what is series 66 
series 66 the nasaa uniform combined state law examination is an exam and license that is meant to qualify individuals as investment advisor representatives iars or securities agents the series 66 covers topics relevant to providing investment advice and effecting securities transactions for clients once licensed iars can legally conduct financial advising and wealth management duties the series 66 exam is developed by the north american securities administrators association nasaa along with the series 63 and series 65 exams it is administered by the financial industry regulatory authority finra 1understanding the series 66the series 66 certification was developed by the nasaa based on requests from the industry the exam is administered by the financial industry regulatory authority finra which is also responsible for processing and disseminating test results finra s series 7 exam is a co requisite of the series 66 which means it needs to be successfully completed along with the series 66 before a candidate may apply to register in a state the series 7 must be successfully completed before taking the series 66 individuals who have passed the series 7 may take the series 66 to avoid having to take the longer and possibly more difficult series 65 exam series 66 exam and structurethe series 66 examination contents include 100 multiple choice questions that are scored and 10 pretest questions that are not scored candidates have a maximum time of 150 minutes 2 hours to complete the examination to obtain a passing score a candidate must correctly answer 73 of the 100 questions that are scored 73 the exam administrator provides electronic calculators for candidates to use and these are the only calculators allowed in the exam room a dry erase marker and a whiteboard are provided no study or reference materials of any kind are permitted in the examination room and there are harsh penalties for anyone caught cheating or attempting to cheat an individual s employer can register a candidate for the exam by filing either a form u4 or form u10 and paying the 177 examination fee finra s series 66 informational web page has additional details as of oct 21 2022 you must take the series 66 in person at a qualified testing center the series 66 qualification exam is available online only for candidates who provide medical proof that they cannot take exams in testing centers due to a disability or other qualifying issue 23harsh penalties are imposed on anyone caught cheating or attempting to cheat on the series 66 exam series 66 exam contentthe nasaa updates information on the exam s content and posts it online as of october 2022 the exam questions are allocated as follows 4