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Permitted Activities of Registered Representatives

Please note: The following information is intended to provide a general overview of the permitted activities of various registration categories, but it is not an exhaustive list. Please refer to Regulatory Notice 17-30, FINRA Rule 1220 and, regarding retired exam categories, NASD Rule 1032 for further details.


Series 6 - Investment Company Products/Variable Contracts Limited Representative

A candidate who passes the Series 6 exam is qualified for the solicitation, purchase and/or sale of the following securities products:

  • mutual funds (closed-end funds on the initial offering only),
  • variable annuities,
  • variable life insurance,
  • unit investment trusts (UITs) and
  • municipal fund securities [e.g., 529 savings plans, local government investment pools (LGIPs)].


Series 7 - General Securities Representative

A candidate who passes the Series 7 exam is qualified for the solicitation, purchase and/or sale of all securities products, including corporate securities, municipal fund securities, options, direct participation programs, investment company products and variable contracts.

Covered activities and products include:

  • public offerings and/or private placements of corporate securities (stocks and bonds),
  • rights,
  • warrants,
  • mutual funds,
  • money market funds,
  • unit investment trusts (UITs),
  • exchange-traded funds (ETFs),
  • real estate investment trusts (REITs),
  • options on mortgage-backed securities,
  • government securities,
  • repos and certificates of accrual on government securities,
  • direct participation programs,
  • venture capital,
  • sale of municipal securities and
  • hedge funds.


Series 11 - Assistant Representative - Order Processing

A candidate who passes the Series 11 exam is qualified to accept unsolicited securities orders (all securities except municipal securities and direct participation programs) from the broker-dealer’s customers for execution and provide current securities quotations.

In addition, assistant representative-order processing registrants are prohibited from the following activities:

  • dually registering as a representative or principal,
  • rendering investment advice or opinion,
  • making recommendations,
  • making transactions in securities markets on behalf of the firm,
  • accepting or opening new accounts, or
  • prequalifying potential customers.


Series 17 - Limited Registered Representative

Covered activities and products include the solicitation and sale of:

  • public offerings and/or private placements of corporate securities (stocks and bonds),
  • rights,
  • warrants,
  • mutual funds,
  • money market funds,
  • unit investment trusts,
  • options on mortgage-backed securities,
  • government securities,
  • repos and certificates of accrual on government securities,
  • direct participation programs,
  • securities traders,
  • venture capital,
  • ETFs and
  • hedge funds.


Series 22 - Direct Participation Programs Limited Representative

Covered activities and products include:

  • direct participation programs (real estate, oil and gas, and equipment leasing),
  • limited partnerships,
  • limited liability companies and
  • S corporations.


Series 37 - Canada Securities Representative Exam (CD)

Covered activities and products for CD representatives include:

  • public offerings and/or private placements of corporate securities (stocks and bonds),
  • rights,
  • warrants,
  • mutual funds,
  • money market funds,
  • unit investment trusts (UITs),
  • options on mortgage-backed securities,
  • government securities,
  • repos and certificates of accrual on government securities,
  • direct participation programs,
  • securities traders,
  • venture capital,
  • exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and
  • hedge funds.


Series 38 - Canada Securities Representative Exam (CN)

Covered activities and products include the following:

  • public offerings and/or private placements of corporate securities (stocks and bonds),
  • rights,
  • warrants,
  • mutual funds,
  • money market funds,
  • unit investment trusts (UITs),
  • options on mortgage-backed securities,
  • government securities,
  • repos and certificates of accrual on government securities,
  • direct participation programs,
  • securities traders,
  • venture capital,
  • exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and
  • hedge funds.


Series 52 - Municipal Securities Representative Exam (MR)

Municipal securities, including municipal fund securities (e.g., 529 College Savings Plans, Local Government Investment Pools (LGIPs))


Series 57 Security Trader Exam (TD)

Covered activities and products include the following:

  • NASDAQ equity trading,
  • OTC equity trading and
  • proprietary trading.


Series 62 - Corporate Securities Representative Exam (CS)

Covered activities and products include the solicitation and sale of the following:

  • corporate securities (stocks and bonds),
  • rights,
  • warrants,
  • closed-end funds,
  • money-market funds,
  • repos and certificates of accrual on corporate securities,
  • REITs,
  • asset-backed securities (ABS),
  • mortgage-backed securities (MBS),
  • securities traders,
  • corporate financing and
  • exchange-traded funds (ETF).


Series 72 - Government Securities Representative Exam (RG)

The covered activities and products of a government securities representative include the solicitation and sale of the following.

  • government securities,
  • government agency securities and
  • mortgage-backed securities.


Series 79 - Investment Banking Representative Exam (IB)

Covered activities include advising on and/or facilitating the following:

  • debt and equity offerings (private placement or public offering),
  • mergers and acquisitions,
  • tender offers,
  • financial restructurings,
  • asset sales,
  • divestitures or other corporate reorganizations and
  • business combination transactions.


Series 82 - Private Securities Offerings Representative Exam (PR)

A candidate who passes the Series 82 exam is qualified for the solicitation and sale of private placement securities products as part of a primary offering.


Series 86 and 87 - Research Analyst Exam (RS)

Covered research analyst activities include preparation of written or electronic communications that analyze equity securities and/or companies and industry sectors.


Series 99 - Operations Professional Exam (OS)

Covered activities and products include the following:

  • customer on-boarding (customer account data and document maintenance),
  • collection, maintenance, reinvestment (i.e., sweeps) and disbursement of funds,
  • receipt and delivery of securities and funds, account transfers,
  • bank, custody, depository and firm account management and reconciliation,
  • settlement, fail control, buy-ins, segregation, possession and control,
  • trade confirmation and account statements,
  • margin,
  • stock loan/securities lending,
  • prime brokerage (services to other broker-dealers and financial institutions),
  • approval of pricing models used for valuations,
  • financial control, including general ledger and treasury,
  • contributing to the process of preparing and filing financial regulatory reports,
  • defining and approving business requirements for sales and trading systems and any other systems related to the covered functions, and validation that these systems meet such business requirements,
  • defining and approving business security requirements and policies for information technology, including but not limited to systems and data, in connection with the covered functions,
  • defining and approving information entitlement policies in connection with the covered functions; and
  • posting entries to a member's books and records in connection with the covered functions to ensure integrity and compliance with the federal securities laws and regulations and FINRA rules.