Free Series 6 Practice Questions with Answers
Updated Oct 23, 2026
Question 1
Under FINRA's communications rules, which description fits a retail communication?
- A. A written piece sent to banks, insurers, and registered investment companies, with no retail investors among the recipients
- B. Any written or electronic communication distributed or made available to more than 25 retail investors within a 30 calendar-day period
- C. An individualized letter from a representative to one customer discussing the customer's own account holdings
- D. An internal memo circulated among the firm's registered representatives and principals that is not shared with customers
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: B. Any written or electronic communication distributed or made available to more than 25 retail investors within a 30 calendar-day period
FINRA sorts written communications by audience. A retail communication is one distributed or made available to more than 25 retail investors in any 30 calendar-day period. Smaller retail audiences are correspondence, and pieces aimed at institutions are institutional communications.
- A. A piece limited to institutional recipients is an institutional communication, not retail.
- B. This is the retail communication definition: a written or electronic piece reaching more than 25 retail investors in 30 days.
- C. A letter to a single customer is correspondence because it goes to 25 or fewer retail investors.
- D. A purely internal memo is not distributed to the public and is not a retail communication.
Question 2
A small company's 401(k) plan, which is subject to ERISA, wants to open an account at the representative's firm. Which statement is correct?
- A. Each participant should open and sign for an individual account, since the employer has no authority over plan assets.
- B. The account should be titled in the employer's corporate name and may be used to meet the company's operating needs.
- C. The account should be titled in the name of the plan or its trustee, and plan documents should show who may act on its behalf.
- D. ERISA applies to the firm only if the plan holds more than a stated percentage of its assets in mutual funds.
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: C. The account should be titled in the name of the plan or its trustee, and plan documents should show who may act on its behalf.
Assets of an ERISA plan are held for the exclusive benefit of participants and are titled in the plan's or trustee's name. The firm should see plan documents identifying the trustee or fiduciaries authorized to give instructions.
- A. Wrong: participants direct their investments inside the plan, but the plan holds the account.
- B. Wrong: plan assets cannot be commingled with or used for the employer's operating needs.
- C. Correct: plan-name titling and documentation of authorized fiduciaries is the proper approach.
- D. Wrong: ERISA coverage depends on the plan, not on any percentage invested in mutual funds.
Question 3
Under FINRA Rule 2341, what is the maximum annual asset-based sales charge and service fee a fund may charge in combination?
- A. 0.75% of average net assets in total, with the service fee counted inside that limit
- B. 8.5% of average net assets, matching the front-end sales charge cap
- C. 1.00% of average net assets: up to 0.75% sales charge plus up to 0.25% service fee
- D. 0.25% of average net assets, which covers the service fee only
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: C. 1.00% of average net assets: up to 0.75% sales charge plus up to 0.25% service fee
FINRA's cap limits the asset-based sales charge to 0.75% of average annual net assets and allows a separate service fee of up to 0.25%, for 1.00% total. The 8.5% figure relates to the maximum front-end sales charge on the offering price.
- A. Wrong: the service fee is a separate 0.25% on top of the 0.75% sales charge limit.
- B. Wrong: the 8.5% maximum applies to front-end loads on offering price, not annual fees.
- C. Right: 0.75% plus 0.25% equals 1.00%.
- D. Wrong: 0.25% is the service-fee limit alone.
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A fund has a NAV of $12.00 and a public offering price of $12.50. A customer invests $10,000, no breakpoint applies, and fractional shares are issued. How many shares does the customer receive?
- A. 800 shares
- B. 833.33 shares
- C. 768 shares
- D. 720 shares
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: A. 800 shares
Shares are bought at the offering price, not NAV: 10,000 / 12.50 = 800. The $0.50 difference per share is the sales charge, which is already included in the offering price.
- A. Correct: 10,000 divided by 12.50 equals 800.
- B. Wrong: 10,000 divided by 12.00 uses NAV and ignores the sales charge.
- C. Wrong: 768 deducts a 4% charge from the investment and then divides by the offering price, which counts the charge twice.
- D. Wrong: 720 applies a 10% reduction and divides by the offering price, which is not supported by the facts.
Question 5
What does FINRA require a member to do regarding institutional communications?
