RES5 Exam Singapore: Format, Pass Marks, Fees and Validity (2026)

The RES5 exam — Rules, Ethics and Skills for Financial Advisory Services — is the core examination anyone must pass before being appointed as a financial adviser representative in Singapore. It is administered by the Singapore College of Insurance (SCI) and required by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) under Notice FAA-N26. The paper has 150 multiple-choice questions over 3 hours, split into Part I (110 questions) and Part II (40 questions), and you must score at least 75% in Part I and at least 80% in Part II — both parts, no aggregate. It is closed book, computer-based, in English, and runs daily on weekdays. RES5 replaced the old M5 module on 1 April 2024.

That is the short answer. The rest of this guide covers the details that catch candidates out: why RES5 has higher pass marks than the product papers, what RES5 alone does not qualify you to do, what it costs, and the three-year validity rule that career-switchers routinely miss.

RES5 at a glance

RES5 replaced M5 in April 2024 — check the date on anything you read

Under MAS Notice FAA-N26, issued on 28 September 2023, the CMFAS examinations were restructured. The old M5 (Rules and Regulations for Financial Advisory Services) was renamed RES5 and substantially expanded: M5 was 100 questions over 120 minutes; RES5 is 150 questions over 180 minutes, with ethics and skills added as substantive examinable content. SCI ceased offering M5 entirely after 28 March 2024, and the new examinations launched on 1 April 2024.

This matters practically because a great deal of guidance online still describes the old regime. If an article tells you to sit "M5", it was written for a world that ended in March 2024. Our complete guide to becoming a financial advisor in Singapore covers the full post-FAA-N26 structure, with every regulatory claim cited to the primary source.

The pass marks: why RES5 is the harder paper

Candidates routinely assume the product knowledge module is the difficult one and under-prepare for RES5. The pass marks say otherwise. RES5 demands 75% and 80% across its two parts, while CM-LIP — the combined life insurance product paper — demands 70% and 70%.

Two rules follow from how the papers are scored:

• You must pass every part. There is no aggregate score. Scoring 95% on Part I of RES5 does not compensate for 78% on Part II — Part II requires 80%, and you would need to re-sit.
• Budget more preparation time for RES5 than for the product module. This is the reverse of most people's instinct, and it is the single most common preparation mistake.

The material is detailed and largely definitional — it rewards systematic reading of the SCI study text and repeated self-testing far more than intuition. People with financial services backgrounds sometimes do worse than complete newcomers, because they answer from how things worked at their old firm rather than from what the text says.

What RES5 alone does not let you do

RES5 is the licence to operate in the profession at all — but it is only half of the examination requirement. Under FAA-N26 paragraph 4.3, you need a valid pass in RES5 plus the relevant product knowledge modules for the advisory service you intend to provide.

In practice, most new advisers entering an insurance-led practice sit RES5, the life modules (M9 + M9A or CM-LIP), and HI — three or four papers in total, not one. There is no regulatory preference between the M9+M9A route and the combined CM-LIP route; most agencies have a house view based on what has worked for their intakes, so confirm with your prospective principal firm before registering.

Fees and resits

SCI's published schedule lists RES5 at S$150 per attempt for SCI members and S$180 for non-members, excluding GST (S$163.50 and S$196.20 with 9% GST), plus a non-refundable registration fee of S$21.80 per attempt. Sessions after 5pm and at weekends attract a premium of approximately 10%. CM-LIP is S$200/S$240 excluding GST, and the HI module is listed at S$76.30. These figures come from SCI's 1 April 2024 implementation documents — SCI notes the fees had not been revised since the examinations launched in 2002, but confirm the current amount on SCI's live registration portal before budgeting.

There is no limit to the number of times you can sit the examination, and no stated waiting period between attempts. Each attempt is a fresh registration at the full fee — so while there is no regulatory penalty for failing, there is a financial one.

The three-year validity rule

A pass in RES5 does not last forever, and this is the most commonly missed provision in the notice. Under FAA-N26, a pass in RES5 ceases to be valid if you do not begin practising within three years of passing, or if you stop practising for more than three continuous years. Once it lapses, you sit the paper again.

The practical advice: do not sit RES5 speculatively, years ahead of an actual career move. Sit it when you have a principal firm in view and a realistic start date. Your firm also determines exactly which product modules you need, and usually supports or subsidises the process — another reason to choose the firm before booking the exam.

Who can sit for it: the entry requirements behind the exam

The examination sits inside MAS's broader minimum entry requirements. To be appointed as a representative you must be at least 21 years old and hold one of: a GCE 'A' Level certificate with passes in at least three H2 and two H1 subjects, an International Baccalaureate Diploma, a diploma awarded by a Singapore polytechnic, or an assessed equivalent. A university degree is not required. Passing the exams alone appoints nobody — a licensed or exempt financial adviser must appoint you, certify you as fit and proper, and notify MAS, after which your name enters the public register of representatives.

Preparing for RES5: what actually works

• Book the exam date before you feel fully ready. RES5 runs daily on weekdays, so scheduling is flexible — and a fixed date does more for preparation than an open-ended intention.
• Read the SCI study text systematically. The exam is closed book and there is no shortcut around the text. Repeated self-testing beats industry experience.
• Give Part II respect. It is the smaller part (40 questions) with the higher bar (80%). A handful of careless answers is the difference between passing and re-sitting.
• Confirm your module list with your prospective firm first, so you sit only the papers you need, in the right order, inside the validity window.

Sitting RES5 with a firm behind you

Ken Wee Organisation (KWO) is an agency unit representing HSBC Life (Singapore) Pte. Ltd., established in February 2020. Our Financial Adviser Representatives are licensed and regulated by MAS under the Financial Advisers Act, and we recruit and develop Wealth Solutions Consultants — no finance background needed. If you are weighing up this career and want a direct conversation about the exams, the timeline and whether the work fits your circumstances, book a career chat with us. Ask for Phua Ken Wee or Rowena Wong.