How to Become an Accredited Investor via Series 65: Exam and Costs

To become an accredited investor with a Series 65, you pass the exam, then register as an Investment Adviser Representative (IAR) with a state securities regulator and keep that license in good standing. The exam alone isn’t enough. The SEC’s 2020 rule change added holders in good standing of the Series 7, Series 82, or Series 65 to the accredited investor definition, and of those three, the Series 65 is the only one you can sit for without a broker-dealer sponsoring you.¹

Why the Series 65 Is the Route People Take

Rule 501(a)(10) designates three FINRA-administered exams as qualifying credentials: the Series 7 (General Securities Representative), the Series 82 (Private Securities Offerings Representative), and the Series 65 (Investment Adviser Representative).² The Series 7 and Series 82 require a member firm to file on your behalf, so unless you already work in the industry, they aren’t available to you.

The Series 65 is different. FINRA administers it, but NASAA developed it, and anyone can register independently. That accessibility is what makes it the standard credential-based path to accredited status for people who don’t meet the income or net worth tests.³

Registering for the Exam

Without a firm to file for you, you register through FINRA using Form U10, which is built for unaffiliated candidates.⁴ You’ll provide your legal name, Social Security number, date of birth, address, and email.

The fee is $187, charged to a credit card when you submit.⁵ Once FINRA processes the application, you have a 120-day window to sit for the exam.⁶ The fee is non-refundable, and if the window expires you file a new U10 and pay again. Don’t submit until you’re ready to study.

What the Exam Looks Like

The Series 65 has 140 questions, of which 130 count and 10 are unscored pretest items scattered through the test. You get 180 minutes and need 92 of the 130 scored questions correct to pass.⁵⁶ Content weighting runs 15% economic factors and business information, 25% investment vehicle characteristics, 30% client recommendations and strategies, and 30% laws, regulations, and ethics.⁷ The last two categories together are 60% of the exam, so that’s where most preparation time goes. Commercial prep providers commonly suggest around 80 hours of study.

You take the test at a Prometric center. Bring one valid, unexpired, government-issued photo ID with your signature, and make sure the name on it exactly matches your registration. Photocopies and expired IDs aren’t accepted.⁸ You get an unofficial score at the testing center before you leave.

If you fail, waiting periods apply within a rolling two-year window: 30 days after a first or second failure, and 180 days after a third or subsequent failure.⁶ Each retake is another $187.

The Step That Actually Makes You Accredited

Passing the exam doesn’t make you an accredited investor. The SEC’s language qualifies “holders in good standing” of the license, not people who passed the test.⁹ The SEC’s designating order says plainly that completing the exam “does not convey the right to transact business prior to being granted a license or registration by a state.”²

Good standing means active registration as an IAR with a state securities regulator. Most states will only register you as an IAR if you’re associated with a registered investment adviser firm. That leaves two practical options: get hired by a registered investment adviser, or form your own investment adviser firm, register it with your state, and register yourself as its IAR.

Setting up your own firm means filing Form ADV through the Investment Adviser Registration Depository (IARD), paying state licensing fees for the firm, and meeting any additional state requirements such as surety bonds or minimum net worth. The IARD system fee for individual IARs is $15 for both initial registration and annual renewal.¹⁰ State fees for individual IAR registration are separate; some states charge as little as $25, others over $100, and firm-level fees run higher on top of that.

Registration also triggers background checks and disclosure of past legal or financial issues, including felony convictions, certain financial-related misdemeanors, and any court orders barring you from securities work.¹¹

Keeping the License in Good Standing

Your accredited status lasts exactly as long as the license does. If it lapses, you lose the status the same day. Two things keep it active: annual renewal fees and continuing education.

IARs owe 12 CE credits a year: 6 in ethics and professional responsibility, and 6 in products and practices. Each credit is at least 50 minutes of instruction, and a $3 per-credit reporting fee runs through the system for a total of $36 annually, on top of whatever course providers charge.¹²

Miss the annual CE deadline and your registration moves to “CE Inactive” rather than disappearing. You still pay the renewal, but you’re on notice to catch up. Remain CE Inactive through the following year’s system shutdown date and you become ineligible to renew at all, which puts you back at the beginning of the registration process to regain accredited status.¹²

How Issuers Verify You

Having the license and proving it to a fund manager are separate steps, and how strict verification gets depends on the offering type.

A Rule 506(b) offering (no general advertising) only requires the issuer to hold a “reasonable belief” that you’re accredited. That often looks like a self-certification questionnaire or a short conversation. A Rule 506(c) offering allows general solicitation, and the issuer must take “reasonable steps to verify” your status. For the credential path, that usually means confirming your active IAR registration through public records, either directly or through a third-party verification service.¹³

Some issuers rely on third-party services staffed by licensed attorneys or CPAs who review documentation and issue a verification letter; others handle it in-house. Either way, expect to hand over evidence of an active license, not just a score report.

What the Series 65 Won’t Get You Into

Accredited status covers most private offerings sold under Regulation D, including private equity funds, hedge funds, venture capital deals, and real estate syndications. It does not cover funds that require “qualified purchaser” status. A qualified purchaser is an individual with at least $5 million in investments.¹⁴ Funds structured under the Section 3(c)(7) exemption of the Investment Company Act must limit ownership to qualified purchasers, so the Series 65 doesn’t open those doors no matter how good your standing is.¹⁵

In practice, the Series 65 path reaches the bulk of Regulation D deals available to individuals. The offerings it doesn’t reach tend to be the largest institutional hedge fund and private equity vehicles.

What the Whole Path Costs

The exam fee is the smallest piece. The ongoing carrying cost is where the real commitment sits.

Series 65 exam: $187⁵
Study materials: self-study courses typically $200 to $500; broader prep programs cost more
IARD system fee, initial and annual: $15¹⁰
State IAR registration: varies, generally $25 to over $100 annually
State firm registration, if you register your own: varies, often $100 to $300 or more annually
Continuing education: $36 in annual reporting fees plus course costs¹²

For someone who isn’t otherwise practicing as an adviser, the annual cost of maintaining the license adds up to a few hundred dollars. Whether that math works comes down to the private deals you actually plan to access and how their returns compare to what you’d earn in public markets.

1
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. SEC Modernizes the Accredited Investor Definition
2
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Order Designating Certain Professional Licenses as Qualifying Natural Persons for Accredited Investor Status
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U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Amendments to Accredited Investor Definition
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FINRA. Form U10
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FINRA. Series 65 – Uniform Investment Adviser Law Exam
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North American Securities Administrators Association. Exam FAQs
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North American Securities Administrators Association. Series 65 Test Specifications
8
FINRA. Prepare for Your Test Center Appointment
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U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Accredited Investors
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North American Securities Administrators Association. NASAA Announces 2026 Fee Schedule for Investment Adviser Registration Depository
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Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 US Code 80b-3 – Registration of Investment Advisers
12
North American Securities Administrators Association. IAR Continuing Education FAQ
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U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Assessing Accredited Investors Under Regulation D
14
Legal Information Institute. Definition: Qualified Purchaser from 15 USC 80a-2(a)(51)
15
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 US Code 80a-3 – Definition of Investment Company