RE5 Past Papers: None Exist. What To Use Instead

There are no official RE5 or RE1 past papers. Moonstone, which runs the regulatory exams, does not release them, and the FSCA does not publish them. What turns up when you search for an RE5 past papers PDF is unofficial question sets put together by third parties or passed around study groups, most of them undated and with no sources.

Why there are no RE5 past papers

The RE5 is not a fixed paper that is set once and then retired. Every sitting is generated from one central question bank, which all examination bodies use, following rules the FSCA prescribes. Moonstone's preparation guide says questions are selected at random, so two people writing the same exam do not receive the same questions, although the mix of difficulty is identical.

The guide gives the reason directly: random selection limits the leakage of questions, so each one stays in use for longer and the cost of the exam is contained. It is also why Moonstone does not show you your questions when it sends your result. Publishing past papers would mean publishing the bank.

What official material does exist

The official material is free, and there is less of it than most people expect. None of it is a past paper.

• The qualifying criteria. The FSCA's list of what each exam tests: 47 criteria in 8 tasks for the RE5, and 16 tasks for the RE1. Only questions based on these criteria go into the exam, so this is your syllabus. Moonstone hosts both sets in its Regulatory Examination Library.
• The preparation guide. Moonstone's free Preparation Guide for Regulatory Examinations (RE 1 and RE 5), version 1 of 17 January 2026. It sets out the format, time, pass mark and difficulty mix, and maps each criterion to the law behind it.
• Four example questions. The same guide includes one example at each of its four levels of difficulty, from recall to analysis, showing styles such as negative, roman numeral and sequencing questions. They are not taken from any paper.
• The legislation list. The FSCA's Preparation Material for RE5 page lists the Acts and board notices the RE5 draws on, principally the FAIS Act, the General Code of Conduct and FICA. This is what you actually study.
• Moonstone's preparation videos. A short video series on how the exams were built and how to find the legislation. Moonstone says they are not training material.

Moonstone's library and the FSCA's preparation pages carry no past papers, sample papers or mock exams. The FSCA's Regulatory Examinations FAQ says the way to prepare is the preparation guide and the legislation itself.

The "RE5 questions and answers PDF" problem

None of the RE5 questions and answers PDFs online comes from Moonstone, because Moonstone does not release questions or answers. They tend to go wrong in three ways.

• They are old. When a regulatory change affects a criterion, Moonstone amends or replaces the questions. A PDF that is several years old can still describe the FAIS Ombud's 2003 rules, which the Ombud Council Rules of 2024 replaced, or still call the regulator the FSB.
• They are unsourced. A list of questions with a letter next to each one does not tell you which section of which Act makes that answer right, so you cannot check it.
• They are copied and re-copied. Sets sold as "real" questions are pieced together from memory. Memory gets wording wrong, and on a paper full of negative and "most correct" questions, one changed word changes the answer.

The real risk is not wasted time. It is learning, with confidence, an answer that is no longer correct, and then choosing it in the exam. The FSCA goes as far as telling candidates to avoid mock exam questions, because many are not built or checked to the exam's standard and a high score on them can mislead you.

What to use instead (the closest thing to a past paper)

You cannot sit an old paper, so the next best thing is a practice paper that behaves like one. Moonstone's guide is blunt that candidates who rely only on study material and mock questions, without reading the legislation, struggle. Use practice to measure your reading, not to replace it. A practice paper is worth your time if it is:

• Timed, and marked against the real pass mark. The RE5 is 50 questions in 2 hours, and the pass mark works out to 66% (33 of 50 correct). A score only means something against that line.
• Written to the qualifying criteria. Every question should map to a criterion and to a section of the law you can look up yourself.
• Explained. For each question you get wrong, you should see why your option is wrong, not only which one was right.

PassPath's free RE5 mock is built that way: 20 questions across all 8 tasks, no signup, and every answer comes with the trap and the law behind it. These are practice questions written to the published syllabus, not questions from the Moonstone paper.

RE1 past papers

There are no RE1 past papers either, for the same reason: the RE1 is generated from the same central question bank process, and no papers are released. The RE1 is the Key Individual exam: 80 multiple-choice questions in 2 hours 30 minutes, with a pass mark of 65% (52 of 80 correct). Its syllabus has 16 tasks, double the RE5's 8.

The official material is the same preparation guide plus the RE1 qualifying criteria. For timed practice, PassPath's free RE1 practice exam is 20 questions with no signup. The RE1 exam guide covers who must write it, booking and cost, and the RE1 pass mark page explains the 52 of 80 line.

How to practice like it is the real paper

1. Sit it timed, in one go. The RE5 allows 2 hours for 50 questions, so give a 20-question mock about 48 minutes and stop when the time is up.
2. No notes and no phone. The real exam is closed book. A score earned with the Act open beside you is not the score you will get in the hall.
3. Mark it against the pass mark. Compare your score with the real line, 66% (33 of 50 correct) for the RE5, not with how the paper felt.
4. Review every wrong answer against the criteria. Find the criterion it tests, read the section of law behind it, and write down why your choice was wrong.
5. Repeat until you are consistently above the pass mark. One good score can be luck. Several in a row, across all the tasks, is evidence.

For a full plan to fit this into, see how to study for the RE5. For the deadlines, periods and thresholds the syllabus turns on, our RE5 summary notes put them on one page with their sources.

PassPath is an independent study platform. The RE1 and RE5 are written through Moonstone; PassPath is not affiliated with Moonstone or the FSCA.