- A. Obtain a registered principal's signed approval for every piece before its first use, the same as for retail pieces
- B. File every piece with FINRA within 10 business days after first use because they involve large sophisticated buyers
- C. Establish written procedures to review them, with a principal's pre-use approval not mandated for each piece
- D. Do nothing, since institutional pieces are outside the communications rules and receive no supervisory review
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: C. Establish written procedures to review them, with a principal's pre-use approval not mandated for each piece
Institutional communications are subject to the content standards, and a member must adopt written review procedures. A principal's approval before each use is not mandated as it is for retail pieces, and routine filing is not required.
- A. Per-piece pre-approval is the retail requirement, not the institutional one.
- B. There is no routine filing requirement for institutional pieces on that basis.
- C. Written review procedures are required, but pre-use principal sign-off is not mandatory for each piece.
- D. Institutional communications remain subject to the content standards and need procedures.
Question 6
Which document typically gives named officers authority to open and transact in a corporation's brokerage account?
- A. A corporate resolution certified by the corporate secretary
- B. A certification of trust signed by every successor trustee named
- C. A partnership agreement signed by the general partners
- D. A letters testamentary document issued by a probate court to an executor
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: A. A corporate resolution certified by the corporate secretary
A firm opening a corporate account obtains a certified corporate resolution (and typically incorporation documents) identifying the officers authorized to act and the powers granted.
- A. Correct: the certified resolution authorizes specific officers.
- B. Wrong: a certification of trust applies to trust accounts.
- C. Wrong: a partnership agreement applies to partnership accounts.
- D. Wrong: letters testamentary appoint an executor of an estate account.
Question 7
A 50-year-old owner of a nonqualified variable annuity with a return-of-premium death benefit dies during accumulation. Premiums paid total $100,000, there were no withdrawals, and the contract value is $88,000. What death benefit passes to the beneficiary?
- A. $188,000
- B. $88,000
- C. $12,000
- D. $100,000
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: D. $100,000
A return-of-premium death benefit pays the greater of the contract value or the premiums paid, reduced by withdrawals. Premiums of $100,000 exceed the $88,000 value, so $100,000 is paid.
- A. Wrong: the benefit is not the sum of both figures.
- B. Wrong: $88,000 is the contract value, which is lower than the guarantee.
- C. Wrong: $12,000 is the shortfall, not a benefit.
- D. Right: the greater of the two amounts.
Question 8
Which of the following is generally NOT reportable as a customer complaint on a representative's Form U4?
- A. A written complaint alleging sales practice violations with damages of $5,000 or more
- B. An investment-related arbitration claim filed by a customer
- C. Investment-related civil litigation brought by a customer
- D. An oral complaint that was resolved and was never put in writing
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: D. An oral complaint that was resolved and was never put in writing
Form U4 disclosure covers written customer complaints meeting the thresholds and customer arbitrations or civil suits. Purely oral complaints are not reported on the Form U4, although the firm should still escalate and document them internally.
- A. Wrong: written complaints at or above the threshold are reportable.
- B. Wrong: investment-related arbitration is reportable.
- C. Wrong: investment-related civil suits are reportable.
- D. Correct: oral complaints are not U4 reportable.
Question 9
Which rule applies to a representative's cold calls to residential prospects?
- A. Calls may not be placed before 9 a.m. or after 5 p.m. in the representative's time zone, with no list check after the first call, provided the prospect's number was not on a list at the time of the first call
- B. Calls may not be placed before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m. in the called person's local time, and the firm must never ignore the national or its own do-not-call list
- C. Calls are permitted at any hour if the prospect's number appears in a published directory, since listing signals consent
- D. Calls are permitted only after the prospect has opened an account, because contacting non-customers is barred outright
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: B. Calls may not be placed before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m. in the called person's local time, and the firm must never ignore the national or its own do-not-call list
Telemarketing rules limit residential solicitation calls to 8 a.m. through 9 p.m. in the called party's local time, and require the firm to honor the national registry and its own internal do-not-call list.
- A. Those hours and the representative's time zone are wrong, and list duties continue.
- B. The window is 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. at the recipient's location, with do-not-call lists honored.
- C. A directory listing is not consent to receive solicitation calls.
- D. Cold calls to non-customers are allowed within the rules; an account is not a prerequisite.
Question 10
A 40-year-old employee who joined a SIMPLE IRA plan 14 months ago withdraws money and uses it for a vacation. Assuming no exception applies, what additional tax applies to the withdrawal?
