Official data · updated monthly
HKSI LE Pass Rate: all 17 papers ranked by difficulty
Every figure below comes straight from the HKSI Institute's official monthly pass-rate publication, covering Sep 2025–Aug 2026. Paper 1 is the hardest paper at 50.9%; Paper 15 the easiest at 82.21%.
Difficulty ranking — hardest first
Average pass rate over Sep 2025–Aug 2026. Papers with fewer sittings show a shorter window; the month count is listed for each.
| # | Paper | Average pass rate | Range | Months |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Paper 1 Fundamentals of Securities and Futures Regulation | 50.9% | 44.24% – 61.84% | 12 |
| 2 | Paper 9 Derivatives | 54.58% | 28.57% – 73.33% | 12 |
| 3 | Paper 19 Depositary Services for Collective Investment Schemes | 55.56% | 100% – 100% | 5 |
| 4 | Paper 5 Regulation of Corporate Finance | 55.65% | 40.54% – 78.57% | 12 |
| 5 | Paper 10 Credit Rating Services | 60% | 100% – 100% | 3 |
| 6 | Paper 6 Regulation of Asset Management | 60.24% | 50% – 80.77% | 12 |
| 7 | Paper 18 Regulation of Providing Depositary Services | 62.12% | 50% – 100% | 9 |
| 8 | Paper 3 Regulation of Derivatives | 63.88% | 46.15% – 88.46% | 11 |
| 9 | Paper 17 Regulation of Takeovers and Share Buy-backs | 65.05% | 46.67% – 85.71% | 12 |
| 10 | Paper 8 Securities | 66.01% | 55.56% – 88.89% | 12 |
| 11 | Paper 16 Sponsors (Representatives) | 66.26% | 54.11% – 80.16% | 12 |
| 12 | Paper 2 Regulation of Securities | 66.69% | 59.2% – 75% | 12 |
| 13 | Paper 7 Financial Markets | 67.23% | 59.47% – 87.5% | 12 |
| 14 | Paper 12 Asset Management | 74.25% | 52.94% – 100% | 12 |
| 15 | Paper 4 Regulation of Credit Rating Services | 75% | 50% – 100% | 5 |
| 16 | Paper 11 Corporate Finance | 76.15% | 40% – 100% | 12 |
| 17 | Paper 15 Sponsors (Principals) | 82.21% | 42.86% – 100% | 9 |
Highlighted rows are papers we publish a dedicated practice app for.
Official pass rate vs our users’ practice accuracy
Based on 168,760 real answer records from our HKSI apps. Practice accuracy is consistently higher than the real exam pass rate — practice allows repeat attempts and shows explanations. Treat the gap, not the level, as the signal.
- Official pass rate
- 50.9%
- Practice accuracy
- 67.1%
- Gap
- +16.2 pt
157,625 answers · 1153 devices · 2,207 questions
- Official pass rate
- 67.23%
- Practice accuracy
- 60.3%
- Gap
- +-6.9 pt
6,727 answers · 120 devices · 1,593 questions
- Official pass rate
- 66.01%
- Practice accuracy
- 65.9%
- Gap
- +-0.1 pt
4,200 answers · 87 devices · 1,558 questions
- Official pass rate
- 74.25%
- Practice accuracy
- 23.7%
- Gap
- +-50.5 pt
131 answers · 7 devices · 127 questions
- Official pass rate
- 66.69%
- Practice accuracy
- 31.2%
- Gap
- +-35.5 pt
77 answers · 12 devices · 75 questions
FAQ
- Which HKSI paper is the hardest?
- Paper 1 — its average pass rate over the last 12 months is 50.9%, the lowest of all 17 papers. Paper 15 is the easiest at 82.21%.
- What is the pass rate for HKSI Paper 1?
- 50.9% on average across the Sep 2025–Aug 2026 window, based on HKSI's own published monthly figures.
- Where does this pass rate data come from?
- Directly from the HKSI Institute's official "Pass Rate for LE in Hong Kong" page. HKSI only publishes a rolling 12-month window, so we archive a snapshot every month to build the historical series that is otherwise unavailable.
Pass rates are reproduced from the HKSI Institute for reference only and may be revised by the Institute at any time; always confirm against the official page before relying on them. Practice accuracy is measured from our own apps and is not an exam pass rate.
