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Series 24 Public Communications Practice Questions

Official outline
FINRA Series 24 Content Outline
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8
Updated
Nov 3, 2026

  1. Question 1, medium

    A broker-dealer prepares an advertisement discussing equity options strategies for retail customers. Who must approve it in writing before first use under FINRA Rule 2220?

    • A.Any registered representative with options approval and Series 7 registration
    • B.The firm's AML compliance officer, who reviews content for fair dealing
    • C.The Options Clearing Corporation, through a pre-clearance review
    • D.A Registered Options Principal designated by the firm
    Show answer and explanationHide answer

    Correct answer: D. A Registered Options Principal designated by the firm

    Rule 2220 requires options communications to be approved in writing by a Registered Options Principal before first use, in addition to the general principal approval framework of Rule 2210. The approver must have the qualifications for options supervision.

    • A. A representative is not a principal and lacks authority to approve communications.
    • B. An AML compliance officer's role does not include approving options communications.
    • C. The OCC does not pre-clear a broker-dealer's advertisements.
    • D. Correct: a Registered Options Principal must approve options communications before use.

  2. Question 2, hard

    A member's retail communication recommends a specific bond to the public. Which of the following is NOT among the disclosures required by FINRA Rule 2210(d)(5) for such a communication?

    • A.Disclosure of the price of the security at the time the recommendation is made
    • B.Disclosure of whether the firm makes a market in the security recommended
    • C.Disclosure that the firm and/or its associated persons may have a financial interest in the recommended security, if applicable
    • D.A statement guaranteeing the bond's credit rating will not be downgraded within the next 12 months
    Show answer and explanationHide answer

    Correct answer: D. A statement guaranteeing the bond's credit rating will not be downgraded within the next 12 months

    Rule 2210(d)(5) requires that a communication recommending a specific security disclose the price at the time the recommendation is made, whether the firm makes a market in the security, and whether the firm or its associated persons have a financial interest in the security or have provided investment banking services to the issuer, among other required disclosures. Choice D isn't merely 'not required'. It's affirmatively prohibited: Rule 2210(d)(1) bars promissory, exaggerated, or guaranteed-outcome statements, since no firm can guarantee a rating won't change.

    • A. Disclosure of the security's price at the time of the recommendation is a required element under Rule 2210(d)(5), so this is not the answer.
    • B. Disclosure of whether the firm makes a market in the recommended security is a required element under Rule 2210(d)(5), so this is not the answer.
    • C. Disclosure of any financial interest the firm or its associated persons may have in the recommended security is a required element under Rule 2210(d)(5), so this is not the answer.
    • D. A guaranteed statement about a bond's future credit rating is not a required disclosure. And would itself be a prohibited, misleading guarantee. Making this the correct answer to what is NOT required.

  3. Question 3, medium

    A retail advertisement uses a customer testimonial saying "I earned 22% and everyone will too," omits whether the client was compensated, and fails to discuss investment risk. Which defect is most fundamental?

    • A.Client testimonials are prohibited in retail communications under FINRA rules, so the advertisement must be withdrawn for that reason.
    • B.The claim is misleading and lacks required context or applicable disclosures, regardless of possible testimonial use.
    • C.A prominent testimonial from a satisfied client generally satisfies the balance requirement and reduces the need for separate risk disclosure.
    • D.The size and typeface of the testimonial determine compliance, so enlarging the disclosure font would cure the advertisement.
    Show answer and explanationHide answer

    Correct answer: B. The claim is misleading and lacks required context or applicable disclosures, regardless of possible testimonial use.

    The advertisement implies that a single result is typical and omits risk, so it is not fair and balanced. Testimonials are not prohibited, but they require appropriate disclosures and cannot imply guaranteed or typical returns.

    • A. Testimonials are permitted if the content and disclosure requirements are met, so a ban is not the defect.
    • B. The statement promises results others will share and gives no risk context, making it misleading.
    • C. A favorable testimonial does not replace the balanced presentation of risks.
    • D. Presentation format cannot cure misleading content or missing disclosures.

  4. Question 4, medium

    A registered representative posts static content to a social media profile, such as background or biographical information, that remains visible until affirmatively changed. How is this content classified under FINRA guidance, and what approval must it receive before posting?

    • A.Retail communication, requiring prior principal approval before it is posted
    • B.Public appearance, exempt from Rule 2210
    • C.Piece of correspondence, requiring review but not prior approval
    • D.Institutional communication
    Show answer and explanationHide answer

    Correct answer: A. Retail communication, requiring prior principal approval before it is posted

    FINRA guidance (Regulatory Notice 11-39 and related guidance) draws a line between static and interactive social media content. Static content. Profile information, background pages, and similar content that stays posted until affirmatively changed. Is treated like an advertisement/retail communication and generally requires prior principal approval under Rule 2210(b)(1) before it is posted. Interactive, real-time content (e.g., live wall posts, comment threads) is instead treated more like correspondence or a public appearance, subject to supervision but not prior approval.

    • A. Static social media content such as background/biographical information is treated as retail communication under FINRA guidance and requires prior principal approval before it is posted.
    • B. Static content is not a 'public appearance' (which covers live, interactive formats); it therefore does not qualify for that exemption from Rule 2210.
    • C. This static content requires prior approval, not just post-hoc review as correspondence would receive.
    • D. This is not institutional communication, since it is directed at the general public/retail audience rather than solely institutional investors.

