Series 54: Municipal Advisor Principal Qualification Examination

Series 54 Highlights

Number of Items: 100

Format: Multiple Choice

Duration: 3 hours

Passing Score: 71%

Corequisite: Series 50 – Municipal Advisor Representative Qualification Examination

Cost: $265

About the Series 54 Examination

As of November 30, 2021, all municipal advisor professionals acting in the capacity of a municipal advisor principal must take and pass the MSRB's Municipal Advisor Principal Qualification Examination (Series 54) to be appropriately qualified to engage in the management, direction, or supervision of the municipal advisory activities of the municipal advisor firm and that of its associated persons. The passing score for the Series 54 examination is 70 percent. Instructions on how an individual enrolls to take the Series 54 examination are available here (see Question 12).

Background

As part of its expanded mandate under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, the MSRB implemented the first qualifying examination for municipal advisors. MSRB Rule G-3, effective April 27, 2015, created two classifications of municipal advisor professionals, representative and principal, with firms required to designate at least one principal to oversee the municipal advisory activities of the firm. All municipal advisor principals are required to take and pass the Series 50 and Series 54 examinations to be sufficiently qualified to perform oversight of municipal advisory activities.

The MSRB believes that, as consistent with the professional qualification standards for the municipal advisor representative-level examination, each municipal advisor principal should demonstrate a specified level of competency of the regulatory requirements and application thereof to the municipal advisory activities of a municipal advisor by passing a principal-level examination. Hence, regardless of whether such persons have passed other MSRB or MSRB-recognized examinations (such as the Series 53 or Series 24), the MSRB will not waive individuals into the principal-level examination or grandfather individuals who have passed such other examinations or who have experience in functioning in a supervisory capacity.

View a list of Series 54-qualified municipal advisor principals and their associated municipal advisor firms.