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What Is RE5? Meaning, 50 Questions, 33 to Pass

By The PassPath Team · Published · Last updated

The RE5 is the regulatory exam every financial services representative in South Africa must pass. It has 50 questions, you need 33 right (66%), and it costs R1 300 per attempt. RE5 stands for Regulatory Examination 5, and it is written through Moonstone on behalf of the FSCA. Key individuals write the RE1 instead.

It is not a product knowledge test and not a qualification. It is a law and conduct exam you must pass to stay on an FSP's representative register. That difference also changes how you get ready for it, which is what the RE5 exam preparation plan sets out.

What does RE5 stand for?

RE5 stands for Regulatory Examination 5. In full it is the FAIS Regulatory Examination for Representatives. You will also see it written as RE 5, RE-5, "regulatory exam 5", "RE5 regulatory examination" or loosely "the FAIS exam". All the same paper.

The "RE" is short for regulatory examination. The "5" is just the number attached to that paper: not a difficulty rating, not a grade, not a level you work up to from RE1. The numbering separates papers by who writes them, RE1 for key individuals and RE5 for representatives.

What is the RE5 exam?

The RE5 exam is the FAIS regulatory examination for representatives, set by the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) and administered by Moonstone as the appointed examination body. You write it at a physical venue, on paper, under invigilation. The mechanics:

Questions: 50 multiple choice questions, four options each, one correct, no negative marking. Never leave one blank.

Duration: 2 hours, paper based, closed book. That is under 2 minutes 30 seconds a question.

Pass mark: 66%, which is 33 of 50 correct (the FSCA's 65% rule applied to a 50 question paper).

Cost: R1 300 per attempt, VAT inclusive, and the full fee again on every rewrite.

Results: a maximum lead time of 20 working days from exam to results, often sooner.

Those numbers come from the official RE1 and RE5 preparation guideline that Moonstone and the FSCA publish, re-issued in January 2026. The FSCA also keeps its own regulatory examinations FAQ if you want the regulator's answer first hand. Two hours reads as generous until you see the questions: most are scenario based, and the guideline grades them across four complexity levels with only a minority being straight recall.

The pass mark is where the confusion sits. The FSCA states it as 65%, and 65% of 50 is 32.5. You cannot answer half a question, so in practice you need 33 of 50, which is 66%. That is why some sources say 65% and others say 66%: same threshold, described from different directions. Full breakdown in the RE5 pass mark explainer.

Is the RE5 a course or an exam?

The RE5 is an examination, not a course. Many people search for an "RE5 course" expecting to enrol, attend classes and receive the RE5 at the end. That is not how it works.

There is no compulsory RE5 course and no attendance requirement. You register directly for the examination, write it at a Moonstone venue, and either meet the threshold or you do not. Sitting through a training programme does not earn you the credit. Only the result does. The same logic is why no university can offer the exam: why you cannot do the RE5 at UNISA covers that confusion in full.

What does exist is a market of third party training providers, workshops, textbooks and question banks. Some are excellent, some are thin, none are the exam. If something is advertised as an "RE5 course", it is tuition or study material: how to choose RE5 study material works through the formats, and RE5 study options compared puts the 2026 prices side by side. PassPath sits in that category too: your booking and your R1 300 always go through Moonstone.

Who has to write the RE5?

You have to write the RE5 if you are appointed as a representative of a licensed financial services provider and you render financial services or advice to clients: financial advisers, brokers, short term and life insurance agents, tied agents, bank staff who sell or advise on financial products, and staff advising on medical schemes or funeral cover.

Key individuals write the RE1 instead. A key individual oversees the financial services the FSP renders, rather than advising the client. Someone doing both jobs, common in a small brokerage, may need both papers. The RE1 vs RE5 comparison sets the two roles against each other, and if you are heading for oversight rather than advice, start with the RE1 exam guide.

Purely clerical and administrative staff are excluded. If you are not sure the RE5 applies to you, the RE5 requirements page sets out who must write it, when the clock starts and what you need before you can book, and your FSP's compliance officer can confirm your category in minutes. Moonstone is the appointed exam body for the FSCA and the place to confirm the current arrangements.

You do not need an FSP number to write the RE5, so you can write it before you are appointed anywhere. Often the smarter sequence if you are job hunting.

What does the RE5 cover?

The RE5 tests the legislation and conduct standards governing how a representative behaves, not the products you sell. At a high level:

The FAIS Act and its subordinate legislation. The structure of the Act, the licensing regime, the role of the FSCA, and the notices and codes under it.

The General Code of Conduct. The standards you must meet with a client, including suitability of advice and conflicts of interest.

Duties of a representative. What you may and may not do, advice versus intermediary service, and the limits of working under supervision.

Disclosure. What must be disclosed, when and about whom: the FSP, the product supplier, the product and your remuneration.

Record keeping. What records must be kept, in what form and for how long.

Complaints and the FAIS Ombud. Internal complaint handling and how the Ombud process works.

Fit and proper requirements. Honesty and integrity, competence, CPD and operational ability.

Those areas are organised into eight tasks in the published qualifying criteria, and every question in the FSCA's central question bank traces back to one of them. That structure is the useful part: your gap is almost never "everything", it is two or three tasks. The full task list sits in the RE5 syllabus and qualifying criteria.

Study against those criteria rather than a random textbook. The exam is written to them, and each one is a testable statement.

When do you have to pass it by?

Under FAIS Notice 86 of 2018, a supervised representative must complete the applicable regulatory examination within 2 years of their date of first appointment, known as your DOFA. That is the date you were first appointed as a representative and recorded on an FSP's register. The two year clock runs from there.