- A. 25% of the amount withdrawn, since it came within two years of first participating
- B. 10% of the amount withdrawn, which is the same additional tax that applies to any early IRA distribution
- C. 15% of the amount withdrawn, because SIMPLE plans use a graduated early-withdrawal schedule by age
- D. 50% of the amount withdrawn, which is the excise tax for a missed required minimum distribution
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: A. 25% of the amount withdrawn, since it came within two years of first participating
Early distributions from a SIMPLE IRA within the first two years of participation carry a 25% additional tax instead of the usual 10%. After two years the usual 10% applies if the owner is under 59 1/2 and no exception applies.
- A. Correct: the two-year rule raises the additional tax to 25%.
- B. Wrong: 10% applies after the two-year period, not during it.
- C. Wrong: there is no graduated schedule.
- D. Wrong: a 50% excise tax is not the early-withdrawal penalty and is a mismatch with a withdrawal taken voluntarily.
Question 11
Which statement describes an ABLE account?
- A. A retirement plan with required minimum distributions starting at age 73 for the owner
- B. A savings account for the higher education costs of a designated beneficiary, identical to a 529 plan in every respect
- C. A savings account for an eligible person with a disability; earnings are tax-free for qualified disability expenses
- D. A custodial account whose assets must be distributed to the beneficiary at age 21 under state law
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: C. A savings account for an eligible person with a disability; earnings are tax-free for qualified disability expenses
ABLE accounts, authorized under Section 529A, let eligible people with disabilities save with tax-free growth for qualified disability expenses such as housing, education and health care.
- A. Wrong: ABLE accounts are not retirement plans.
- B. Wrong: education savings describes a 529 plan.
- C. Right: disability-related savings with tax-free qualified withdrawals.
- D. Wrong: that describes certain custodial accounts, not ABLE accounts.
Question 12
Which statement correctly distinguishes mediation from arbitration?
- A. Mediation produces a binding decision from a panel of arbitrators, while arbitration is voluntary and informal.
- B. Both are binding, but mediation is available to the parties only after arbitration has already ended.
- C. Mediation is voluntary and non-binding, while arbitration ends in a binding award that is hard to appeal.
- D. Both are non-binding, and either party may reject the result of the process and then file suit instead.
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: C. Mediation is voluntary and non-binding, while arbitration ends in a binding award that is hard to appeal.
In mediation a neutral helps the parties reach their own settlement and nothing is imposed. Arbitration results in a binding award with extremely limited grounds for appeal.
- A. Wrong: this reverses the two.
- B. Wrong: mediation is not tied to the end of arbitration.
- C. Correct: mediation is non-binding and arbitration is binding.
- D. Wrong: arbitration awards are binding and cannot simply be rejected.
Question 13
A fund brochure describes a municipal bond fund's income as "tax-free" with no further explanation. What is the problem?
- A. "Tax-free" may appear only in advertisements filed with the SEC before use, not in firm-produced brochures
- B. There is no problem, because interest on municipal bonds is exempt from every tax in every state and locality, including state and local taxes and the alternative minimum tax
- C. The term is acceptable only if the fund's sales charge is below the maximum FINRA allows for the fund's share class
- D. Some income may be subject to the federal alternative minimum tax or state and local taxes, and capital gains are taxable, so the bare term can mislead
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: D. Some income may be subject to the federal alternative minimum tax or state and local taxes, and capital gains are taxable, so the bare term can mislead
Fund sales material should not imply that all distributions are free of tax. Municipal fund income can be subject to the alternative minimum tax or to some state and local taxes, and capital gains distributions are taxable. Qualifying language is needed.
- A. Filing with the SEC does not cure a misleading claim.
- B. Municipal interest is not exempt from all taxes everywhere.
- C. The sales charge level has no bearing on whether the tax claim is accurate.
- D. An unqualified 'tax-free' claim overstates the tax treatment, so qualification is required.
Question 14
Before a new retail account may begin transacting, who must review and approve it at the firm?
- A. The representative who opened the account
- B. The customer, by signing the account agreement
- C. The compliance department, but only after the first trade
- D. A registered principal
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: D. A registered principal
Supervision requires a principal to review and accept new accounts. The customer's signature or the representative's own judgment cannot replace supervisory approval.
- A. Wrong: self-approval removes the supervisory check.
