Taiwan Securities & Futures Qualification Test FAQ

Q1: Who administers the securities and futures qualification tests, and which one do I need?

The tests are administered by the Securities and Futures Institute (SFI) under the supervision of the Financial Supervisory Commission’s Securities and Futures Bureau. For securities brokerage work the usual first licence is the Securities Specialist; the Senior Securities Specialist covers a wider scope and is the natural step up; futures brokerage requires the Futures Specialist; and soliciting for an investment trust or consulting firm requires the SITE Specialist.

Q2: What are the subjects, question counts, and pass marks?

Securities Specialist: 2 subjects, 100 questions, pass 50 in each — Securities Trading Regulations & Practice, and Securities Investment & Financial Analysis. Senior Securities Specialist: 3 subjects, 150 questions, pass 50 in each — Securities Trading Regulations & Practice, Investments, and Financial Analysis. Futures Specialist: 2 subjects, 100 questions — Futures Trading Regulations, and Futures Trading Theory & Practice — where scoring below 60 in either subject fails. SITE Specialist: 3 subjects, 150 questions, pass 50 in each — Investment Trust & Consulting Regulations, Securities Investment & Financial Analysis, and Securities Trading Regulations & Practice. Exact question allocations and scoring follow the SFI’s latest announcements.

Q3: Why does the Futures Specialist have a different pass mark?

The Specialist, Senior, and SITE tests pass at 50 in each subject. The Futures Specialist requires at least 60 in every subject, a noticeably higher bar. It should not be treated as equivalent in difficulty to the Specialist test — both subjects must be solid, and a strong score in one cannot carry a weak score in the other.

Q4: If I prepare for several licences, will I repeat the same questions?

No. The four tests overlap heavily. "Securities Trading Regulations & Practice" is a subject in the Specialist, Senior, and SITE tests; "Securities Investment & Financial Analysis" appears in both the Specialist and SITE tests; and the Senior test splits that material into deeper "Investments" and "Financial Analysis" subjects. The question banks are written per subject and shared across tests, so after passing the Specialist test the overlapping subjects reuse the same bank and only the new subjects add fresh questions.

Q5: How much of the test is calculation, and how hard is it?

The Investments and Financial Analysis subjects are roughly 60–70% calculation, covering CAPM, dividend discount models, bond duration, put-call parity, the Sharpe ratio, financial ratios, DuPont analysis, operating and financial leverage, and break-even analysis. Futures Trading Theory & Practice is about 55% calculation, covering margin, hedge ratios, spreads, futures pricing, and option valuation. Every calculation question in the app shows its full working and has been independently recomputed in code.

Q6: What does the app cover?

1,500 original bilingual questions across the four tests, written against the current Securities and Exchange Act, Futures Trading Act, Securities Investment Trust and Consulting Act, and their subordinate regulations. Each test offers both a practice bank and a mock exam, with the mock drawing questions in the official per-subject proportions. Explanations are bilingual: regulatory questions cite the source provision, calculation questions show the full working.

Q7: How do I register, and what are the test dates and fees?

All four tests use online registration. Test dates, registration windows, and fees follow the SFI’s official announcements. Most sittings are computer-based, with some paper-based sessions; the format is stated at registration.

Q8: Can I retake a test I failed, and what happens after passing?

You may re-register and retake with no limit on attempts, paying the fee again and choosing a new sitting. After passing, the securities firm, futures firm, or investment trust/consulting company employing you must register you with the competent authority before you can practise. Registration procedures and deadlines follow the authority’s announcements.

Q9: Where do the questions come from — are they past papers?

They are not past papers. The complete official question banks are not published free of charge; the official site releases only the two most recent quarters, with the full bank sold as printed volumes. Every question in the app is written from scratch against publicly available statutes and the examination scope published by the SFI. Regulatory questions are checked line by line against the source provision and calculation questions are recomputed in code; all 1,500 passed before inclusion.

Resources

• Securities & futures test overview
• Securities and Futures Institute (SFI) — administers all four tests
• FSC Securities and Futures Bureau
• Financial Supervisory Commission