FINRA Series 82 Guide

Use this guide root when you are preparing for the Private Securities Offerings Representative Exam. Series 82 is a limited representative qualification focused on private placements and related offering activity. It is narrower than a general-securities registration, so the exam rewards a clear understanding of offering mechanics, investor suitability, disclosure, and the regulatory limits around private securities offerings.

The guide combines full chapter-based lessons with quick-reference pages such as the Cheat Sheet and FAQ. The educational chapter sequence follows the official FINRA exam functions, with chapters on seeking business, opening and evaluating accounts, making recommendations and maintaining records, and processing transactions and complaints. That structure is deliberate: the exam is organized by job function, so the guide should be learned and reviewed the same way.

Use the chapters when you need full lesson coverage. Use the cheat sheet when the concepts are already familiar and you want a quicker retention pass.

In this section

• Seeking Business and Offering Mechanics
  Review the communication, offering, investor, and distribution rules that dominate the Series 82 exam.
  • Communications and Marketing
    Learn the communication standards, approval rules, and private-offering marketing limits tested on Series 82.
  • Private Offering Exemptions and Investor Categories
    Understand private offering exemptions, accredited investors, QIBs, and related eligibility concepts tested on Series 82.
  • Distribution, Due Diligence, and Compensation
    Review offering structures, placement-agent duties, due diligence, compensation, and escrow mechanics tested on Series 82.
• Opening Accounts and Evaluating Customer Profiles
  Learn account-opening, documentation, KYC, suitability-profile, and supervisory-approval duties tested on Series 82.
  • Account Opening, Screening, and Documentation
    Understand CIP, KYC, confidentiality agreements, authorization documents, and private-placement account paperwork on Series 82.
  • Customer Profile and Supervisory Approval
    Review investor-profile analysis, accreditation checks, suitability inputs, and supervisory approvals tested on Series 82.
• Recommendations, Disclosures, and Records
  Study recommendation standards, disclosures, records, and account communications tested in the third Series 82 function.
  • Investment Information and Communications
    Learn how Series 82 tests communications about risks, rewards, and product characteristics in private offerings.
  • Recommendations and Best Interest
    Review suitability, best interest, fair pricing, and private-placement recommendation logic tested on Series 82.
  • Disclosures, Records, and Account Maintenance
    Understand required disclosures, confirmations, recordkeeping, and account-related communications tested on Series 82.
• Processing Transactions and Resolving Complaints
  Review transaction processing, confirmations, complaints, reporting, and dispute-resolution concepts tested in the final Series 82 function.
  • Processing Transactions and Confirmations
    Learn subscription processing, confirmations, settlement expectations, and transaction-completion duties tested on Series 82.
  • Complaints, Disputes, and Reporting
    Understand complaint handling, Form U4 and reporting triggers, and dispute-resolution concepts tested on Series 82.
• Series 82 Study Plan — A Practical Reading and Review Schedule
  A practical Series 82 study plan with a clear reading order, weekly milestones, review rhythm, and a final review strategy.
• Series 82 Cheat Sheet — Private Placements Workflow, Investor Qualification & Compliance
  Comprehensive FINRA Series 82 reference: private offering types and exemptions (Reg D/144A/Reg S/Reg A, high level), investor qualification concepts, PPM and subscription workflow, communications controls, due diligence mindset, suitability/Reg BI basics, recordkeeping, confirmations, escrow/funds flow concepts, and complaint handling.
• Series 82 FAQ — Common Questions About Eligibility, Scope, and Study Strategy
  Common questions about the FINRA Series 82 exam, including sponsorship, the SIE co-requisite, exam scope, and practical study strategy.
• Series 82 Resources — Official FINRA Links & Content Outline
  Official resources for the FINRA Series 82 exam, including the exam page, content outline, co-requisite guidance, and high-yield rule references.