CSC Exam Guide: Format, Weightings — and the 2026 Catch
The Canadian Securities Course doesn't end in one exam. It ends in two, and we'll break down exactly what each one covers, topic by topic, with CSI's official weightings.
But there's a question that outranks the format in 2026, and answering it first could save some readers the course's $998–$1,398 enrolment fee: is the CSC exam still the exam you need? For anyone pursuing a license at a Canadian investment dealer, the answer changed on January 1, 2026. CSI's own site now states the course "is no longer acceptable for the purposes of CIRO approval with an Investment Dealer." The licensing exam for that path is now CIRO's CIRE. We wrote the full story — CSI's pricing, the notice itself, and the transition window for people who enrolled before 2026 — in Canadian Securities Course: What Replaced It.
The short version: Two CSC exams · 100 questions and 2 hours each · 60% pass mark per exam · 3 attempts per exam · taken inside a 1-year enrolment. Check which exam your career actually requires before booking anything.
If the CSC exams are genuinely in your future — you're inside the transition window, your program requires them, or you're taking the course for the education — here's everything about how they work.
CSC exam format: the numbers
| Per exam | CSC Exam 1 | CSC Exam 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Questions | 100 multiple choice | 100 multiple choice |
| Duration | 2 hours | 2 hours |
| Passing grade | 60% | 60% |
| Attempts allowed | 3 | 3 |
| Delivery | Proctored — remote or test centre | Proctored — remote or test centre |
Two hours for 100 questions is 72 seconds a question — a faster clock than most people expect, and the single best argument for practicing with timed questions rather than rereading chapters. (All figures from CSI's exam page, July 2026.)
What's on Exam 1 — the markets exam
Exam 1 is the "how markets work" half. The official weightings:
| Topic | Weight |
|---|---|
| The Canadian Investment Marketplace | 15% |
| The Economy | 13% |
| Common and Preferred Shares | 13% |
| Features and Types of Fixed-Income Securities | 12% |
| Pricing and Trading of Fixed-Income Securities | 11% |
| Equity Transactions | 10% |
| Derivatives | 10% |
| Corporations and their Financial Statements | 8% |
| Financing and Listing Securities | 8% |
Read that table like an examiner: fixed income is really one 23% monster split across two rows (features and pricing), which makes bonds, not stocks, the heaviest single subject on Exam 1. Add equities' two rows at 23% combined and derivatives at 10%, and more than half the paper is products and the machinery they trade through.
What's on Exam 2 — the analysis exam
Exam 2 shifts from "what things are" to "what to do with them":
| Topic | Weight |
|---|---|
| Investment Analysis | 18% |
| Portfolio Analysis | 18% |
| Alternative Investments, Other Managed, and Structured Products | 16% |
| Mutual Funds | 14% |
| Working with the Institutional Client | 10% |
| Exchange-Traded Funds | 10% |
| Fee-Based Accounts and Working with the Retail Client | 8% |
| Canadian Taxation | 6% |
Same examiner's read: analysis is 36% of Exam 2 (investment analysis plus portfolio analysis), and the managed-products family (mutual funds, ETFs, alternatives) is another 40%. If Exam 1 rewards knowing the instruments, Exam 2 rewards knowing what a portfolio does with them.
The 2026 catch, one more time
Notice anything familiar in those tables? Markets, fixed income, equities, derivatives, portfolio analysis, managed products, working with clients — it's substantially the same territory CIRO's own exams now test. That's not a coincidence; it's the reason the knowledge transfers so well between paths.
Which brings back the question this post opened with. If you're taking the CSC exams because a license is the goal:
- Enrolled before January 1, 2026? The exams can still count — if you pass both before January 1, 2027 and a sponsoring dealer files your approval application by the same deadline. The conditions are strict; the full breakdown is here.
- Starting today? The exam your license actually depends on is the CIRE: one 110-question exam at $475 (both per CIRO's exam hub), no course required, followed by the RSE or ISE depending on your role.
Looking for a CSC practice test?
Here's the honest redirect most sites won't give you: if you're searching for CSC practice questions because you're working toward a securities license today, the exam you'll actually sit is almost certainly the CIRE — so practice for that. The free CIRE readiness check is 25 blueprint-weighted questions in about 15 minutes, scored element by element, no signup. And because the subject matter overlaps so heavily, it doubles as a fair test of how much your CSC studying has already banked.
If you're genuinely sitting the CSC exams — transition window, program requirement, or education — CSI's own study tools are built for its curriculum, and the readiness check still makes a decent knowledge audit on the shared territory: markets, fixed income, equities, and portfolio basics.
FAQ
How many questions is the CSC exam?
There are two CSC exams, each with 100 multiple-choice questions and a 2-hour time limit — about 72 seconds per question. Both are proctored, taken remotely or at a test centre.
What is the CSC exam pass mark?
60% per exam, and you must pass both. CSI allows up to three attempts per exam within your one-year enrolment period.
What are the CSC exam weightings?
Exam 1 (markets): Canadian Investment Marketplace 15%, The Economy 13%, Common and Preferred Shares 13%, Fixed-Income Features 12%, Fixed-Income Pricing and Trading 11%, Equity Transactions 10%, Derivatives 10%, Financial Statements 8%, Financing and Listing 8%. Exam 2 (analysis): Investment Analysis 18%, Portfolio Analysis 18%, Alternatives and Structured Products 16%, Mutual Funds 14%, Institutional Clients 10%, ETFs 10%, Fee-Based Accounts and Retail Clients 8%, Canadian Taxation 6%.
Do I still need to pass the CSC exams to be licensed?
Not for a new career at a CIRO investment dealer — since January 1, 2026, the CSC no longer qualifies you for that approval, and the licensing exam is CIRO's CIRE instead. The exception is candidates who enrolled in the CSC before 2026 and can complete it, with a dealer's approval application filed, before January 1, 2027.
Is there a free CSC practice test?
CSI sells study tools for its own exams. If your end goal is the license, the more useful free test is the CIRE readiness check — the exam that now gates investment-dealer registration — which covers much of the same ground and scores you by topic in 15 minutes.
Sources
- CSI — CSC Exam & Credits — exam structure, pass marks, attempts, and official topic weightings (accessed July 2026)
- CSI — Canadian Securities Course — the January 1, 2026 notice
- CIRO — CIRE Exam Hub — the exam that replaced the CSC for investment-dealer licensing
