RE5 study guide: what is actually on the paper

The RE5 syllabus is a published list

The FSCA publishes the criteria the RE5 is written against in its Preparation Guide for the Regulatory Examinations. There are 47 qualifying criteria, grouped into 8 task areas [FSCA Preparation Guide 2026, Appendix A]. Every question on the paper traces back to one of them, which means the syllabus has a finite edge, and that is better news than it sounds.

A criterion is a sentence describing something you must be able to do or explain, for example explaining the record keeping obligations of a Representative under the FAIS and FIC Acts. Reading them in the FSCA's own words is worth the hour it takes, because the verb in each one tells you whether you need to recognise something or apply it.

The free RE5 qualifying criteria checklist (PDF) is all 47 of them on one document, quoted verbatim, with no signup.

The eight task areas, and how much sits under each

In task order the criteria counts are 4, 9, 3, 14, 2, 2, 1, 12. The counts tell you how much ground each task area covers in the FSCA's own list. They are not exam weightings: the FSCA does not publish how many questions come from each task area, so treat the counts as a map of the syllabus rather than a prediction of the paper.

The table below is the FSCA's own task names, in the FSCA's own order.

What to read for each area

Four instruments carry most of the syllabus. The FAIS Act itself sits behind task areas 1, 2, 3, 7 and 8. The General Code of Conduct for FSPs and Representatives carries task area 4, which is the largest single block of criteria. The FIC Act and the money laundering and terrorist financing control requirements carry task area 6, and the record keeping obligations in task area 5 sit across both the FAIS and FIC Acts.

Read to the criterion, not to the chapter. A criterion that asks you to explain the disclosure requirements for a Representative under supervision is answered by a specific part of the Code, and hunting for that part is the study. Reading the Code end to end and hoping the right sentence sticks is not.

Turning the list into a study order

Work in the order your own weak areas dictate rather than in task order. The task numbers are the FSCA's filing system, not a difficulty ranking or a teaching sequence.

Two rules keep the order honest. First, no task area gets skipped, however small: task area 7 has a single criterion and that criterion has appeared on papers. Second, a task area is only finished when you can answer questions on it cold, not when you have read the material for it.

If you would rather not build the plan yourself, the free readiness check produces the order for you by measuring all eight task areas and ranking them.

Study and practice are different activities

Reading builds recognition. Answering questions builds recall, and recall under time pressure is what the paper tests. Most people who fall short have done plenty of the first and very little of the second.

Numbers are where recall slips first. Our RE5 summary notes put every deadline, period and threshold on one page with the section it comes from, and let you cover them to test yourself.

The free RE5 mock exam is 20 questions with no signup, with the section of the Act or the Code behind every answer and a topic map across all eight task areas. It is the cheapest way to find out whether your reading has turned into recall.

PassPath RE5 is R299, RE1 is R399 and the two together are R549. Each is a one-time payment for 180 days of access, with no auto-renew. Signing up and the readiness check cost nothing.

Full refund within 7 days of purchase if you have not started the course content. See the Refund & Access policy.