment menus.
SEP IRA immediate vesting. This pattern shows up repeatedly on the Series 6, and recognizing it cold is what separates first-try passes from retests.
A 38-year-old employee has worked for 2 years at a company whose 401(k) uses a 3-year cliff vesting schedule for employer matching contributions. The employee has deferred $15,000 of her own salary over that period, and the employer has matched $6,000. If she resigns today, what portion of the account can she roll over to an IRA?
Correct answer: B. Employee elective deferrals are 100% vested immediately. Under 3-year cliff vesting, the $6,000 employer match is 0% vested at 2 years of service and is forfeited.
Why not the others?
- A (her own $15,000 deferrals only): While the employer match is unvested, the employee's deferrals plus any earnings she has accumulated are hers.
- C (her $15,000 plus $6,000 employer match): The employer match is 0% vested under a 3-year cliff schedule at 2 years of service, so it cannot be rolled over.
- D (only 40% of the total account balance): 40% vesting (year 4 of the 2-to-6-year graded schedule) does not apply here; the plan uses 3-year cliff vesting.
Applying cliff vesting to a rollover scenario. This pattern shows up repeatedly on the Series 6, and recognizing it cold is what separates first-try passes from retests.
The 5 glossary terms most likely to appear on Series 6 Account Types and Registration questions. Click any term for the full definition, example, and testing pattern.
Joint Tenants with Rights of Survivorship (JTWROS)
A form of joint account ownership where each owner has equal ownership rights and the account automatically transfers to the surviving owner...
Tenants in Common (TIC)
A form of joint ownership where each owner holds a fractional, undivided interest in the account. Ownership percentages can be unequal (e.g....
Community Property
A marital property ownership system used in 9 U.S. states (Arizona, California, Idaho, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Washington, Wis...
UGMA/UTMA
Custodial accounts allowing irrevocable gifts to minors without establishing a trust. UGMA (Uniform Gifts to Minors Act) permits cash and se...
Trust Account
An account owned by a trust (a legal entity created by a trust document), managed by a trustee who has fiduciary duty to manage assets for t...
Other topics in Function 2: Opens Accounts (16% of the exam, 8 scored questions). Practice each one to round out the function:
Looking for everything? Head to the Series 6 practice questions hub for all 13 topics, or take the 55-question full practice test.