A Series 7 license allows you to sell a wide range of securities products — stocks, bonds, mutual funds, ETFs, options, municipal and government securities, REITs, and variable annuities among them — and to act as a registered representative for clients at a FINRA member broker-dealer. That means opening accounts, soliciting business, recommending investments, and executing trades on customers’ behalf, all under the supervision of your firm and subject to the SEC’s best-interest standard.
Securities You Can Sell
The Series 7 is formally the General Securities Representative Qualification Examination, and FINRA Rule 1220 places it in the “General Securities Representative” registration category, which covers the broadest set of products available under a single FINRA qualification.1FINRA. FINRA Rule 1220 – Registration Categories With this registration, you can buy, sell, and manage:
- Common and preferred corporate stock
- Corporate bonds and other debt instruments
- Open-end and closed-end mutual funds
- Exchange-traded funds (ETFs)
- Money market funds
- Equity options, subscription rights, and warrants
- U.S. Treasury bonds, notes, and bills
- Municipal securities issued by state and local governments
- Real estate investment trusts (REITs)
- Certificates of deposit, collateralized mortgage obligations, and variable annuities
More specialized exams exist for narrower categories, but the Series 7 is the generalist credential covering the vast majority of securities a retail or institutional investor would encounter.
What the Series 7 Does Not Cover
Broad as it is, the registration has limits, and stepping past them means operating without authority.
Commodity futures — contracts on oil, gold, agricultural products, and the like — require a separate Series 3 license administered through the National Futures Association.2FINRA. Qualification Exams Fixed annuities and life insurance fall under state insurance regulation and require a state insurance license, not a FINRA registration. Selling physical real estate or direct interests in real property requires a real estate license; REITs are the securitized version and stay within Series 7 territory.
Variable annuities and variable life insurance sit on the line. Because they contain an underlying securities component, they require the Series 7 in addition to a state insurance license.
Client Activities You Can Perform
The registration authorizes more than product sales. As a registered representative you can open new customer accounts, which has to happen before any trading. You can solicit business, meaning proactively reach out to individual and institutional investors to recommend transactions. You can enter and execute trades on a client’s behalf, handling the process from initial order through final settlement.
Personalized investment recommendations are a core part of the role. Suggesting that a client buy a particular stock, sell a bond, or move from one mutual fund to another all fall within your authority, provided each recommendation meets the SEC’s best-interest standard.
Regulation Best Interest
Regulation Best Interest (Reg BI) replaced the older suitability standard and requires broker-dealer representatives to act in the best interest of a retail customer when recommending any securities transaction or investment strategy.3FINRA. SEC Regulation Best Interest (Reg BI) Under the care obligation, you must exercise reasonable diligence, care, and skill, and you need a reasonable basis to believe the recommendation fits that particular customer’s investment profile given its potential risks, rewards, and costs. The recommendation cannot place your financial interest ahead of the customer’s.4eCFR. 17 CFR 240.15l-1 – Regulation Best Interest
Reg BI also reaches patterns of trading. Even where each individual recommendation looks reasonable on its own, a series of transactions can violate the rule if the overall volume is excessive relative to the customer’s financial situation.
Discretionary Accounts
Most trades will follow specific client instructions, but the Series 7 also lets you manage accounts on a discretionary basis, where you make trading decisions without approval for each individual transaction. FINRA Rule 3260 attaches strict conditions:
- The customer must provide prior written authorization granting discretionary power to a specific individual.
- Your firm must formally accept the discretionary account in writing.
- A designated firm manager must promptly approve each discretionary trade in writing.
- The firm must review discretionary accounts at frequent intervals to detect trades excessive relative to the account’s size and character.
These conditions exist because discretionary authority gives you significant control over someone else’s money, and the potential for abuse is higher than in accounts where the client approves every trade.5FINRA. FINRA Rule 3260 – Discretionary Accounts
You Have to Work Through a Broker-Dealer
The primary professional title is “registered representative.” In everyday usage, Series 7 holders are often called stockbrokers or financial advisors, though the specific title varies by firm.6FINRA. Series 7 – General Securities Representative Exam
You cannot use the license independently. Active registration requires association with a FINRA member broker-dealer. The firm provides the infrastructure for executing transactions and carries the legal obligation to supervise your activities. FINRA Rule 3110 requires every broker-dealer to maintain a supervisory system reasonably designed to ensure its registered representatives comply with securities laws and FINRA rules.7FINRA. FINRA Rule 3110 – Supervision Leave the firm without joining another, and your registration goes inactive.
State Registration You Still Need
The Series 7 is federal. Most states also require a state law exam before you can sell securities to their residents. These are sometimes called “Blue Sky” exams. The two most common:
- The Series 63, or Uniform Securities Agent State Law Exam, covers state-level rules for securities agents.
- The Series 66, or Uniform Combined State Law Exam, combines the Series 63 and Series 65 (which covers investment adviser law) into one test.
Which you need depends on the state where you plan to work and the services your firm offers.2FINRA. Qualification Exams States also charge their own annual registration fees for individual agents, and the amounts vary by jurisdiction. In practice, your firm will tell you which state exams to sit for.