Free Series 7 study guide · PDF

Free Series 7 study notes, the efficient way.

Plain-English summary notes written straight from the official FINRA Series 7 content outline, with the exam's traps flagged before you meet them. Enter your email and download it straight away.

  • The Series 7 explained, and a study plan built on its four function weights
  • Every topic in plain English, with the key facts and how the exam asks it
  • Exam traps flagged before you meet them

From SIE Simplified, the Series 7 course built to be the most efficient way to pass: one concept at a time, nothing off the outline.

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YOUR FREE SERIES 7 NOTES, AT A GLANCE

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Written from the official FINRA Series 7 content outline. Facts verified September 8, 2026.

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Clean, printable pages that read like a good teacher talks: the idea first, then the rules and numbers the exam tests.

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Your free Series 7 study notesReady to print or read on screen.
Opening page of Prospecting and Communications in the free Series 7 notes
Plain English firstThe opening page of Prospecting and Communications.
A page of the free Series 7 notes with key facts and a trap box
Traps flagged, facts in one placeKey facts, tables and trap boxes on every topic.

What is inside

Everything in your free Series 7 notes.

Open a part to see every topic it covers.

The Exam and Your Plan
What the Series 7 is and how this course works
Your study plan and exam logistics
Prospecting and Communications
Communications categories, approval, and filing
Product-specific rules: options, variable products, CMOs, volatility ratings, research
Seminars, telemarketing, and group presentations
Bringing Issues to Market
The registration timeline: pre-filing, cooling-off, post-effective
Underwriting: syndicates, commitments, and the spread
New-issue rules: restricted persons, spinning, quiet periods
Registration exemptions: Reg A, Reg D, intrastate, resales
Municipal primary offerings: competitive vs. negotiated
QIBs, accredited investors, Regulation S, and foreign securities

Every topic follows the same pattern: the plain-English version, the details, the key facts, and how the exam asks about it.

The efficient way

Less to read. More of it on the exam.

Study where the marks are

A plan built on the exam's weights

73% of the Series 7 sits in one job function: providing information and making recommendations. Your notes open with a study plan built on that, so your hours land where the marks are.

Plain English first

Understand it, then memorize it

Every topic opens with the plain-English version, then the details, the key facts, and how the exam actually asks about it. Read once for understanding, once for the marks.

Traps flagged

Spot the wrong answer that looks right

The exam's favorite move is an answer choice built to catch people who almost know the rule. Every one we know of gets an orange trap box, like the one in this page from your notes.

Series 7 EXAM WEIGHTS

Seeks business for the broker-dealer7%
Opens accounts after obtaining the customer profile9%
Provides information about investments and makes recommendations73%
Obtains and verifies instructions, processes and completes transactions11%
SIE SimplifiedFree Series 7 notes · Prospecting and Communications

› Communications categories, approval, and filing

The plain-English version

The SIE taught the three buckets; the Series 7 makes you do the math, and it all runs on one number: twenty-five. A retail communication is any written or electronic communication distributed to more than 25 retail investors within any 30-day period.

The trapIf the firm has reason to believe an institutional communication will be forwarded to retail investors, it is a retail communication regardless of the label, and the retail approval and filing rules follow. The expected audience decides, never the addressee list.

From your free notes, word for word.

Questions

Before you download.

Is the Series 7 study guide really free?
Yes. Enter your email and your download page opens straight away. No card and no account. Marketing emails are optional. Your guide download does not depend on consenting.
What is in the free Series 7 study notes?
How the Series 7 works and a study plan built on its weights, then every topic in Prospecting and Communications and Bringing Issues to Market. Every topic gives you the plain-English version, the details, the key facts, how the exam asks about it, and the traps.
What is the Series 7 exam?
The General Securities Representative exam: 125 scored questions plus 10 unscored, in 3 hours 45 minutes, with a passing score of 72. It needs a member firm to sponsor you, and the SIE is its co-requisite: pass both to qualify as a General Securities Representative.
Are the notes up to date?
They are written from the official FINRA Series 7 content outline, and the facts in them were last verified on September 8, 2026. When a rule changes, the notes and the course are updated together.
Who writes SIE Simplified?
SIE Simplified is an independent exam-prep company. Every lesson, note and practice question is original material written from the official content outlines, and every practice answer cites the rule behind it. We are not affiliated with FINRA.
Is there a full Series 7 course?
Yes. The Series 7 course has 94 short video lessons, the complete 130-page summary notes, 364 practice questions with every answer explained, and 3 full-length timed mocks. It is $149 for 12 months, or included in the $39 a month plan for all three courses, which starts with 7 free days. See the Series 7 course.

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SIE®, Securities Industry Essentials® and FINRA® are registered trademarks of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. The Series 7 exam is developed and administered by FINRA, which is not affiliated with SIE Simplified, was not involved in the production of this product, and does not endorse it. All lessons, notes and questions are original material built from the official content outlines.
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