Is HKSI Paper 1 hard? Passing rate and revision priorities
Fundamentals of Securities and Futures Regulation
The official monthly average is 50.9% across Sep 2025–Aug 2026. Paper 1 spans nine regulatory chapters; prepare by distinguishing roles, conditions and exceptions. The percentage describes monthly exam results, not your individual chance of passing. The exam pass mark is 70%.
Across Sep 2025–Aug 2026 (12 sitting months), HKSI Paper 1 averaged 50.9% — ranked 1 of 17 by monthly average pass rate, lowest first. The month-to-month spread is 17.6 percentage points. The most recent half of the window averaged 47.2% versus 54.6% earlier — a decline of 7.4 points.
Month-by-month pass rate
Source: 香港證券及投資學會（HKSI Institute）官方「考試合格率」頁 Snapshot 2026-10-02．HKSI publishes a rolling 12-month window only; months outside it are no longer shown officially.
Monthly averages are not weighted by candidate counts. The order compares published pass rates across different candidate groups and papers; it does not measure personal pass probability.
Why Paper 1 feels difficult — and how to prepare
Paper 1 covers nine chapters of regulation. Our teaching approach is to compare the actor, trigger and exception in each scenario. The examples below are revision priorities, not official topic weightings or a claim that every candidate finds the same chapters difficult.
- Regulatory roles
Separate the SFC’s statutory role from HKEX’s exchange operations. Read the relevant notes →
- Licensing conditions
Identify the regulated activity, the person and any applicable exemption before choosing an answer. Read the relevant notes →
- Rules and legal effects
Distinguish a statutory offence, a disciplinary consequence and a requirement under a code. Read the relevant notes →
- Exceptions and limits
Write down who a threshold applies to and which conditions change the answer. Read the relevant notes →
Try 20 free original questions → Then review each explanation and return to the chapter behind the mistake. This short practice is not a full 60-question mock or a prediction of passing.
HKSI PAPER 1 · REVISION DESK
Paper 1: Roles, conditions and exceptions
Paper 1 spans regulation, company law, conduct and misconduct. For each rule, write down who it covers, what triggers it and any exception before comparing similar requirements.
Official eStudy Guide：v3.5 Verify the edition ↗
Which topics candidates actually get wrong
Measured from 157,625 real answers by 1153 devices across 2,207 questions in our Paper 1 app. Only the first recorded answer per device and question is counted. This is practice accuracy, not an exam pass rate.
| Topic | Accuracy | Answers |
|---|---|---|
| Raising public capitalweakest | 61.1% | 12,691 |
| Licensing, registration and subsidiary legislation | 61.5% | 32,486 |
| Participation in Hong Kong exchanges | 63.2% | 13,058 |
| Market misconduct and improper trading | 65% | 9,693 |
| Securities and Futures Ordinance | 65.1% | 14,426 |
| Hong Kong law and Companies Ordinance principles | 66.5% | 17,967 |
| Overview of Hong Kong financial regulation | 70.5% | 22,716 |
| Business conduct and client relations | 72.4% | 20,485 |
| Business operations and practices | 80% | 14,103 |
Practise with 2,195 original Paper 1 questions
These notes are distilled from the 10分鐘HKSI1 app. Continue with bilingual questions, reasoned explanations, topic practice and error review.
FAQ
- What is the pass rate for HKSI Paper 1?
- 50.9% on average across Sep 2025–Aug 2026, based on HKSI's own monthly figures. The best month was Nov 2025 at 61.84%; the worst Aug 2026 at 44.24%.
- Is HKSI Paper 1 hard?
- Its monthly average is ranked 1 of 17 by monthly average pass rate, lowest first. Different candidate groups sit each paper and month, so the ranking does not isolate exam difficulty or show that a particular month will be easier. Use your own practice mistakes to plan revision.
- Which topics do candidates get wrong most in Paper 1?
- From 157,625 real practice answers, the weakest topic is “Raising public capital” at 61.1% accuracy, and the strongest is “Business operations and practices” at 80%.
Other papers
Pass rates are reproduced from the HKSI Institute for reference only and may be revised at any time; confirm against the official page before relying on them.
