The Series 7 and Series 63 are a license stack almost everyone takes together, not two separate choices. Series 7 is the federal FINRA general securities representative license (product knowledge plus sales). Series 63 is your state agent registration under the Uniform Securities Act. You need both to legally sell securities to clients in most states. Take the Series 7 first (after the SIE co-requisite), then the Series 63 within about two weeks. Combined exam fees: $542.
Why do you need both the Series 7 and the Series 63?
The two licenses cover different layers of authority, and U.S. securities law requires both for most retail reps. Think of them as the federal half and the state half of the same job.
- Series 7 is the FINRA General Securities Representative exam. Passing it (with the SIE co-requisite) registers you to know and sell the full product set: individual stocks and bonds, options, mutual funds, variable annuities, and municipal bonds. It is product knowledge plus sales conduct, governed at the federal level.
- Series 63 is the NASAA Uniform Securities Agent State Law Examination. It registers you as a securities agent at the state level, testing the Uniform Securities Act: agent registration, prohibited practices, ethical sales conduct, and state-level fraud rules. NASAA owns the exam; FINRA administers it.
The one-line version: the Series 7 qualifies you to know and sell the products under federal rules. The Series 63 qualifies you to legally transact with clients in a given state. One does not replace the other.
FINRA registration (via the Series 7) gets you in the door at a sponsoring firm. State registration (via the Series 63) gets you in front of clients. Around 40 of the 50 states require the Series 63 (or the larger Series 66) before a rep can transact with retail clients. The Series 7 alone does not cover that state layer, so firms sponsor the two together.
What each license adds to the stack
The two exams reinforce each other rather than overlap. Here is what each one contributes.
- Sell individual stocks and bonds (federal product authority)
- Sell options and other derivatives
- Sell mutual funds and ETFs
- Sell variable annuities and variable life
- Sell municipal bonds and 529 plans
- Operate as a FINRA-registered representative
- Register as a securities agent in each state where you have clients
- Transact with retail clients under state law
- Operate within Uniform Securities Act prohibited-practices rules
- Handle state-level anti-fraud and enforcement procedures
- Maintain registration with state securities administrators
- Cover blue-sky law for retail brokerage business
The Series 7 alone makes you a federally registered rep with no state-level authority. The Series 63 alone gives you state-law knowledge but no product or FINRA authority. Stacked together, they cover both halves of what a retail securities rep needs to do business.
The sequence: SIE, then Series 7, then Series 63
Almost every sponsoring firm runs the stack in the same order. Here is the path and why it works that way.
| Step | Exam | Typical timing | Sponsor needed? |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | SIE (co-requisite for the 7) | Often before you are hired | No |
| 2 | Series 7 | 6 to 10 weeks after onboarding | Yes |
| 3 | Series 63 | ~2 weeks after the Series 7 | No (but pairs with a sponsored 7) |
Three reasons firms sequence it this way:
- The Series 7 is the big one. It is the longer, harder exam, so it makes sense to tackle it while onboarding focus is on product training. The Series 63 layers on after.
- The Series 63 reinforces regulatory concepts while they are fresh. The agent definition, the line between solicited and unsolicited trades, and the basics of registration sit close to the conduct material you just studied for the Series 7.
- It closes the registration cleanly. Compliance teams typically file Form U4 for the Series 7 first and add the Series 63 once the Series 7 result is in, so your CRD record builds in a tidy order.
That is why many candidates take the Series 63 within about two weeks of passing the Series 7. The state-law material is short and memorization-heavy, and it goes down easiest right after the federal exam.
Because the Series 63 has no SIE or FINRA prerequisite, there is nothing stopping you from opening the state-law material the day you pass the Series 7. Most candidates clear it with one to two weeks of focused review while the regulatory framework is still fresh in their heads.
Series 7 and 63, or Series 6 and 63?
The Series 63 is the state-law half of two common stacks, not just one. It pairs with whichever FINRA representative license you carry, so the right combination depends on the products you plan to sell.
Series 6 + Series 63
- Packaged products only: mutual funds, variable annuities, and 529 plans
- Common at insurance broker-dealers and bank programs
- The Series 6 is the lighter product license
- State agent registration still comes from the Series 63
Series 7 + Series 63
- Full product set: stocks, bonds, options, municipal bonds, and packaged products
- Standard at full-service and retail brokerage firms
- The Series 7 is the broad product license
- Same Series 63 state-law layer on top
Both stacks share the identical Series 63 state-law exam. The fork is on the FINRA side: the Series 6 covers packaged products for a narrower role, while the Series 7 covers the full product set for a general securities rep. So “7 and 63” is the stack for a full-service rep, and “6 and 63” is the stack for a packaged-products rep. Either way, the Series 63 is what registers you as an agent at the state level.
Whether you pair it with the Series 6 or the Series 7, the Series 63 is the same 60-scored-question state-law exam with the same content. Your FINRA product license determines what you can sell; the Series 63 determines where you can legally sell it.
How much do the Series 7 and 63 cost together?
