General Securities Principal Exam (Series 24): Full Comparison
The General Securities Principal Exam (Series 24) is a supervisory-level qualification. Unlike the exams that license you to sell securities, the Series 24 qualifies you to supervise the people who do — approving accounts, advertising, underwriting, and the day-to-day activities of a broker-dealer's investment banking and securities business. Because it sits at the top of the qualification ladder, it's most useful to compare it against the representative-level and foundational exams that typically come before it: the SIE, Series 6, Series 7, and Series 63.
This page compares the Series 24 with those related exams across scope, difficulty, intended audience, and prerequisites, so you can see where it fits in your career path.
At a glance
The Series 24 is a principal (supervisory) exam, while the others are representative or foundational exams. The Series 24 consists of 150 multiple-choice questions, must be completed in 225 minutes, requires a score of 70% to pass, and costs $235.
Scope
- Series 24 (General Securities Principal): Supervision of a broker-dealer's securities business — including sales, trading, underwriting/investment banking, and compliance oversight. It is about managing and supervising registered persons, not about selling.
- Series 7 (General Securities Representative): The broad license to sell nearly all types of securities products (stocks, bonds, options, packaged products) as a registered representative.
- SIE (Securities Industry Essentials): A foundational, entry-level exam covering basic industry knowledge — product types, market structure, regulatory framework, and prohibited practices.
- Series 63 (Uniform Securities Agent State Law): State-level (blue-sky) law and the Uniform Securities Act — registration, ethical practices, and state regulatory requirements.
- Series 6 (Investment Company and Variable Contracts Products Representative): A limited representative license focused on mutual funds, variable annuities, and variable life insurance.
Who each is for
- Series 24: Experienced registered persons moving into a supervisory or management role — branch managers, compliance officers, and principals responsible for oversight.
- Series 7: Registered representatives who want to sell the full range of securities products.
- SIE: Anyone entering the industry, including students and candidates who don't yet have a sponsoring firm.
- Series 63: Representatives who need to be registered to transact business at the state level (commonly paired with the Series 6 or 7).
- Series 6: Professionals selling packaged investment products, often alongside an insurance license.
Prerequisites and sequence
- SIE: No prerequisites and no firm sponsorship required — usually the first exam a candidate takes.
- Series 6 / Series 7: Require firm sponsorship and are typically paired with the SIE to complete the representative qualification.
- Series 63: No formal prerequisite exam; commonly taken alongside a representative exam to complete state registration.
- Series 24: Requires an appropriate representative-level qualification (such as the Series 7) as a prerequisite before you can register as a principal — reflecting that supervisors must first understand the business they oversee.
Difficulty
The Series 24 is generally regarded as one of the more challenging exams because it tests supervisory judgment and detailed regulatory knowledge across many business areas rather than product mechanics alone. The SIE is the most approachable as an entry-level exam; the Series 6 and Series 63 are narrower in scope; and the Series 7 is a broad, demanding representative exam that most candidates complete before attempting the Series 24.