Securities Industry Professional (SIP) Credential Requirements

There are seven requirement categories for the SIP Credential Program.

1. Application Form
   
   Applicants must complete the SIP Online Application.
   
   SIP Credential Application
   
   Each candidate must complete an application form with the following:
   
   

   	Contact information
   	Current employment information and supervisor
   	Job History & Resume
   	Signed Ethics statement
   	Senior manager's recommendation(s)

   
   

   Test-Out Option Applicants
   
   Candidates for the Test-Out Option must complete the SIP Online Application and provide additional recommendations.
   

2. Education

   
   The candidate should have either a U.S. bachelor's degree or comparable non-U.S. degree. If a candidate does not have a degree, a total of at least four years of qualified professional work experience and an additional senior manager recommendation identifying the candidate's performance and potential may be acceptable.
   
   
3. Experience
   
   Candidates need a minimum of three years securities industry experience in order to enter the program.
   
   If a firm wishes to enter a candidate into the program who has fewer than the required number of years of experience, an exception can be made on a case by case basis and with an additional recommendation by the recommender's supervisor.
   
   
4. Recommendation
   

   All candidates must submit at least one recommendation to enter the program.
   
   Additional recommendations may be required to waive minimum education or to waive minimum experience.
   
   Recommendations should be completed by a manager senior to the candidate. All required recommendations must be completed by different people.
   
   The following points should be addressed in the recommendation letters:

   	How long the recommender has known the candidate
   	How long the recommender has worked with the candidate
   	An assessment of the quality of the candidate's work experience
   	An assessment of the candidate's character and professionalism
   	An assessment of the candidate's ability to complete the course work
   	An assessment of the candidate's future potential in the securities industry

   The templates provided show sample text for each type of recommendation.

   Recommendation Letter Templates Basic Recommendation to enter the program Recommendation to waive the minimum education Recommendation to waive the minimum years of experience. This recommendation should be by the candidate's supervisor Recommendation to allow the candidate to by-pass the courses with Level I Test-Out Option Recommendation to allow the candidate to by-pass the courses with Level II Test-Out Option Recommendation required to allow the candidate to by-pass the courses with Level III Test-Out Option

   
   
5. Course Requirements
   
   All courses in each level must be completed to pass the level.
   
   

   	Level I: Level I courses
   	Level II: All Level I courses, plus Level II courses
   	Level III: All Level I courses, all Level II courses, plus Level III courses

   
   To pass a course, courses must be completed within six months. Throughout the course there are a series of quizzes. Scores on these quizzes do not count towards the final grade. At the end of each course there is an online test covering the material presented. The course test must be passed with a grade of 90%. All of the questions on the final test for a course will have been covered in the quizzes.
   
   
   
6. Credential Testing
   
   There are three exams required to pass the levels in the SIP Credential Program:
   
   

   	Level I  Certificate Exam
   	Level II  Certificate Exam
   	Level III  SIP Credential Exam

   
   Upon successful completion of all the required courses for a specific level, the candidate may take the related Level Exam. A score of 85% is needed to pass the Level Exam. All of the questions on a Level Exam will have been asked previously in the courses for that level.
   
   
7. Continuing Education
   
   Continuing Education is necessary to maintain the SIP Credential and consists of two requirements:
   
   

   	Credit for industry participation Level I: 3 credits per year Level II: 5 credits per year Level III: 20 credits per year Credits can be earned through participation in classes, conferences and other industry events. The credit available for individual activities will be available on this website.
   	Staying current on the events that affect the industry. In order to help achieve this, candidates are provided with a personal online subscription to SOL/GCN newsletters with daily news updates.