Principal Exams for Bank Supervisors: Series 9/10, 24 and 26

8/27/2026

Promotion into supervision is where many bank investment professionals meet their second wave of FINRA exams. A successful licensed banker becomes a sales manager or a program manager, and suddenly someone has to approve new accounts, review correspondence, supervise trades and sign off on the written supervisory procedures. Under FINRA's rules, that someone must be registered as a principal, and there is more than one principal registration to choose from.

For bank brokerage programs the choice usually comes down to four exams: the Series 9 and 10 (General Securities Sales Supervisor), the Series 24 (General Securities Principal) and the Series 26 (Investment Company and Variable Contracts Products Principal). This guide explains what each one qualifies you to supervise, what has to come first, the exam details as FINRA publishes them, and how to prepare.

Why principal registration matters in a bank program

FINRA Rule 1220 requires principals to register in a category that matches their activities. The default is General Securities Principal, but the rule allows people whose activities are limited to a narrower set of functions to register in a limited category instead. That is why bank programs use different principal exams for different supervisors.

The bank program's structure decides which exam applies:

A program that sells only packaged products (mutual funds, variable annuities, variable life) can often be supervised by Series 26 principals.
A full-service program supervised by branch or regional sales managers often uses the Series 9 and 10.
The person who supervises the broker-dealer's broader business (advertising, trading, underwriting, overall compliance with financial responsibility rules) needs the Series 24.

Your firm's compliance and registration team will tell you which category your role requires. The rest of this guide helps you understand why, and prepare for it.

Series 9 and 10: General Securities Sales Supervisor

The FINRA Series 10 and Series 9 together make up the General Securities Sales Supervisor qualification. FINRA describes them as limited principal exams that qualify an individual to supervise the sales activities of a broker-dealer.

What they cover is broad on the product side. FINRA says the Series 9 and 10 qualify a branch manager to supervise sales activities in corporate securities (equity and debt), investment company products and variable contracts, municipal securities, options, government securities and direct participation programs. They also satisfy the testing requirements of the NYSE, Cboe, the MSRB, FINRA and Nasdaq.

What they do not cover is the non-sales business of the firm. FINRA Rule 1220(a)(10) says a person registered solely as a sales supervisor may not supervise the origination and structuring of underwritings, market-making commitments, the custody of broker-dealer or customer funds or securities for purposes of SEA Rule 15c3-3, or overall compliance with the financial responsibility rules.

Series 9 and 10 exam details

	Series 10	Series 9
Items	145	55
Time	4 hours	1 hour 30 minutes
Passing score	70	70
Fee	$235	$175
Corequisites	SIE and Series 7	SIE and Series 7

The Series 10 is the general sales supervision exam. Its outline covers supervising personnel, account opening and maintenance, sales practices and general trading, and communications with the public. The Series 9 is the options part: its outline covers supervising options accounts, options sales practices and trading, options communications, and associated persons.

Why options matter for bank supervisors

Rule 1220 states that if a sales supervisor's activities include options sales, the person must register either as a Registered Options Principal or as a General Securities Sales Supervisor. That is the reason the 9 and 10 are taken as a pair: the Series 9 covers the options supervision piece. The alternative route is the Series 4, the Registered Options Principal exam, typically held by the person approving options accounts for the firm.

Who in a bank takes the 9 and 10

Branch or regional sales managers in a full-service bank brokerage program who supervise Series 7 representatives
Program sales leaders whose role is limited to sales supervision, not the broker-dealer's operations

Preparation options: the Series 10 Exam Prep Online Premier Package, the Series 9 Exam Prep Online Premier Package, and for both together the Series 9 and 10 General Securities Sales Supervisor Complete Package. Standard packages and textbook-and-software sets are also listed on the Series 9 and Series 10 topic pages.

Series 24: General Securities Principal

The Series 24 is the broadest principal qualification. FINRA says that by passing it, a candidate can supervise all areas of the member's investment banking and securities business, such as underwriting, trading and market making, advertising, and overall compliance with financial responsibilities.

