Side by side
| Series X-A (Level 1) | Series X-B (Level 2) | |
|---|---|---|
| Duration | 180 minutes | 180 minutes |
| Maximum marks | 150 | 150 |
| Pass mark | 60% | 60% |
| Negative marking | 25% | 25% |
| Fee | ₹3,000 | ₹3,000 |
| Renewal | Series X-C, ₹2,500 | Series X-C, ₹2,500 |
Verified against the official NISM list; confirm before registering. Full comparison for all 34 certifications on our exams table.
Every structural figure is the same. So the difference is not format — it is content and what the paper asks of you.
What actually differs
X-A is foundational. It establishes the ground an adviser works on: the financial markets and their instruments, the financial planning process, risk profiling, asset allocation, insurance and retirement as parts of a client's whole position, relevant taxation, and the regulatory framework. It tests whether you know the material.
X-B is applied. It builds on that foundation and moves toward the harder questions of advisory practice — portfolio construction, deeper analysis, and case-based reasoning about real client situations. It tests whether you can use the material on a specific set of facts.
That is why candidates report X-B as the harder sitting despite identical specifications. A recall question has one right answer you either know or do not; a case question requires you to decide which of several defensible approaches the facts actually support.
Do you need one or both?
The honest answer to "which one" is usually "both, in order" — but the requirement is set by SEBI and depends on your role, not on preference.
The Registered Investment Adviser route normally involves both levels. That means:
- ₹6,000 in exam fees, not ₹3,000
- Two 180-minute papers, each needing 60%
- Realistically ten to twelve weeks of preparation across both, alongside a job
The precise obligation differs between individual advisers, principal officers, representatives and partners of advisory firms, and SEBI's Investment Adviser regulations are the authority on which applies to you. Confirm with SEBI or your compliance team before paying for either — a ₹3,000 exam sat because a blog post implied you needed it is an expensive misunderstanding.
The order to sit them
X-A first, and not only because of the numbering. X-B assumes the foundation X-A covers, so sitting them in reverse means teaching yourself Level 1 material in order to answer Level 2 questions — at ₹3,000 a paper with 25% negative marking, that is the wrong place to economise on sequence.
Leave a gap between them rather than booking back to back. The material overlaps enough that consolidating X-A properly makes X-B meaningfully easier, and 180-minute papers a week apart is a punishing schedule for anyone working.
Preparing for either
Both are extended-format papers, and that changes preparation:
- Practise at full length. Concentration across 180 minutes is its own skill, and the last hour still holds 50 marks.
- Pace against marks — 150 marks in 180 minutes is a little over a minute per mark.
- Respect the negative marking. 25% means a blind guess loses marks on average; attempt when you can eliminate options. See passing marks and negative marking.
- Do not skip regulation and ethics. On adviser papers these are precise, testable and reliably underprepared by candidates from a sales background.
A fuller breakdown of Level 1 is in our Series X-A guide.
We do not sell mock tests for these papers
Stated plainly: we do not currently offer mock tests for X-A or X-B. The nearest paper we cover is Series V-A, Mutual Fund Distributors, which most advisers need in any case, since mutual funds are a large part of what they recommend. It is not a substitute for adviser-paper practice.
Renewal
Both are valid three years and both renew through Series X-C — 60 minutes, 50 marks, 50% to pass, no negative marking, ₹2,500 — or the CPE route. One renewal paper covers the certification rather than each level separately. See validity and renewal.
Most advisers need Series V-A too. Our Series V-A mock tests use the real exam interface and timing, with explained answers and a score for every attempt. Free demo before you pay. Try the Series V-A mock test.
