Saudi CMA CME-3 (3A and 3B): securities broker exams, fees

What CME-3 is

CME-3 is the brokerage qualification in the Saudi CMA's Capital Market Examinations, the qualification exams the Capital Market Authority (CMA) requires before it registers someone to work in securities brokerage. The CMA sets the requirement and registers people; the Financial Academy (FA) runs the exams; CISI (the Chartered Institute for Securities and Investment) provides the A paper and works with the FA on the B paper (CMA CME page; FA FAQ). The FA's pages say both papers must be passed for the certificate (FA CME-3B page).

English names from the CMA's announcement of the series; Arabic names from the CMA's Arabic guide. CME-3A is CISI's Securities qualification, part of its Capital Markets Programme.

Who needs CME-3

The CMA requires CME-3A and 3B for securities brokers (CMA announcement, 7 November 2022; CMA CME page; CMA Qualification Examinations Guide). The FA's pages apply them to anyone registering to carry out local or international equity brokerage, in any job category (FA CME-3A page). Other roles: which CME do I need.

Neither paper needs a prior certificate or an academic qualification, so CME-1 isn't required first. Holders of a CME certificate from before February 2023, such as the old Broker-Dealer Qualification Certificate, can still register (CMA CME page; CMA guide).

In practice: anyone registered for more than one function needs the exams for each. Check with your firm's compliance officer.

Format, pass mark and fees

CME-3A has 100 questions in two hours and CME-3B 25 questions in 30 minutes, with pass marks of 70 (70%) and 17 (68%) and fees of SAR 2,100 and SAR 1,700.

A first attempt at both papers costs SAR 3,800. Booking steps are on the booking page.

Hadaf: the FA's exam catalogue tags CME-3A and 3B "No" for Hadaf support while tagging the other B papers "Yes", so don't count on getting CME-3 fees back through HRDF's Hadaf platform. The FA's FAQ explains Hadaf claims in general (FA FAQ).

Not published: The FA's exam pages give pass marks as raw points, with no question counts. The 3B count comes from its workbook's Examination Specification. The 3A workbook the FA links leaves out that page, so its 100 comes from the 100-question practice set at its end, which fits the paper's 120 minutes and pass mark of 70. No official page says either paper is multiple choice, though every practice question in both workbooks is. Whether fees include VAT isn't stated. No expiry date, continuing-education requirement or time limit for passing the second paper is published (FA exam policy, CISI rules).

Official pages disagree: The fee table in the CMA's Qualification Examinations Guide is older than the FA's exam pages. Go by the FA pages.

Chapters and their share of the exam

The FA's exam pages give each chapter's share as a percentage (3A; 3B), and the 3B workbook's Examination Specification gives the same split as question counts, which can move by up to two from one paper to the next. The chapter names are the workbooks' own.

The FA's Arabic chapter list for 3A follows the workbook's nine chapters in order, so its sixth chapter, which machine translation renders as "board decisions", is the workbook's Corporate Actions. 3A is international, and its largest chapters are asset classes and the primary and secondary markets. The 3B conduct chapter covers market manipulation, insider trading, handling client orders and conduct of business.

Which rule versions CME-3B tests

The FA publishes no rule on which version of a regulation is examinable (FA exam policy, CISI rules). The Market Conduct Regulations, behind 52% of 3B, were last amended by Resolution 2-11-2021 of 25 January 2021, before the 3B workbook was first published in October 2022. Defined terms follow the Glossary of Defined Terms, last amended by Resolution 1-26-2026 of 2 March 2026.

Not yet checked: which CMA regulations the conduct chapter (48%) draws on, article by article, and whether any of them changed after the workbook was written.

Study material and editions

Each FA exam page links free official study material in Arabic and English. Under the FA's policy, moving to a date covered by newer material makes it a new exam, with the new material (FA exam policy, CISI rules), so study the edition linked for your booked date.

• CME-3A in English: the FA links CISI's Securities Edition 21 (February 2026), syllabus version 25.0, for exams from 22 March 2026 to 21 March 2027 (FA workbook).
• CME-3B: the FA links Edition 1, workbook version 1.10 (August 2026), for exams from 1 February 2023 to 31 December 2026 (FA workbook). Edition 1 was first published in October 2022.
• Practice questions: each workbook ends with a practice set the size of the real paper, 100 for 3A and 25 for 3B. The workbooks say these are for revision and don't necessarily match the exam's standard.

Not published: when the next 3B workbook is due. The current one covers exams only to 31 December 2026, and the English 3A edition's window closes on 21 March 2027, so check the FA page before you book a 2027 date. The Arabic 3A edition and its window are not yet checked.

Opening Bell's practice questions and timed mocks follow these formats.