There is one limitation that surprises people. FINRA notes that the Series 24 does not cover municipal securities or options. A general securities principal whose firm does business in those areas needs separate qualification for them, which is one reason some firms pair the 24 with the 9 and 10 or with other principal registrations.

Series 24 exam details

Item	Detail
Items	150
Time	3 hours 45 minutes
Passing score	70
Fee	$235
Corequisites	SIE plus one of the Series 7, 57, 79, 82, 86/87 or 16

FINRA's outline organizes the exam around five job functions: supervision of registration of the broker-dealer and personnel management (9 items), supervision of general broker-dealer activities (45), supervision of retail and institutional customer-related activities (32), supervision of trading and market making (32), and supervision of investment banking and research (32).

Who in a bank takes the 24

The program manager or head of the bank's investment program where the broker-dealer is affiliated with the bank
Supervisors at the broker-dealer level whose role extends beyond sales: advertising review, trading oversight, compliance with the financial responsibility rules
Bank investment programs that are run through a third-party broker-dealer often have the 24 held by the third party's supervisors rather than bank staff, so check how your program is structured

Our Series 24 Exam Prep Online Premier Package is the main preparation option for this exam. If you prefer studying from a book, the Series 24 Wiley Textbook, Software and Online Video Course Package is the alternative. See the Series 24 topic page for more.

Series 26: Investment Company and Variable Contracts Products Principal

The Series 26 is the principal counterpart to the Series 6. FINRA says it covers supervision of sales of closed-end funds (initial offering only), mutual funds, variable annuities and variable life insurance. Rule 1220(a)(11) allows someone whose activities are limited to those products to register in this category instead of as a General Securities Principal.

That product list is the same one many bank platform programs sell, which makes the 26 a common principal registration in banks.

Series 26 exam details

Item	Detail
Items	110
Time	2 hours 45 minutes
Passing score	70
Fee	$200
Corequisites	SIE and Series 6, or SIE and Series 7

The outline has three job functions: personnel management and registration of the broker-dealer (16 items), supervising associated persons and overseeing sales practices (49), and overseeing compliance and business processes of the broker-dealer and its offices (45).

Who in a bank takes the 26

Sales managers in a packaged-products program who supervise Series 6 representatives
Branch-level supervisors in banks whose investment offering is limited to funds and annuities

Preparation options include the Series 26 Exam Prep Online Premier Package, the Series 26 Exam Prep Standard Package and the Series 26 Wiley package. See also the Series 26 topic page.

Choosing between them

Your supervisory role	Likely registration	Representative corequisite
Supervising Series 6 reps selling funds and annuities	Series 26	SIE + Series 6 or 7
Branch or regional sales manager in a full-service program, including options	Series 9 and 10	SIE + Series 7
Program head overseeing advertising, trading and broader broker-dealer business	Series 24	SIE + Series 7 (or another listed exam)
Approving options accounts for the firm	Series 4 or Series 9 and 10	Per firm structure

Notice the corequisites. A Series 6-only representative can become a Series 26 principal but cannot take the 9 and 10 or the 24 route without first adding the Series 7 (or, for the 24, another listed representative exam). Candidates who expect to move into supervision of a full-service program should consider that when choosing between the 6 and the 7 early in their career.

Supervising before you pass: the 120-day rule

Promotions do not always wait for exams. FINRA Rule 1210.04 lets a member designate a registered representative to function as a principal for 120 calendar days before passing the appropriate principal exam, provided the person has at least 18 months of experience functioning as a registered representative within the five years before the designation and has met all prerequisite registration, fee and examination requirements. After 120 days, the person may not continue as a principal without passing.

That window is useful, but it is not long. A candidate starting a new supervisory role should start studying before or immediately on promotion, not after the first month of settling in. A failed attempt eats into the window: FINRA Rule 1210 requires a 15-day wait before retaking a failed exam, and 60 days after three or more failures in succession within two years.

Sponsorship and keeping the qualification

FINRA requires candidates to be associated with and sponsored by a member firm to take principal-level exams. In a bank program, that is the affiliated or third-party broker-dealer.