  5. Question 5, medium

    Under FINRA Rule 2210, which category of communication with the public generally requires an appropriately qualified registered principal's approval prior to first use or distribution?

    • A.Retail communications
    • B.Institutional communications
    • C.Correspondence, in all cases without exception
    • D.Any communication sent to a single existing customer
    Show answer and explanationHide answer

    Correct answer: A. Retail communications

    Rule 2210 generally requires that retail communications (those distributed or made available to more than 25 retail investors within any 30-calendar-day period) be approved by a registered principal prior to use, subject to certain exceptions. Institutional communications and correspondence are instead subject to risk-based supervisory and review procedures rather than a blanket prior-approval requirement for every item.

    • A. Correct. Retail communications are generally subject to prior principal approval before first use, subject to limited exceptions.
    • B. Institutional communications are subject to a risk-based supervisory system, not a blanket prior-approval-before-use requirement.
    • C. Correspondence is subject to supervision and review procedures, but not universal prior principal approval before each item is sent. The 'without exception' framing overstates the rule.
    • D. A single customer communication is generally correspondence, reviewed under risk-based supervisory procedures, not automatically requiring prior principal approval.

  6. Question 6, hard

    A representative reposts a blogger's article about a mutual fund on her firm-approved business page and adds, "Great read, I agree." Under FINRA guidance on third-party content, what is the issue?

    • A.By endorsing the article she has adopted it, so the firm treats it as its own communication and is responsible for its content and approval
    • B.There is no issue, because content written by third parties is attributed to its author and not to the firm, even when the representative endorses it
    • C.There is an issue mainly if the blogger is paid, since adoption turns on compensation
    • D.The post is institutional correspondence, so it needs little review once the page itself was approved, since the firm's principal already cleared the page's content
    Show answer and explanationHide answer

    Correct answer: A. By endorsing the article she has adopted it, so the firm treats it as its own communication and is responsible for its content and approval

    FINRA guidance states that a firm is responsible for third-party content it has adopted, meaning it explicitly or implicitly endorses the content, or entangled, meaning it helped prepare it. Adding an endorsing comment adopts the article, so it must meet Rule 2210 standards and receive required review.

    • A. Correct: endorsement adopts the content and makes the firm responsible for it.
    • B. Once the representative endorses the article it is adopted and attributed to the firm.
    • C. Adoption turns on the representative's endorsement, not on whether the author was paid.
    • D. An endorsed article posted for retail investors is not institutional correspondence, and approval of the page does not cover new posts.

  7. Question 7, medium

    Under FINRA Rule 2210, what is a member firm's supervisory obligation regarding institutional communications before they are used?

    • A.It must be approved in writing by a principal prior to use, just like a retail communication
    • B.It must be filed with FINRA's Advertising Regulation Department prior to use
    • C.It is not required to be approved by a principal prior to use, but the firm must maintain written supervisory procedures reasonably designed to review it
    • D.It is treated identically to correspondence and requires no supervisory review whatsoever
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    Correct answer: C. It is not required to be approved by a principal prior to use, but the firm must maintain written supervisory procedures reasonably designed to review it

    Institutional communications are exempt from the prior written principal approval requirement that applies to retail communications, and they are not subject to FINRA pre-use filing. Rule 2210(b)(3) still requires the firm to maintain written procedures, appropriate to its business, size, structure and customers, for a registered principal to review institutional communications. Review may be risk-based and need not occur before use. Even correspondence is not unsupervised, because it falls under the firm's review procedures in Rule 3110(b)(4). So the claim that institutional communications need no supervisory review is wrong, and the correct standard is no mandatory pre-use approval but reasonably designed written review procedures.

    • A. Institutional communications, unlike retail communications, are not required to receive prior written principal approval before use.
    • B. There is no requirement to file institutional communications with FINRA's Advertising Regulation Department prior to use.
    • C. Institutional communications do not require prior principal approval, but the firm must maintain written supervisory procedures reasonably designed to review them. This is the actual standard.
    • D. Institutional communications are not treated as ungoverned correspondence with no oversight; supervisory review procedures are still required.

  8. Question 8, easy

    A retail advertisement quotes a customer's testimonial praising an investment's performance. In addition to any compensation disclosure, what must the testimonial prominently disclose under FINRA Rule 2210(d)(6)?

    • A.That the customer is a client of the firm's largest-producing representative and has held the account for at least five consecutive years
    • B.That the testimonial may not be representative of other customers' experience and is no guarantee of future performance
    • C.The customer's account size and the dates of each purchase and sale
    • D.That the testimonial was reviewed and approved by FINRA's Advertising Regulation Department
    Show answer and explanationHide answer

    Correct answer: B. That the testimonial may not be representative of other customers' experience and is no guarantee of future performance

    Rule 2210(d)(6) allows testimonials about a technical aspect of investing only from a person with appropriate knowledge, and requires prominent disclosure that the testimonial may not be representative of the experience of other customers and is no guarantee of future performance. If compensation above the stated threshold was paid, that fact must also be disclosed.

    • A. The rule does not require identifying the representative or the length of the customer's relationship.
    • B. Correct: the representativeness and no-guarantee disclosures are required.
    • C. Account details are not required and could raise privacy concerns.
    • D. FINRA does not approve individual advertisements, and implying so would be misleading.

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