Series 22 · Guide
What is the Series 22 exam?
The Direct Participation Programs Representative exam — the license to sell limited partnerships in real estate, oil and gas, and equipment leasing.
| Scored questions | 50 (plus 5 unscored pretest) |
| Time limit | 1 hour 30 minutes |
| Passing score | 70 |
| Administered by | FINRA |
| Sponsor / corequisite | Firm sponsorship required; SIE is a corequisite |
What it covers
A direct participation program passes income, losses and deductions straight through to the investor rather than paying tax at the entity level — and that single feature drives most of the exam. You are tested on limited partnership structure, real estate, oil and gas, and equipment leasing programs, the sharing arrangements that decide who bears which cost, and the suitability analysis for an illiquid, long-horizon investment.
More than half the exam sits in one function — providing information about investments and making recommendations — so that is where the study time belongs.
Why the tax material trips people up
Most candidates arrive with corporate-tax instincts: the entity earns, the entity pays, the investor pays again on distributions. A DPP inverts that. Losses flow to the partner and become deductible — but only up to the amount genuinely at risk, with the excess suspended rather than forfeited. Functional allocation in an oil and gas program splits intangible drilling costs from tangible equipment costs because they carry different tax treatment, not because they carry different risk. Questions that look like tax questions are usually economics questions.
Where it fits
The Series 22 is a narrow license. It lets you sell DPPs and nothing else — if your firm also sells listed securities or public offerings, you need the Series 7. Everyone takes the SIE alongside it. Wondering about difficulty or timeline? See is the Series 22 hard and how long to study, or take a free Series 22 practice test.
Prep for the Series 22.
Original, exam-level questions on partnership taxation, sharing arrangements and suitability — every answer explained with the economics behind it. Start free.
Disclosures
Finance Exam Pro is not affiliated with FINRA. Practice questions are original and are not actual exam questions. Exam specs can change — confirm current details with FINRA.