If you leave a principal role, FINRA Rule 1210 says a person not registered as a principal for two years must requalify by exam, unless they have maintained the qualification under the Maintaining Qualifications Program. Under Rule 1240(c), that program can keep a terminated registration category qualified for up to five years, subject to conditions such as having been registered in that category for at least a year and completing the program's annual requirements.

How to prepare for a principal exam

Principal exams test supervision, not selling. Even experienced representatives find the shift difficult because the questions ask what a supervisor must review, approve, document or escalate, and under which rule.

Map your daily job to the outline. Most bank supervisors already perform some of the outlined functions. Mark which ones you do and which you have never done; the latter need the most study.

Learn approvals and timeframes as a system. Account approvals, communications review, complaint handling, and the written supervisory procedures recur throughout these exams. Organize your notes by supervisory duty rather than by product.

Use full-length practice exams. The Series 10 is four hours. The Series 24 and 7 are 3 hours 45 minutes. Stamina and pacing matter as much as knowledge.

Plan around the 120-day window if you have been designated under Rule 1210.04. Set the exam date first, then build the study plan backward from it.

For the supervisory skills the exams do not test, such as coaching, staffing and performance management, see our post on bank branch manager skills. For the compliance environment supervisors work in, building a compliance culture and bank investment services compliance are useful background.

Choose your principal exam prep

If your role will extend beyond sales supervision, the Series 24 Exam Prep Online Premier Package is the place to start. Sales supervisors in full-service programs should look at the Series 9 and 10 complete package, and supervisors of packaged-products programs at the Series 26 premier package. Confirm the category with your firm's registration team, then set a date inside your 120-day window and study backward from it.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the FINRA Series 10?

The Series 10 is the main part of the General Securities Sales Supervisor qualification. FINRA lists it at 145 items, 4 hours, a passing score of 70 and a $235 fee, with the SIE and Series 7 as corequisites. It qualifies a person to supervise the sales activities of a broker-dealer, such as account opening, sales practices and communications. It is usually taken together with the Series 9, which covers options supervision. It does not qualify someone to supervise underwriting, market making, custody under SEA Rule 15c3-3, or overall financial responsibility compliance.

What is the difference between the Series 9/10 and the Series 24?

FINRA describes the 9 and 10 as limited principal exams for supervising sales activities, across a broad product range including options and municipal securities. The Series 24 qualifies a general securities principal to supervise all areas of the firm's securities business, including underwriting, trading, market making and advertising, but does not cover municipal securities or options. Branch sales managers often take the 9 and 10; supervisors with firm-wide responsibilities take the 24.

Can I take the Series 24 with only a Series 6?

No. FINRA lists the corequisites for the Series 24 as the SIE plus one of the Series 7, 57, 79, 82, 86/87 or 16. A Series 6 representative who wants a principal registration usually takes the Series 26, which accepts the SIE plus the Series 6 or Series 7. If you expect to supervise a full-service program, you would need to add the Series 7 first.

Can I supervise before I pass the principal exam?

Yes, for a limited time. FINRA Rule 1210.04 allows a member to designate a registered representative to function as a principal for 120 calendar days before passing the appropriate principal exam, if the person has at least 18 months of experience as a registered representative within the previous five years and meets the other prerequisite requirements. After 120 days, the person cannot continue to function as a principal without passing.

Do I need the Series 9 if I take the Series 10?

Usually yes, if your supervision includes options. FINRA Rule 1220 says a sales supervisor engaged in options sales activities must register either as a Registered Options Principal (Series 4) or as a General Securities Sales Supervisor, which requires both the Series 9 and Series 10. The two exams together form the General Securities Sales Supervisor qualification. Your firm will confirm whether your role needs both.

Who needs the Series 26 in a bank?

Supervisors in investment programs limited to packaged products: mutual funds, closed-end funds on initial offering, variable annuities and variable life insurance. FINRA Rule 1220 lets a principal whose activities are limited to those products register as an Investment Company and Variable Contracts Products Principal instead of a General Securities Principal. The exam has 110 items, a 2 hour 45 minute limit, a passing score of 70 and a $200 fee, with the SIE and Series 6 or 7 as corequisites.