The Licensing Examination for Securities and Futures Intermediaries is not one generic “securities licence exam”. It is a family of papers used alongside the SFC competence framework. Starting revision before confirming your paper combination is the first common mistake; treating regulation as pure memory work is the second.
How the LE connects to an SFC licence
The LE supports the Local Regulatory Framework and Recognised Industry Qualification requirements in the SFC Guidelines on Competence. For many representative routes, Paper 1 is the local regulatory framework paper, while Paper 7 combines with Paper 8, 9, 10, 11 or 12 according to the business area. Responsible Officers generally face an additional, more specialised regulatory paper.
Your exact route still depends on the RA, role, qualifications, experience and any exemption. Confirm the official map before deciding which paper to take first.
Current formats for Papers 1, 7, 8 and 12
| Paper | Official title | MCQs | Time | Pass |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fundamentals of Securities and Futures Regulation | 60 | 90 min | 70% |
| 7 | Financial Markets | 60 | 90 min | 70% |
| 8 | Securities | 40 | 60 min | 70% |
| 12 | Asset Management | 40 | 60 min | 70% |
All are bilingual English/Traditional Chinese MCQ papers delivered by computer. The average time is 90 seconds per item in each of the four papers, so content density—not raw pacing—is the main difference.
What the HKSI pass-rate data can and cannot tell you
The HKSI Institute’s Paper 1 page showed a 52.02% average across the displayed months from June 2025 to May 2026. It shows that Paper 1 is not automatic, but it cannot predict an individual result: candidate background, retakes and paper mix are not disclosed.
The useful lesson is diagnostic. Candidates lose marks by swapping regulatory roles, missing “unless” and “only”, confusing legal effect across Ordinances, Rules and codes, and applying a numerical threshold to the wrong person.
Check the Study Guide version first
At the date of this article, Paper 1 uses v3.5 (effective 30 June 2026), Paper 7 uses v3.6 (effective 6 July 2026), Paper 8 uses v3.6 and Paper 12 uses v3.7. The HKSI Institute states that exam questions are based on the latest published guide that remains current, while candidates should also monitor legal and regulatory updates.
A four-step study workflow
- Confirm the paper map. Use the RA and role, not a colleague’s route.
- Build a chapter map. Reduce each chapter to actor, duty, exception and threshold.
- Use original practice-style items. The HKSI Institute has not authorised third-party LE revision tools; do not assume a “past paper” label means a real exam item.
- Classify every error. Use definition, role, procedure, number, exception and wording as the six buckets.
Starting with Paper 1?
Read the nine chapters, then verify your understanding with 2,195 original questions. No real HKSI exam questions are reproduced.
Official sources used
Use these primary sources to confirm any change after the article date.