For appointments from 1 February 2019, when Notice 86 took effect, that window runs from your DOFA. For reps appointed under supervision before that date, Notice 86 kept the exam period from the withdrawn Board Notice 104 of 2008, but only for the products and categories they were supervised for at the time (paragraph 4(2)(a)). We have not confirmed how that older period applies today, so check with your compliance officer or the FSCA. Working backwards from your DOFA deadline turns that date into a booking plan.

Missing the deadline is not a paperwork problem. You cannot remain on the FSP's representative register. Debarment is the consequence, and some FSPs remove a representative first to avoid a debarment record. Either way, you stop rendering financial services legally.

Once you have passed, the result itself has no stated expiry date. What lapses is your authorisation and fit and proper standing, which depend on ongoing CPD and current FSP registration. See does the RE5 expire and the RE5 certificate guide.

What does the RE5 cost and how do you book it?

The RE5 costs R1 300, VAT inclusive, per examination per candidate. The FSCA sets that fee, so it does not vary by venue. A rewrite is the same R1 300 per attempt, and you do not re-register: you log in and rebook. Full breakdown in the RE5 and RE1 exam cost article.

You book online at faisexam.co.za, by phone on (021) 883 8000 or 888 9796 on weekdays between 8am and 4pm, or by emailing a completed registration form to faisexam@moonstoneinfo.co.za. Registration closes 11 working days before each sitting, and payment must reach Moonstone within 24 hours of registration or the booking is not confirmed, using the EB invoice number as reference. Step by step in how to book the RE5, live dates on the RE5 exam dates schedule, and the venue network in where you can write.

How hard is the RE5?

It is a fair exam that a lot of people underestimate. The difficulty is not the concepts, most of which are common sense once you have read them. It is precision. Questions come from legislative wording, several options look defensible, and the answer often turns on one qualifier such as "must" versus "may".

Two things make it harder than expected. First, 33 of 50 leaves little margin: eighteen wrong answers ends the attempt. Second, industry experience does not automatically translate into the exam's legalistic phrasing, and many candidates write while working full time on a weekend of skim reading.

It is also very passable. People who work through the qualifying criteria systematically, do a high volume of practice questions and check weak areas before booking tend to be fine. For where attempts come apart, read why representatives fail the RE5. After one unsuccessful attempt, how to pass the rewrite is the better starting point.

How to prepare for the RE5

Work through the published qualifying criteria in order, answer practice questions under time pressure rather than only reading, and track the topics you get wrong. A realistic plan is in how to study for the RE5. Before you spend R1 300 on a booking, get an objective read on whether you are ready: am I ready for the RE5 separates a real readiness signal from a feeling of confidence.

The fastest way to get that signal is the free PassPath readiness check. It takes about 15 minutes, needs no card, scores you against every FSCA qualifying criterion the exam tests, and returns a readiness score plus a red to green topic heat map so you know what to fix before you book.

Every RE5 topic, in one place

This page is the starting point. Each question below has its own page with the detail:

Frequently asked questions

An RE5 is the FAIS Regulatory Examination for representatives: a compulsory 50-question, 2 hour financial services law exam with a pass mark of 66%, which is 33 of 50 correct, that you write to act as a representative of a licensed FSP in South Africa. It is administered by Moonstone for the FSCA.

RE 5 means Regulatory Examination 5, the representative-level FAIS regulatory exam. The number identifies the paper, not a difficulty level or a grade. RE1 is the equivalent for key individuals.

There is no official RE5 course: the RE5 is a 50-question examination, and only your result counts, not course attendance. Anything advertised as an RE5 course is third party tuition or study material sold separately from the exam.

Yes. The RE5 is one of the FAIS regulatory examinations, created under the Financial Advisory and Intermediary Services Act. When a representative says "the FAIS exam", they usually mean the RE5.

It is the FSCA's 50-question regulatory examination for representatives, covering the FAIS Act, the General Code of Conduct, disclosure, record keeping, complaints and fit and proper requirements. Moonstone administers it at venues around South Africa.

The FSCA sets the pass mark at 65%. Because the RE5 has 50 questions, 65% works out to 32.5, so you need 33 correct answers, which is 66%. Both figures describe the same threshold.

Two hours, 120 minutes, for 50 multiple choice questions. That is just under two and a half minutes a question, and the questions are scenario based rather than recall, so working under timed conditions before the day matters more than most people expect.

R1 300, VAT inclusive, per attempt, payable within 24 hours of booking or the booking lapses. Fees are reviewed from time to time, so check Moonstone's site before you budget. If you fail, the full fee is payable again for every rewrite.

No. As of 2026 the RE5 is written on paper at supervised venues around South Africa, booked through Moonstone's portal at faisexam.co.za. There are separate arrangements for candidates outside South Africa and for special needs, applied for in writing when you register.

You can book again, and there is no limit on attempts, though the full R1 300 fee is payable each time and you must still pass within two years of your date of first appointment. You are not shown which questions you got wrong, so the useful first step before a rewrite is diagnosing which tasks let you down rather than restudying everything.

It is more demanding than most people expect, because 33 of 50 correct leaves little room for a weak area. Questions test whether you can apply the legislation to a scenario rather than recall it. It is still very passable with focused preparation: know the eight tasks, target your weak ones, and practice under exam timing.

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

The exam itself, with sources

These facts are about the exam, not about any study provider. Each one links to a public source you can check.

PassPath is an independent exam-prep tool. The RE exams are administered through Moonstone under the FSCA; always confirm official details (fees, dates, venues) with Moonstone.