NISM examination day: pacing and method

By the day of the examination the reading is done. What remains is to convert what you know into marks without losing any to haste.

Before the day: check with NISM, not with us

NISM describes its certification examinations as computer-based, with multiple choice questions. The practical arrangements are set out on its own website, under policies and regulations: candidate instructions, the policy on unfair practice, and the refund and re-scheduling policy. Read the candidate instructions for your enrolment a few days before, and follow them exactly. They, and not any third-party site, tell you what identification to carry, when to report and what is not allowed in the hall. We do not reproduce them, because they can change.

Know your paper's shape

Look up your module on our all exams table or on NISM's page: number of questions, minutes, pass mark, and whether there is negative marking. For most 100-question papers the time is 120 minutes.

Reading the question

Most marks lost by prepared candidates are lost in reading, not in knowledge.

• Read the whole question and all four options before choosing. The first plausible option is often not the best one.
• Watch for negatives: "not", "except", "least", "incorrect". These reverse the question.
• Watch for absolutes: "always", "never", "only", "guaranteed". In finance few things are absolute, and such options are frequently wrong.
• In calculations, check the unit and what is asked: per unit or total, percentage or amount, profit or payoff, annualised or absolute.
• "All of the above" and "none of the above": test each option separately before accepting.

The two-pass method

1. Pass one. Go through the paper in order. Answer what you know at once. If a question needs long thought, mark it for review if the system allows, and move on. Do not spend four minutes on one mark while easy marks wait.
2. Count. At the end of pass one, note how many you answered with confidence.
3. Pass two. Return to the marked questions. Eliminate wrong options first; choose among the rest. In a paper with negative marking, leave the ones where you can eliminate nothing. See negative marking.
4. Final check. Make sure nothing answerable is left blank, and in a paper without negative marking, that nothing at all is blank.

Calculations under pressure

• Write the formula first, then put in the numbers.
• Estimate the answer roughly before calculating, so that a slip of a decimal place is noticed.
• If your answer matches none of the options, re-read the question before recalculating: usually the wrong quantity was computed.
• Do not round until the last step.

Case-based questions

Some modules, such as the Investment Adviser and Research Analyst examinations, include caselets with several questions each, as their pages describe. Read the questions before the case, so that you know what to look for; then read the case once, carefully, noting figures. Answer the questions in order, since later ones sometimes build on earlier ones.

Keeping steady

• If the first few questions are hard, do not panic. Difficulty is spread unevenly, and easier ones follow.
• If your mind goes blank, close your eyes, breathe slowly for ten seconds, and go to the next question.
• Keep an eye on the clock at the quarter marks, not after every question.
• Do not change answers on a vague feeling. Change only when you find a definite reason.

After you finish

NISM's pages say that a passing certificate is issued only to candidates who have furnished or updated their PAN in their registration details. Check that your PAN is in your profile before the examination, so that the certificate is not held up. For anything about results and certificates, NISM's FAQ for your module is the source.

Rehearse

The method above should not be tried for the first time in the hall. Use the timed mock mode on our practice page two or three times in the last week, applying the two passes, until the rhythm is familiar.

Questions candidates ask

More guides

Examinations

An independent practice site. NISM is the National Institute of Securities Markets. This site is not connected with, approved by or paid by NISM or SEBI, and uses none of their logos. The questions are our own; none is taken from NISM's question bank, workbooks or mock tests, and a score here does not predict a result. Examination facts were read on nism.ac.in on 12 November 2026 and can change: check the page of your module on nism.ac.in before you pay or prepare. Nothing here is investment advice.