This course prepares you for the Private Securities Offerings Representative Qualification Examination, commonly called Series 82. It contains 19 units across four chapters, aligned to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) content outline.
The Series 82 registration covers one thing well: selling securities that are not registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Private placements, offerings sold to qualified investors, and the rules that keep an unregistered offering lawful.
The Course Map
| Chapter | Weight | Focus |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Seeking Business and Private Offerings | 50% | Communications, the exemptions that allow an unregistered offering, investor qualification, distribution mechanics, due diligence, and filing duties |
| 2. Opening Customer Accounts | 18% | Account opening, customer screening documents, the investment profile, and supervisory approval |
| 3. Recommendations and Records | 26% | Communicating investment information, best interest and suitability, portfolio risk disclosure, and books and records |
| 4. Transactions and Complaints | 6% | Processing and confirming a transaction, and handling complaints, disputes and reporting |
Chapter 1 is half the exam and holds nine of the nineteen units. Give it half your study time.
The Exam at a Glance
- Questions: 55 total, made up of 50 scored items and 5 unscored pretest items mixed in at random
- Time: 1 hour and 30 minutes
- Passing standard: 70%, which is 35 of the 50 scored items
- Format: Multiple choice, four answer choices each
- Co-requisite: you must also pass the Securities Industry Essentials (SIE) exam
- Guessing: there is no penalty, so answer every item
Exam Tip: Gotchas
- The pretest items are unmarked. You cannot tell a scored item from an unscored one, so treat all 55 the same way.
- Chapter 1 carries half the exam in nine units, and chapter 4 carries 6% in two. Weight your review by the chapter percentage, not by the number of pages.
A Practical Study Loop
Work through the chapters in order on a first pass. The exemptions in chapter 1 set up everything that follows, because the account and recommendation rules in later chapters apply differently once an offering is unregistered.
For each unit:
- Read the Learn material.
- Complete a Smart Study quiz and a Smart Flashcard session.
- Mark the unit complete, then move forward.
- Use practice exams after the first pass to find the highest-value gaps.
The goal of the first pass is breadth. After that, let your practice results point you at weak areas while you keep chapter 1 warm.
Next Step
Start with the app overview, then move into chapter 1: