Series 37 & 38 Exams

Properly registered individuals in Canada may be eligible to act as a General Securities Representative in the United States (U.S.) by obtaining the Canada Module of the General Securities Registered Representative (CD) or (CN) registration. These registrations are obtained by meeting certain criteria, outlined below, and by passing either the Series 37 or 38 examinations. The CD and CN registrations allow individuals to engage in activities similar to a General Securities Representative (GS) without having to sit for the Series 7 examination. However, such registration does not permit persons to conduct business in municipal securities.

 

How to Obtain a Limited Registered Representative CD or CN Registration

 

Prerequisites

 

CD Registration: A candidate must first meet all of the following requirements in order to obtain a CD registration:

  • Be sponsored by a FINRA member firm or appropriate regulatory agency
  • Have satisfied the following training and competence requirements of the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC), as they apply to that individual:

1. Passed the Canadian Securities Course
2. Completed a 30-day training period
3. Completed a 6-month period of supervision

  • And one of the following:

    • Passed the Partners, Directors, Officers Examination (PDO) (if completed prior to 5/24/04)
    • Passed the Conduct and Practices Handbook Course (CPH)
    • Passed the Registered Representatives Exam (RRX)

CN Registration: To obtain registration, individuals must have met all of the requirements for the CD registration plus have completed either the Options Licensing Course (OLC) or the Derivatives Fundamental and Options Licensing Course (DFOL) or the Canadian Options Course. Such persons may request the CN registration and take the Series 38 examination. 

 

In order to obtain the CD or CN registration, the firm and candidate must complete the following steps:

  1. Ensure that the candidate has met IIROC prerequisites.
  2. The firm must file a Form U4 with FINRA. When filing the U4, the firm must specifically request the CD or CN registration for the candidate in order to place the candidate in the Foreign Deficiency Queue. Upon completing this request, the candidate will automatically be added to the Foreign Deficiency Queue on Web CRD® and an exam window for the Series 37 or Series 38 examination will be opened.
  3. The candidate may then schedule to take the Series 37 or Series 38 examination at an approved FINRA test center.
  4. FINRA will use the information provided by IIROC to verify that the candidate has met IIROC prerequisites and passed the appropriate combination of IIROC exams and/or courses. FINRA will also confirm that the candidate has had an active registration with the IIROC during the past two years.
  5. Once FINRA has determined that the candidate possesses the acceptable prerequisites, it will remove the foreign deficiency.
  6. If the candidate has passed the Series 37 or Series 38 examination and all other requirements have been met, the CD or CN registration will become approved.

Failure to complete the above tasks in the prescribed order will delay the registration becoming active.

 

Once an individual has obtained a CD or CN registration, he/she can transfer that registration from one firm to another without having to re-qualify, provided it has been less than two calendar years since he/she last held the registration.

 

 

Frequently Asked Questions

 

1. What are the Series 37 and Series 38 examinations and what purpose do they serve?

 

The Series 37 (CD) and Series 38 (CN) examinations are modules of the Series 7 examination. Both examinations are administered to candidates who hold a registration in good standing with Canadian securities regulatory organization and are seeking registration in the U.S. The Series 37 examination includes test questions that assess knowledge of options, whereas the Series 38 examination does not, since individuals wishing to sit for the Series 38 examination must first complete the Canadian options course. Neither registration qualifies an individual to conduct municipal securities business.

 

2. What if the candidate does not meet any of the prerequisites?

 

If the individual is unable to meet any of the prerequisites, he or she will not qualify for either registration. Even if the candidate passes the Series 37 or Series 38 examination, the registration will not become approved without meeting these prerequisites.

 

3. Can an individual who has qualified for the CD or CN registration by passing the Series 37 or Series 38 examinations, respectively, conduct the same business as an individual who has qualified for the GS registration by passing the Series 7 examination?

 

An individual who obtains the CD or CN registration is qualified to conduct the same business as a General Securities Representative except that such individual may not conduct business in municipal securities.

 

4. What if an individual registered with the IIROC wants to sell municipal securities?

 

To sell municipal securities, the individual must pass the Series 7 examination and obtain the General Securities Representative registration or the Series 52 examination and obtain the Municipal Securities Representative registration, regardless of which IIROC examinations that person has passed.

 

5. Do the Series 37 and Series 38 examinations satisfy the prerequisite requirement for principal registration?

 

The Series 37 and Series 38 examinations satisfy the prerequisite requirement for the General Securities Principal Registration (Series 24 examination) and the Compliance Registered Options Principal (Series 4 examination). However, because these examinations do not qualify an individual to engage in municipal securities business, they do not satisfy the prerequisite for the General Securities Sales Principal (Series 9/10 examination), Municipal Fund Securities Limited Principal (Series 51 examination), or the Municipal Securities Principal (Series 53 examination).