The general securities licensing test required by FINRA is the Series 7 examination.

Member firms who are part of the solicitation of securities which are not managed by other parties. If a representative only solicits securities such as mutual funds and variable annuities which are managed elsewhere, a Series 6 and Series 63 combined would fulfill the licensing requirements in that situation.

The Series 7 licenses a representative or broker to solicit the sale of individual securities, such as stocks and bonds, as well as options, derivatives, and private placement. The only securities that a Series 7 does not license an individual to solicit are commodities futures, which require a Series 3.

The exam takes approximately 6 hours to complete and consists of industry and product knowledge, ethics and fiduciary standards, economics and valuation methods for businesses and securities. Before a representative can engage in solicitation, the Series 63, which covers state-level regulations, must also be passed.

The examination is administered by FINRA, the securities industry self-regulatory organization (SRO).

What is a Broker-Dealer?
What is the Series 63?