Series 39 FAQ for the FINRA DPP Principal exam, including exam format, passing score, route fit versus Series 24 and Series 22, co-requisites, scope, and study strategy.
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Series 39 is the Direct Participation Programs Principal Exam. It is the principal path for supervising DPP business rather than a broad all-purpose principal exam.
Series 24 is the broad general-securities-principal lane. Series 39 is the narrower DPP principal lane. If your real job scope is concentrated in direct participation programs, that distinction should be resolved before you start studying.
Series 22 is the representative-level DPP route. Series 39 is the principal route supervising that business line.
FINRA states candidates must pass the SIE and either Series 7 or Series 22 to hold the DPP principal registration.
FINRA lists Series 39 as 100 multiple-choice items with a 135-minute time limit.
FINRA’s Series 39 outline lists the passing score as 70%.
Series 39 tests DPP offering structure and regulation, DPP sales supervision and employee supervision, and the financial-responsibility rules that matter inside that narrower business line.
It is testing whether you can supervise offering structure, due diligence, underwriting compensation, advertising, suitability, and financial controls as a principal. The stronger answer usually protects the offering process and the customer at the same time.
The DPP offering-structure block deserves the most time because it carries 46% of the exam and drives the rest of the supervisory answers.
The biggest trap is answering with generic principal supervision instead of DPP-specific supervision. The exam often turns on offering structure, due diligence, compensation, suitability, and the way DPP materials are sold and documented.
Tag each miss by offering structure, compensation or due diligence, sales supervision, employee supervision, or financial responsibility. That is much more useful than just marking it wrong.
Switch once you can quickly identify whether the stem is mainly about the DPP offering, the customer-facing supervision layer, or financial controls. Mixed sets matter because that boundary blurs under pressure.