RE5 exam for South African brokers: who writes it, what it covers and how to pass

Contents

1. Who has to write the RE5, and who does not
2. The deadline: two years from DOFA
3. Format and pass mark
4. What the RE5 covers: the eight tasks
5. A study plan that matches how the exam is built
6. Managing the RE5 inside a brokerage
7. Frequently asked questions

The RE5 exam is the regulatory examination for representatives in all categories of financial services providers in South Africa. It is a closed-book, multiple-choice paper of 50 questions with four options each, and you pass with at least 33 correct answers. A representative appointed under supervision must pass it within two years of their date of first appointment (DOFA). The FSCA sets the exam and its content; registration and delivery run through the Moonstone examination body. For a brokerage, the RE5 is less an individual hurdle than a deadline the firm has to manage for every new adviser it appoints.

Who has to write the RE5, and who does not

The FSCA lists four regulatory examinations. The RE1 is for FSPs, key individuals and compliance officers; the RE3 and RE4 are add-ons for key individuals in Categories II, IIA and III; the RE5 applies to representatives in all categories of FSPs. A principal who is also a key individual and gives advice will usually face both the RE1 and the RE5.

According to the FSCA regulatory examinations FAQ, three groups of representatives are not required to write the RE5:

• representatives who render services only on funeral and friendly society benefits (subcategories 1.1 and 1.19 only);
• representatives appointed only for Tier 2 financial products;
• representatives appointed only for the execution of sales on Tier 1 financial products.

Tier 1 and Tier 2 products are listed in Annexure Three, Table 1 of Board Notice 194 of 2017, the fit and proper determination. The exemption is product-based, not person-based: an adviser who started on funeral cover only and is later appointed for short-term personal lines picks up the RE5 requirement for those products, with two years from the date they were first appointed for them.

The deadline: two years from DOFA

FSCA FAIS Notice 86 of 2018, the exemption for services under supervision, gives a supervised representative two years from the date of first appointment to complete the applicable regulatory examination. Before that notice, deadlines were tied to a fixed 30 June date; now each representative has a personal clock, and DOFA follows the person from one FSP to the next. The same notice gives 12 months for class of business training and six years for the qualification. Our guide to onboarding a representative under supervision sets out all the clocks side by side.

Missing the deadline is not a technicality. Once the window closes, the representative no longer meets the competence requirement for those products, and the FSP has to stop them rendering services in that space; where it goes further, the debarment process under section 14 is the route the FAIS Act provides.

Format and pass mark

Feature	RE5	Where it is stated
Number of questions	50, multiple choice, four options each	FSCA FAQ
Pass mark	65%: 33 out of 50 (66%) passes, 32 out of 50 (64%) fails	FSCA FAQ
Duration	Two hours	Preparation guide, 2019 version
Book	Closed book, no material in the examination room	Preparation guide, 2019 version
Negative marking	None: an answer is right or wrong	Preparation guide, 2019 version
Attempts	No limit on the number of attempts	Preparation guide, 2019 version
Fee	A legislated fee set in the FSCA fee schedule	FSCA FAQ

The preparation guide explains why the bar sits where it does: with four options, a candidate who knows half the material and guesses the rest should score around 62.5%, so the pass mark is set slightly above that. Put differently, the RE5 is designed so that partial knowledge plus luck is not enough.

The same guide gives the layout by level of complexity, and questions are drawn at random from a question bank, so two candidates sitting together do not get the same paper but do get the same mix:

Level	Share of the paper	Questions
Level 1	30%	15
Level 2	40%	20
Level 3	20%	10
Level 4	10%	5

Question styles include direct questions, incomplete sentences, negative questions ("which of the following is not…"), most/best/least questions and Roman numeral questions where more than one statement is correct. You do not need to memorise legislation word for word: where a question refers to a specific section, the FSCA says that section is included in the question.