- B. Wrong: the customer signs the agreement but does not provide supervisory approval.
- C. Wrong: supervisory review is to occur at opening, not after trading starts.
- D. Correct: principal approval is required.
Question 15
A rep texts product recommendations to clients using a personal messaging app that the firm has not approved or set up to archive. What is the main problem?
- A. There is no problem, because personal devices are outside the firm's recordkeeping rules for communications with clients
- B. The only problem is that texts are not permitted to contain any mention of a fund's name or its recent performance
- C. Business texts must be retained and supervised, and an unarchivable channel is a recordkeeping violation regardless of intent
- D. The rep may use any channel, provided the rep keeps a personal copy of each message for at least one year
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: C. Business texts must be retained and supervised, and an unarchivable channel is a recordkeeping violation regardless of intent
Business-related electronic communications, including texts, are records the firm must preserve and supervise under SEC and FINRA rules. Using a channel the firm cannot archive defeats retention and review, and regulators have fined firms for off-channel communications.
- A. Personal devices do not exempt business communications from retention rules.
- B. Texts may discuss funds if they are approved, archived and compliant.
- C. Correct: unarchived business texts defeat retention and supervision.
- D. A personal copy kept by the rep does not satisfy the firm's recordkeeping duty.
Question 16
When must a broker-dealer give or send a customer a confirmation of a securities transaction?
- A. Within thirty days after the trade, with the following month's statement
- B. At or before completion of the transaction
- C. With the next quarterly account statement
- D. Only if the customer requests one in writing after the trade
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: B. At or before completion of the transaction
SEC confirmation requirements call for written notice at or before completion of the transaction, generally the settlement date. Statements are periodic summaries and do not replace confirmations.
- A. Wrong: thirty days is too long.
- B. Correct: confirmation is due at or before completion.
- C. Wrong: quarterly statements are separate from confirmations.
- D. Wrong: confirmations are not provided only on request.
Question 17
Gwen, a representative, phones a prospect to describe a new stock offering before the issuer has filed its registration statement with the SEC. How should this be viewed?
- A. It is a violation, since offers in any form, including oral ones, are generally prohibited before filing during the quiet period
- B. It is allowed, because written offers are restricted before filing and oral conversations are exempt
- C. It is allowed if Gwen records the call and promises to deliver the prospectus after the registration statement is filed and keeps the recording
- D. It is allowed if the prospect is an existing customer with a long account history and a record of past participation
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: A. It is a violation, since offers in any form, including oral ones, are generally prohibited before filing during the quiet period
The Securities Act generally bars offers before a registration statement is filed, whether written or oral. Pre-filing contact about a pending issue can be gun-jumping. Only after filing may the firm use limited communications and the preliminary prospectus.
- A. Before filing, offers in any form are generally prohibited, so the call violates the quiet period.
- B. Oral offers are covered as well as written ones.
- C. Recording the call and promising later delivery does not cure a pre-filing offer.
- D. Customer relationships do not create an exception to the pre-filing prohibition.
Question 18
Which feature distinguishes a tenants in common (TIC) account from a joint tenants with right of survivorship (JTWROS) account?
- A. Owners must be married to each other, and the survivor automatically receives the deceased owner's share.
- B. Each owner holds an equal, undivided interest, and the surviving owners absorb the deceased owner's share.
- C. Every owner must sign every order, and an owner's share can be sold only with the other owners' consent.
- D. Owners may hold unequal shares, and a deceased owner's share passes to that owner's estate or heirs.
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: D. Owners may hold unequal shares, and a deceased owner's share passes to that owner's estate or heirs.
TIC owners can hold unequal percentages, and at death the decedent's share goes to the estate or heirs, not to the other owners. JTWROS carries equal interests with survivorship.
- A. Wrong: TIC owners need not be married, and no survivorship exists in a TIC account.
- B. Wrong: this describes JTWROS, where equal interests and survivorship apply.
- C. Wrong: nothing in the TIC form requires every owner to sign every order; that is set by the account agreement, and an owner can generally transfer his or her own share.
- D. Correct: unequal shares and passing to the estate are the TIC hallmarks.
Question 19
Dana invests $300 at the start of each month in a fund. The prices on the three purchase dates are $10, $15 and $5 per share. What is Dana's approximate average cost per share?
