How to Register for the SIE Exam (2026): TESS, Fees & Your 120-Day Window

Almost every guide to registering for the SIE tells you to “file Form U10.” That instruction is now out of date, and following it will send you looking for a form that FINRA’s own site no longer points you to.

FINRA moved self-enrollment to TESS — the Test Enrollment Services System. If you already had a U10 account, your login and your candidate ID number carry over, which is why the old name has stuck around in so much prep content. But the process you’ll actually click through is TESS, and a few of its rules — particularly around refunds and your 120-day window — cost money if you get them wrong.

Here’s the current process, end to end.

The short answer

You register for the SIE directly with FINRA through TESS. You must be at least 18, you cannot currently be registered with a FINRA member firm, and you’ll need your Social Security number, date of birth, address, and two phone numbers. The fee is $100, paid by credit card, debit card, or ACH, and it is not refundable under any circumstances.

Once FINRA approves your enrollment — usually a couple of business days — you get a 120-calendar-day window. Inside that window you schedule your exam with Prometric, either at a test center or online with a remote proctor. Miss the window and the $100 is gone.

The whole enrollment takes about 15 minutes. The decision worth thinking about isn’t how to enroll — it’s when, and that’s covered further down.

The full answer

Step 1: Check that you’re eligible

TESS enrollment has three requirements:

• You must be at least 18 years old.
• You must provide identifying information — name and date of birth.
• You cannot be actively registered in Web CRD.

That last one catches people. If you’re already employed by a FINRA member firm in a registered capacity, you’re not authorized to use TESS at all — your firm enrolls you through CRD instead. TESS is the self-enrollment path for everyone outside the industry.

One more rule that surprises candidates: if you’ve passed the SIE within the last two years, the system won’t let you request it again.

Step 2: Create your FINRA account

Go to FINRA’s “Enroll for a Series Exam” page and create a profile. You can sign up with an email address or with Google credentials.

Have this ready before you start:

• Your Social Security number (or your CRD number, if you have one)
• Date of birth
• A primary and a secondary phone number — the form asks for both
• Your current residential address

The SSN detail matters more than it looks. FINRA uses it to verify your identity. If you have an SSN and don’t provide it — or you enter it wrong — FINRA will not post your score to Web CRD, and you may be required to requalify by taking the exam again. A typo here can cost you the entire attempt.

If you genuinely don’t have an SSN, you’ll be asked for your mother’s maiden name instead. And if you realize afterward that you entered the wrong number, call the FINRA Support Center at (240) 386-4040 to get it corrected rather than hoping it sorts itself out.

Step 3: Request the SIE and pay

Inside TESS, select the SIE, agree to the Rules of Conduct and the Payment Agreement, and pay the $100 fee.

TESS accepts credit cards, debit cards, and ACH. If you pay by ACH, note that it typically takes up to 48 hours to process — so it’s the wrong choice if you’re enrolling close to a date you want to sit.

Two things to be clear-eyed about before you click pay:

1. Once the payment processes, refunds are not accepted. Not for changed plans, not for illness, not for anything. FINRA states plainly that it has no hardship policy.
2. The payment can’t be transferred — not to a different exam, and not to another person.

You’ll get a confirmation email at the address you registered with.

Step 4: Wait for approval

Your request moves through a couple of statuses:

Status	What it means	Typical time
Processing Request	TESS is processing your submission	About one business day
Pending FINRA Review	FINRA is reviewing your enrollment	About two business days
Denied	You didn’t meet the requirements for this exam	—

You may also see an exam window start date in the future. That isn’t a glitch. If you’ve failed the SIE before, FINRA’s retake waiting period is baked into the window start date automatically.

One point of confusion worth clearing up: TESS’s FAQ mentions that FINRA requires sponsorship approval from a regulatory agency for qualification exams. That language covers the other exams TESS handles. The SIE does not require sponsorship — that’s the entire reason it exists. You’re not waiting on anyone to authorize you.

Step 5: Schedule with Prometric

Once approved, your enrollment is valid for 120 calendar days. A “Schedule Exam” button appears on your My Exams page in TESS.

To book, you need three things:

• Your last name
• Your first name
• Your unique candidate ID number

That ID is in your Notice of Enrollment email and on the My Profile page in TESS. If you enrolled through the old U10 system at any point, it’s the same ID number you had then.

You then choose between:

• A Prometric test center, or
• Online delivery with a remote proctor

Book early. Not because appointments are scarce everywhere, but because the 120-day window is hard-edged — you cannot schedule an appointment past its expiration date, and extensions are not granted.

There is one narrow exception. If you try to schedule at a test center in your area at least 10 business days before your window expires and there are genuinely no appointments available, FINRA may extend your enrollment to the next available appointment. That’s a safety valve for a supply problem, not a way to buy yourself more study time.

If you need testing accommodations, request them before you schedule. Once an appointment is booked, accommodations can’t be added or modified, and most accommodations are currently only available at test centers rather than online.

