CMFAS exam results: the slip, retakes and what comes next

Your CMFAS exam results come the moment you finish. SCI runs RES 5, M8, M8A, M9, M9A, HI and the general insurance papers on computer screens, and once you click Finish the outcome is printed on a result slip that the invigilator hands you in the room. There's no results day, no certificate later and no appeal, so that slip is your proof of the pass.

What happens in the last five minutes

SCI's exam rules set out the end of a sitting step by step:

1. You click Finish when the on-screen instructions tell you to.
2. The invigilator gives you your printed result slip in the exam room. Check the name on it before you walk out.
3. You hand back all your rough paper, used or not, and leave nothing on the desk.

If something went wrong during the paper, a frozen screen say, the time to raise it was while you were sitting it. SCI says technical problems reported after the exam won't be looked at. If you think a question itself was wrong, that's a separate route: SCI asks candidates to email the query to SCI directly.

The result slip is all you get

For CMFAS papers, HI and the general insurance papers, SCI issues no certificate. The result slip is the official record of your outcome, and SCI treats every result as final. It doesn't recheck papers or hear appeals.

So look after the slip. Take a photo of it once you're out of the exam room, and give your firm a copy when it asks. SCI won't print you a new slip later. If you lose it, you apply online for a Letter of Certification instead, which confirms your result. It costs S$43.60 for your own copy, paid by Visa or MasterCard.

Results are confidential. SCI won't give them out over the phone or by email. The one exception is your employer: SCI may release your official result to an employer, prospective employer or former employer if it's satisfied the request is genuine.

If you passed: what your firm does next

A pass doesn't make you a representative by itself. Your firm still has to notify MAS. It lodges Form 3A with MAS and certifies that you're fit and proper, and your name then appears on MAS's public register of representatives with the types of advice you may give. Our guide on how to become a financial adviser in Singapore walks through each of those steps.

A few things to do the same week:

• Send your firm a copy of the slip. Compliance teams need it before they lodge anything.
• Book your next paper while the study habit is still warm. SCI runs these papers on weekdays at its Suntec centre, so the next slot is rarely far off.
• Note the date. A RES 5 pass goes stale if you don't start as a representative within three years, and then you'd have to sit RES 5 again before you begin.

Each pass also earns CPD hours from SCI: 3 for RES 5, 2 for M9, 1 each for M8, M8A and M9A, 1.25 for HI, PGI and ComGI, and 0.75 for BCP.

If you failed: how retakes work

There's no limit on how many times you can sit a paper. You register again through SCI the same way you did the first time, and you pay the full fee again: since 1 April 2024 SCI has charged retakers exactly what first-timers pay. Missing a sitting counts the same way, because SCI treats anyone who fails or is absent as a retake candidate next time.

Your eBook access is the other catch. SCI switches off the study text eBook once you've sat the paper, and switches it back on only after you've registered and paid for the retake. If you want to revise before you choose a date, make your notes while you still have the text.

When you rebook, pick a date you'll really be ready for. SCI doesn't allow cancellations or refunds. Moving a date is free once if you ask 7 or more working days ahead. A later request, or any request made 3 to 6 working days ahead, costs S$32.70, and within 2 working days of the exam you can't move it at all. Our CMFAS exam fees guide lists every paper's fee.

If you missed the sitting or arrived late

Turn up at least 15 minutes early. SCI opens the exam room for admission 15 minutes before the start time, and it checks your Singpass ID through the Singpass app plus one physical photo ID before you sit down. Arrive more than 30 minutes after the start and you may be refused entry and recorded as absent. The fee then can't be refunded, deferred or transferred, so an absence costs the same as a fail: a fresh registration at the full fee.

Turning a fail into a plan

The slip tells you the outcome, not where the marks went, so your own memory of the paper is the best data you have. Write down the chapters that felt shaky on the train home, before the details fade.

Then work on those chapters first, not the whole study text from page one. For RES 5, remember both hurdles have to clear in the same sitting: 75% on Part I and 80% on Part II. A strong Part I can't rescue a weak Part II, so if Part II felt hard, that's where your time goes.

After each of our timed mocks, your results list up to three chapters where you scored below the pass mark, and "retest your mistakes" brings back only the questions you got wrong. When you're scoring clear of the pass mark on full mocks, book the retake.

Results at a glance

Most recruits start with RES 5, the paper with two pass marks. The RES 5 page shows what our practice covers, with a free sample question, and you can start RES 5 as a single paper when you're ready.

Sources

• SCI, examination registration policies (results, rescheduling, Letter of Certification), read 12 October 2026
• SCI, examination rules and regulations, read 12 October 2026
• SCI, Certification in General Insurance exam details, read 12 October 2026
• SCI, Health Insurance (HI) exam details, read 12 October 2026
• MAS, FAQs on the competency requirements for representatives of financial advisers, read 12 October 2026
• MAS, FAQs on the Financial Advisers Act, representative notification framework, read 12 October 2026