04Exam readiness check

How ready are you for an exam?

20 quick questions. Get a score and your top gaps to fix first. About 5 minutes.

Not legal advice. Runs in your browser. Nothing you type is sent to us.

A self-check against core adviser rules. Not the SEC's exam checklist and not a prediction.

0 of 20 answered

Compliance program 17 CFR 275.206(4)-7

You have written compliance policies and procedures that match what the firm actually does.

Yes Partly No

A named chief compliance officer, who is a supervised person, administers them.

Yes Partly No

You completed and documented an annual review of the policies in the last 12 months.

Yes Partly No

Marketing 17 CFR 275.206(4)-1

Every advertisement, including your website and social posts, goes through a documented review before first use.

Yes Partly No

Any client testimonial or endorsement carries the required disclosures and you have the compensation terms on file.

Yes Partly No

Performance numbers shown to the public are fair and balanced, with time periods and net or gross clearly stated.

Yes Partly No

Custody 17 CFR 275.206(4)-2

You know whether the firm has custody under the rule, including through fee deduction, standing letters of authority or trustee roles.

Yes Partly No

Where you have custody, client assets are with a qualified custodian and clients get account statements and the required notices.

Yes Partly No

Books and records 17 CFR 275.204-2

You keep the required books and records and can retrieve them quickly, with at least five years of history.

Yes Partly No

Your electronic communications about advisory business, including email and messaging apps, are retained and searchable.

Yes Partly No

Code of ethics 17 CFR 275.204A-1

You have a written code of ethics, and every supervised person signed an acknowledgment of it.

Yes Partly No

Access persons file holdings and transaction reports on time and the CCO reviews them.

Yes Partly No

Form ADV, brochure and Form CRS 17 CFR 275.204-1, 204-3, 204-5

You filed the annual Form ADV amendment within 90 days of fiscal year end last year.

Yes Partly No

Clients received the brochure or summary of material changes within 120 days of fiscal year end, when there were material changes.

Yes Partly No

Form CRS is current and delivered to retail investors at the required times.

Yes Partly No

Customer information (Reg S-P) 17 CFR 248.30

You have a written incident response plan for unauthorized access to customer information that includes customer notification.

Yes Partly No

Your policies require notice to affected individuals within 30 days of becoming aware of an incident, and your vendors must tell you within 72 hours of a breach on their side.

Yes Partly No

You keep a list of service providers that can access customer information and review them for due diligence at least annually.

Yes Partly No

Fees and conflicts Advisers Act section 206 and Form ADV Part 2A

You review fees against the advisory agreement and the brochure, and you test billing for errors.

Yes Partly No

You identify and disclose conflicts of interest, such as compensation, affiliated products and gifts.

Yes Partly No

Your readiness reportSelf-assessed

Answer the questions and press "See my score".

Rules behind this, with sources

Rule	What it says	Status	Source
Annual Form ADV amendment	Amend Form ADV Parts 1 and 2 at least annually, within 90 days of the end of your fiscal year, and more often if the Form ADV instructions require.	Regulation text read 2026-10-16	17 CFR 275.204-1(a)(1) source
Annual compliance review and CCO	Adopt and implement written policies and procedures, review their adequacy and the effectiveness of their implementation at least annually, and designate a supervised person as chief compliance officer.	Regulation text read 2026-10-16	17 CFR 275.206(4)-7(a)-(c) source
Reg S-P safeguards and incident response program	Written policies and procedures with administrative, technical and physical safeguards, including a program reasonably designed to detect, respond to and recover from unauthorized access to or use of customer information, with customer notification procedures.	Regulation text read 2026-10-16	17 CFR 248.30(a)(1)-(3) source
Retention period	Most books and records are kept at least five years from the end of the fiscal year in which the last entry was made, the first two years in an appropriate office of the adviser.	Regulation text read 2026-10-16	17 CFR 275.204-2(e)(1) source
Marketing Rule	General prohibitions on misleading advertisements, plus conditions for testimonials and endorsements (disclosures and compensation terms), third-party ratings and performance presentations.	Regulation text read 2026-10-16	17 CFR 275.206(4)-1(a)-(d) source
Custody rule	Where an adviser has custody, client funds and securities are held by a qualified custodian, clients receive account statements, and an independent public accountant verifies them by surprise examination at least once each calendar year, with exceptions in the rule.	Regulation text read 2026-10-16	17 CFR 275.206(4)-2(a) source
Code of ethics	Establish, maintain and enforce a written code of ethics with a standard of business conduct, reporting of personal securities holdings and transactions by access persons, and written acknowledgments from supervised persons.	Regulation text read 2026-10-16	17 CFR 275.204A-1(a)-(b) source

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