Frequently asked questions for CSC Exam 1: exam structure, topic weightings, study priorities, and how to use this guide.
Confirm current CSI policies directly with CSI before booking or rescheduling.
Quick links:
CSI publishes CSC Exam 1 structure on the official Exam & Credits page. The current reference structure is a proctored multiple-choice exam with 100 questions, a 2-hour time limit, a 60% passing mark per exam, and up to 3 attempts.
From CSI’s official weighting table, CSC Exam 1 breaks down this way:
That weighting makes market structure, fixed income, and equity basics the highest-value first-pass review areas.
Yes. Use this guide as your study map and review layer, but use CSI’s official curriculum and exam-credits pages as the source of truth for what is covered and how the exam is weighted.
Start with the market and product foundations that make the rest of the exam readable: the Canadian investment marketplace, the economy, fixed-income basics, and equity basics. Those topics give you the language you need for the more applied questions later.
No. You do need definitions and product vocabulary, but CSC Exam 1 also tests whether you can identify risk quickly, connect economic context to product behavior, and apply a small amount of math under time pressure.
At minimum, be comfortable with bond price and yield directionality, current-yield style calculations, simple total-return logic, and basic option breakeven or payoff reasoning. You do not need to turn the exam into a math contest, but you do need to answer quickly under time pressure.
Two habits usually move scores fastest:
That approach is usually stronger than just rereading long notes.
Yes. CSC Exam 1 now has an exact web practice page on MasteryExamPrep. Use this guide for the route and review layer, then move into exact web practice when you are ready to train speed on the 100-question structure.
According to CSI’s current CSC course page, effective January 1, 2026, CSC is no longer acceptable for the purposes of CIRO approval with an Investment Dealer. That is a career-path and proficiency issue rather than an exam-structure issue, so candidates should confirm the current rule before using CSC for registration planning.
Best order:
Use the resources page when you need official CSI confirmation, not just study guidance.
Use Official Resources. That page points to the current CSI course, curriculum, and exam-credits pages, which are the right places to confirm structure, weighting, and administrative details.