- A. $8.18
- B. $9.00
- C. $10.00
- D. $7.50
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: A. $8.18
Dana buys 30 shares at $10, 20 at $15 and 60 at $5, a total of 110 shares for $900. Average cost is $900 divided by 110, or about $8.18, which is below the $10 simple average of the prices.
- A. Right: $900 invested divided by 110 shares equals about $8.18.
- B. Wrong: $9.00 does not follow from the share counts; it is $900 divided by 100 shares.
- C. Wrong: $10 is the simple average of the three prices, which ignores that more shares were bought at the low price.
- D. Wrong: $7.50 is not supported by the purchases; total cost divided by total shares is the correct method.
Question 20
Which type of settlement results in a trade settling on the trade date itself?
- A. Regular-way settlement
- B. Next-day settlement
- C. Seller's option settlement
- D. Cash settlement
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: D. Cash settlement
A cash trade settles the same day as the trade date. Regular-way settles on T+1, next-day on the following business day, and seller's option on a date the seller chooses, within the allowed range.
- A. Wrong: regular way settles one business day later.
- B. Wrong: next-day settlement is by definition the day after the trade.
- C. Wrong: seller's option allows the seller to choose a later date.
- D. Correct: cash trades settle on trade date.
Question 21
When must a dealer deliver a 529 plan's disclosure document to a customer?
- A. Within 30 days after the customer's first contribution, once the account is open
- B. Only upon request after the account is established and the first contribution has settled
- C. Only when the customer's designated beneficiary is under the age of five at account opening
- D. By the time the transaction is completed
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: D. By the time the transaction is completed
MSRB rules require a dealer to deliver the program disclosure document by the time a customer's 529 transaction is completed. The document is the main source of information on fees, investment options, and risks, so it must reach the customer by then.
- A. A 30-day delay after contributing is later than the required time.
- B. Delivery is an obligation of the dealer and does not depend on a request.
- C. The beneficiary's age has no effect on the delivery requirement.
- D. Delivery must occur by the completion of the transaction, not afterward.
Question 22
Which of the following is NOT part of a retail customer's investment profile?
- A. The commission rate the representative earns on a product
- B. The customer's tax status and whether the account is taxable or tax-deferred
- C. The customer's investment time horizon for the money being invested
- D. The customer's liquidity needs over the next several years
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: A. The commission rate the representative earns on a product
A retail customer's investment profile includes age, other investments, financial situation and needs, tax status, objectives, experience, time horizon, liquidity needs and risk tolerance. The representative's compensation is a conflict to be managed, not a profile factor.
- A. Correct: representative compensation belongs to conflicts, not the profile.
- B. Wrong: tax status is a profile factor.
- C. Wrong: time horizon is a profile factor.
- D. Wrong: liquidity needs are a profile factor.
Question 23
A variable annuity subaccount holds $80,000. The annual mortality and expense (M&E) charge is 1.25% of subaccount value. Assuming the value stays level, about how much is the M&E charge for the year?
- A. $800
- B. $100
- C. $1,000
- D. $10,000
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: C. $1,000
The M&E charge is an annual percentage of separate account value. 1.25% of $80,000 is $1,000. It is deducted daily from the separate account and reduces the unit value rather than being billed to the owner.
- A. This applies 1.00% instead of 1.25%.
- B. This shifts the decimal too far and treats 1.25% as 0.125%.
- C. Correct: 0.0125 x $80,000 = $1,000.
- D. This shifts the decimal the other way and treats 1.25% as 12.5%.
Question 24
A customer phones a representative and complains that a fund recommended last year was unsuitable and lost money. What should the representative do FIRST?
- A. Offer to reimburse the loss personally, so the matter does not need to reach the firm
- B. Document the complaint and promptly escalate it to a supervisor or compliance, without trying to settle it privately
- C. Ask the customer to put the complaint in writing, and escalate it only if the customer does
- D. Defer the matter until the customer's next annual review, then mention it to the supervisor
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: B. Document the complaint and promptly escalate it to a supervisor or compliance, without trying to settle it privately
Complaints, written or oral, must be brought to supervision promptly. Representatives may not promise reimbursement or privately settle, and they cannot wait for a written version before escalating.
- A. Wrong: private reimbursement bypasses the firm and is prohibited.
- B. Correct: document and escalate.
- C. Wrong: waiting for a written complaint delays proper handling.
- D. Wrong: waiting for the annual review delays escalation.