What the RE5 covers: the eight tasks

The RE5 tests eight tasks, and the preparation guide states that every task is covered at least once in an examination. Mapped to the legislation, they are:

1. The FAIS Act as a regulatory framework: definitions of advice, intermediary services and financial product, and the role of the compliance officer.
2. Contributing to maintaining the FSP licence: licence requirements, display of licences, undesirable business practices and offences.
3. The role of the key individual: management and oversight duties, and what happens to a representative when a key individual stops meeting honesty and integrity requirements.
4. The codes of conduct: general duties, conflicts of interest, disclosures before and during a financial service, fees and commission, and the advice process.
5. Record keeping under the FAIS Act, the General Code of Conduct and the Financial Intelligence Centre Act.
6. FICA and the money laundering and terrorist financing control regulations, as they apply to an FSP and to a representative's dealings with a client.
7. Complaints that reach the FAIS Ombud: the Ombud's role and authority.
8. Operating as a representative: fit and proper requirements, advice versus intermediary services, supervision, and the purpose of debarment.

The FSCA's preparation material page for the RE5 lists the documents to study: the FAIS Act, the Financial Intelligence Centre Act, the definition of a long-term policy in the Long-term Insurance Act, the General Code of Conduct (BN 80 of 2003), the Ombud rules, the debarment reappointment requirements, the FAIS Regulations, the professional indemnity notice, Board Notice 194 of 2017, the form of licence, the guidance note on intermediary services and representatives, and FAIS Notices 17 and 86 of 2018. For the legal frame behind all of this, see our guide to the FAIS Act.

A study plan that matches how the exam is built

The FSCA is blunt about preparation: read the legislation, pay particular attention to the definitions, and be wary of short workshops and mock questions that are not built to the exam's standard. It also notes that it does not accredit training providers. A plan that follows that advice:

1. Download the current guide and the listed legislation, not a summary from a previous year. Questions change when the law changes.
2. Work task by task: read the task, then each criterion, then the sections it points to. The guide suggests grouping criteria in threes or fours and studying at least two hours a day.
3. Start with the definitions in section 1 of the FAIS Act and in the General Code. Most wrong answers come from misreading a defined term.
4. Do not skip tasks that seem foreign to your firm. A short-term personal lines adviser will still be examined on FICA and on the key individual's role.
5. Practise the question styles, especially negative and Roman numeral questions, rather than chasing a score on mock papers.
6. On the day, bring photo identification and pace yourself: the guide suggests moving on from a hard question and returning to it.

Managing the RE5 inside a brokerage

For a principal, the work is in the calendar. Ask every new hire for their DOFA in writing, record it in the competence register, and book the sitting early rather than in the last quarter of the window. Passing the RE5 also matters for continuous professional development: a supervised representative's CPD obligation starts once they meet the class of business training, regulatory examination and qualification requirements, or after six years, whichever comes first, as our article on the FAIS CPD cycle explains.

Until the exam is passed, the representative works under supervision, and that supervision needs evidence. A short exchange on the firm's number shows what a supervised adviser's reply can look like when a client asks for advice outside the products they are appointed for:

Hi {first name}, thanks for the question about adding life cover. I handle your car and household policy, and life cover is outside what I am appointed to advise on at the moment. I have asked {supervisor}, who is qualified for life products, to contact you. Is a call this afternoon convenient?

When conversations sit on the customer record in a shared inbox rather than on a personal phone, the supervisor can read the adviser's threads and the firm keeps the record. In ORIS, an AI-suggested reply lands as a draft for a person to review, and auto-reply runs only under rules the firm sets, which suits representatives whose advice still has to be checked. The exam itself remains the adviser's own work.

Frequently asked questions

How many questions are in the RE5 exam?

The RE5 has 50 multiple-choice questions, each with four possible answers. The pass mark is 65%, which in practice means at least 33 correct answers: 32 out of 50 is 64% and fails.

How long do I have to pass the RE5?

Under FSCA FAIS Notice 86 of 2018, a representative working under supervision must complete the applicable regulatory examination within two years of their date of first appointment for the relevant financial products. DOFA follows the person, not the employer.

Do funeral cover representatives need the RE5?

Not if they render services only on funeral and friendly society benefits (subcategories 1.1 and 1.19). The FSCA also exempts representatives appointed only for Tier 2 products and those appointed only for execution of sales on Tier 1 products.

Where do I register for the RE5?

Through the Moonstone examination body, by telephone or online, as indicated by the FSCA. You need your ID or passport number, your FSP number, personal and contact details, and professional details.

Does passing the RE5 count towards CPD hours?

No. The regulatory examination is a competence requirement in its own right and does not count as CPD. For a supervised representative, the CPD obligation starts once the examination, class of business training and qualification requirements are met, or after six years.