The R0 Exams

Note/ Scroll down this page to find links to the knowR0 Guides to the CII’s online exam process. Practical tips on what to consider before sitting your first CII Remote Exam!

The R0 Exams (plus a little bit about CF6)

Passing the CII’s R0 exams R01 – R06 provides the learner with the Regulated Diploma in Financial Planning. This allows individuals to give retail investment advice. However, they are not confined to just that purpose;

• the Diploma in Financial Planning helps users ‘develop their technical understanding across a broad range of key financial planning areas’ (cii.co.uk); and
• are appropriate for many more people than just those wishing to give advice. For example, paraplanners, administrators, supervisors, compliance roles etc can all benefit from these exams

R01 – R05 are multiple choice exams, with R01 – R04 being set at the Regulated Qualifications Framework (RQF) Level 4. That means they are not easy exams! To give some context, A-Level Grades A-E are set at Level 3, and a Foundation Degree is set at Level 5. All four exams include:

• Multiple choice questions, where one out of four options will be correct; and
• Multiple response questions, where at least two of the options provided will be correct, and at least one of the options incorrect. You need to identify all the correct options, and dismiss the incorrect ones, to get a mark

The pass mark for the 100 question exams R01 & R02 is 65%, and for the 50 question exams R03 & R04 it is set at 64% (i.e. 32 correct answers out of the 50 questions).

R05 is a Level 3 exam, and involves only multiple choice style questions. The pass mark is slightly higher, being set at 70%.

The main subject area, and split of questions in each exam between the Multiple Choice (MCQs) and Multiple Response (MRQs) styles is:

R01: Financial services, regulation & ethics; 87 MCQs, 13 MRQs. Worth 20 CII credits

R02: Investment principles & risk; 72 MCQs, 28 MRQs. Worth 20 CII credits

R03: Personal taxation; 39 MCQs, 11 MRQs. Worth 10 CII credits

R04: Pensions & Retirement Planning; 39 MCQs, 11 MRQs. Worth 10 CII credits

R05: Financial protection; 50 MCQs. Worth 10 CII credits

The CII CF6 exam is based on Mortgage Advice. A Level 3 exam, it consists of 125 MCQs, and is worth 20 CII Credits.

R06 is the ‘Financial Planning Practice’ exam, and is a written exam. It warrants 30 CII credits.

• It is based on questions relating to two case studies, which are issued in advance of the exam sitting

We currently do not offer support for this exam as it needs to be very specific to the appropriate case studies.