Two exam fees, both set by the regulators. Add the SIE if you have not cleared it yet, since it is a co-requisite for the Series 7.
| Cost | Amount |
|---|---|
| Series 7 exam fee (FINRA) | $395 |
| Series 63 exam fee (NASAA) | $147 |
| Series 7 + 63 subtotal | $542 |
| SIE co-requisite (if not yet passed) | $100 |
| Mandatory total with SIE | $642 |
Most sponsoring firms reimburse all of these exam fees plus prep materials for new hires, so the out-of-pocket cost for many candidates is lower than the sticker. Prep providers are a separate line item on top of the regulator fees.
Build the Foundation First
The SIE is the gateway to the Series 7. Free SIE prep with adaptive practice and FSRS flashcards lets you start before sponsorship and removes the SIE fee from the stack.
Choose Your PathA realistic combined study timeline
The two exams demand very different amounts of effort, which is why the combined timeline is mostly Series 7 with a short Series 63 tail.
| Exam | Scored questions | Time limit | Typical prep |
|---|---|---|---|
| Series 7 | 125 | 225 minutes | 6 to 10 weeks |
| Series 63 | 60 (+5 pretest) | 75 minutes | 1 to 2 weeks |
Run back to back, that is roughly eight to twelve weeks of combined study. The Series 7 carries the weight: product knowledge, options strategies, and municipal math are the sections that take the most reps. The Series 63 is largely memorization (Uniform Securities Act definitions, registration thresholds, and prohibited practices), so flashcards do a lot of the heavy lifting and the exam goes quickly when you take it on the heels of the Series 7.
Both exams pass at 72%
The Series 7 and the Series 63 share the same 72% passing bar. On the Series 7 that means 90 of 125 scored questions; on the Series 63 it means 43 of 60. If you fail the Series 63, NASAA requires a 30-day wait after the first and second attempts, then a 180-day wait after a third. Most candidates who fall short do so by a few points and clear the retake after tightening up on prohibited practices and registration rules.
Can you take the Series 63 before you have a job?
Yes. NASAA does not require firm sponsorship for the Series 63 exam itself. You can self-register through FINRA’s Form U10 (the unsponsored testing form) and sit for the state-law exam before you are hired.
In practice, most candidates are sponsored anyway, and the reason is the Series 7 side of the stack. The Series 7 requires a sponsoring FINRA member firm, so by the time you are scheduling the Series 7 you already have an employer, and firms prefer to file the Form U4 registrations for both exams together. Taking the Series 63 unsponsored is most useful when you want to bank the state-law exam early or you are pivoting from a packaged-products role.
Passing the Series 63 on your own does not register you to do business. State registration is filed by an employing firm after you pass. So while you can sit for the Series 63 before getting hired, you still need a sponsoring firm to put the license to work, and that firm is what your Series 7 registration depends on anyway.
What if a Series 7 rep will also give fee-based advice?
The Series 63 covers state agent registration only. That is exactly right for a rep who sells securities on commission. But if you will also act as an investment adviser representative (IAR) on fee-based accounts, there is a more efficient path than the Series 63.
Series 7 + Series 63
commission onlyThe stack for a rep who sells securities on commission. The Series 63 handles state agent registration; it does not include investment adviser law. This is the clean choice when your firm is commission-based and you will not run fee-based advisory accounts.
Series 7 + Series 66
adds fee-based adviceThe Series 66 folds the Series 63 agent law together with investment adviser law into one exam, and it requires the Series 7 as a co-requisite. Pick it over the Series 63 when you also need IAR registration for fee-based accounts.
The deciding question is whether you will give advice for a fee. If not, the Series 7 and 63 stack is all the state-law coverage you need. If you will, the Series 66 covers agent law and adviser law in one sitting instead of taking the Series 63 and the Series 65 separately. For the full head-to-head on that fork, see our Series 63 vs Series 66 guide.
This page covers the 7 and 63 as a stack you take together. If you want the deeper “which exam is harder” and federal-vs-state breakdown from the Series 7 candidate’s point of view, read our companion guide: Series 7 vs Series 63.
New to this? Start with the foundation
If you are early in the process, the order of operations matters more than any single exam. Get the SIE done (you can do it before you are hired), line up a sponsoring firm for the Series 7, and treat the Series 63 as the short final step that closes out your registration.
Already sponsored
For a plain-language primer on the state-law exam itself, read what the Series 63 license is. Then the Series 63 hub has the full breakdown of the exam, cost, and study plan, with adaptive practice and FSRS flashcards built for the state-law content.
The Series 7 and Series 63 are a license stack, not a choice. The Series 7 is the federal FINRA general securities representative license (product knowledge plus sales). The Series 63 is your state agent registration under the Uniform Securities Act. Most retail reps need both to legally sell securities to clients.
The sequence: SIE first (co-requisite for the 7), then the Series 7 while sponsored, then the Series 63 within about two weeks. Combined exam fees: $542 ($642 with the SIE). Combined study: roughly 8 to 12 weeks.
The fork: the Series 63 pairs with either the Series 6 (packaged products) or the Series 7 (full product set). And if you will give fee-based advice, weigh the Series 66 instead of the Series 63 for IAR registration.
To start on the state-law exam, head to the Series 63 hub. For the deeper federal-vs-state head-to-head, see Series 7 vs Series 63.