Step 6: Know the cancellation fees before you book

This is the part that costs candidates real money, and almost no prep guide spells it out.

When you cancel or reschedule	SIE fee
More than 10 business days out	Free
3 to 10 business days out	$50
Within 2 business days, or no-show	$100

The 3-to-10-day fee is collected by Prometric by credit card at the moment you cancel.

The within-two-days penalty is worse than the number suggests. For a TESS enrollment, you forfeit your prepaid $100, which serves as the no-show fee — and because the full exam cost is gone, your enrollment is consumed entirely. You don’t get to rebook inside your old window. You pay another $100 to open a brand new one.

(Firm-sponsored candidates are treated differently here: their firm eats the fee and their enrollment stays open. Self-enrolled candidates don’t get that.)

FINRA counts these deadlines from specific calendar days, not a rolling clock, so if you’re anywhere near the line, check FINRA’s published cancellation table rather than estimating. To reschedule, call Prometric at (800) 578-6273.

Step 7: Test day and results

If you’re testing at a center, arrive 30 minutes early. If you show up more than 30 minutes after your appointment start time and no seat is available, you won’t be allowed to test — which triggers the no-show rules above.

Bring one valid, unexpired government-issued photo ID with a signature.

You’ll see your pass/fail result at the end of your session. TESS displays your official result and test date under “My Exams” within 72 hours. If you want a copy of your score report — and you do, if you failed, because the domain breakdown tells you what to fix — call the FINRA Support Center at (240) 386-4040 to request one.

If you fail or your window expires, there’s no special retake path. You resubmit the enrollment request through TESS and pay the fee again.

When you should actually enroll

Here’s the advice that isn’t on FINRA’s website.

Your 120-day clock starts when FINRA approves your enrollment — not when you start studying, and not when you pick a test date. Because the fee is non-refundable and there’s no hardship policy, enrolling too early is a genuine financial risk. Life gets in the way, the window quietly runs out, and you’re out $100 with nothing to show.

A reasonable rule: enroll when you’re roughly six to eight weeks from the date you intend to sit. That gives you a comfortable buffer if you need to push your date once, while keeping plenty of room inside the window.

There’s a real argument for the other side. Some candidates find that paying the $100 and seeing a date on the calendar is exactly the commitment device that makes them study. If you know that’s how you work, enroll early — just build your study plan backward from a specific date rather than leaving it open-ended.

What you shouldn’t do is enroll the day you decide to take the SIE and then start researching how long to study. That’s the sequence that burns windows.

Common misconceptions

“I need to file Form U10.” Outdated. FINRA runs SIE self-enrollment through TESS. Your old U10 credentials and candidate ID still work, which is why the name persists in older guides — but you’re using TESS.

“I need a sponsor to register.” No. The SIE is the one FINRA qualification exam built to be taken without employer sponsorship. The sponsorship language in the TESS FAQ applies to the other exams in the system.

“I can get a refund if something comes up.” No. Once your payment processes, refunds aren’t accepted and FINRA has no hardship policy. The $100 is committed the moment it clears.

“If I can’t make my appointment, I’ll just rebook.” Only if you’re outside two business days. Inside that, your prepaid fee is forfeited and your whole enrollment is consumed — you pay again to get a new window.

“I can extend my 120 days if I’m not ready.” No. You cannot schedule past the window’s expiration and extensions aren’t granted. The only exception is a genuine appointment-availability shortage, and only if you tried to book at least 10 business days out.

“I’ll get my official score right away.” You’ll see pass/fail at the testing center before you leave, but your official result posts in TESS within 72 hours, and a full score report has to be requested by phone.

What to do with this info

1. Pick your target exam date first, working backward from a realistic study plan — not the other way around.
2. Enroll about six to eight weeks out through TESS, with your SSN, DOB, address, and two phone numbers ready. Double-check the SSN.
3. Pay by card, not ACH, unless you have 48 hours to spare.
4. Schedule with Prometric as soon as you’re approved, using your candidate ID from the Notice of Enrollment email. Booking early doesn’t commit you to studying less — it just protects your window.
5. Diarize the 10-business-day mark before your appointment. That’s the last moment you can move your date for free.
6. Start with a diagnostic, not a study guide. Knowing which of the four SIE domains you’re weakest in is worth more in week one than any amount of reading.

Related resources

• Can you take the SIE without sponsorship? — why the SIE is the exception to FINRA’s sponsorship rule
• What is the SIE exam in plain English — the full overview if you’re still deciding
• What to expect on SIE exam day — check-in, security, timing, and results
• What happens if you fail the SIE exam — retake waiting periods and rebuilding from your score report
• SIE study schedules — pick a plan, then work backward to your enrollment date
• Free SIE practice exam — a domain-scored diagnostic to start from
• Does the SIE exam expire? — the four-year window and what maintains validity
• SIE vs Series 7 — how the two exams differ and what order to take them in
• How much does the SIE exam cost? — the $100 fee, prep pricing, and the reschedule and retake fees