How hard is the Saudi CMA CME exam, and how long should you study?

Is there an official CME pass rate?

No. None of the Capital Market Authority (CMA) or Financial Academy (FA) pages checked for this guide publishes a pass rate or candidate numbers for the Saudi CMA's Capital Market Examinations, and no pass-rate data exists for the Saudi-rules B papers. The FA's CME-1B page shows a rating of 4.0 out of 5 from 1,470 reviews; that is a rating, not a pass rate, and the page doesn't say what is rated (FA CME-1B page). The CMA sets the exam requirement; the FA runs the exams; CISI (the Chartered Institute for Securities and Investment) provides the A papers and works with the FA on the B papers (CMA CME page; FA FAQ). All ten papers are listed on the guide's main page.

CISI's global pass rates

The only pass rates found are CISI's, for its own international versions of three papers that serve as CME A papers. They cover CISI candidates worldwide, not candidates in Saudi Arabia.

Source: CISI shows each exam's current pass rate on its qualification pages, in a panel that opens from the unit's name, and doesn't say what period a figure covers or whether resits count. This guide couldn't read that panel directly, so the figures are as a third-party prep site, PasskeyPrep, read them from CISI's pages on 2 October 2026. They move over time: the same site read Securities at 83% on 18 August 2026.

How long to study

The FA suggests about 80 study hours for CME-1A, 3A and 5A and about 100 for CME-2A and 4A. It gives no figure for any B paper. At ten hours a week, 80 to 100 hours is eight to ten weeks for an A paper.

Two other figures help with planning. CISI's own page for its global ICWIM, the paper behind CME-4A, gives a total qualification time of 154 hours (CISI ICWIM page). The FA's optional preparation programmes are short: two days of remote training for CME-1B and three days for CME-4A (FA CME-1B programme; FA CME-4A programme).

How the papers compare

Every paper allows 72 seconds a question. The pass mark works out at 70% for the A papers and CME-1B, and 68% for the other B papers. The question counts come from the Examination Specification in each paper's FA workbook, and each workbook ends with a set of practice questions of the same size.

Missing page: the CME-3A workbook the FA links leaves out its Examination Specification page, so its 100 comes from the 100-question practice paper at its end, which fits the paper's 120 minutes and pass mark of 70.

The marks are concentrated. Equities, bonds and investment funds make up 44% of CME-1A, and regulatory requirements alone are 26% of CME-1B. Economics and investment analysis plus investment advice are 42% of CME-4A, and two fund regulations are 88% of CME-4B (FA CME-1A; FA CME-1B; FA CME-4A; FA CME-4B). Every chapter is listed on the CME-1 and CME-4 pages.

Questions per chapter in CME-2, CME-3 and CME-5

Each workbook's Examination Specification sets how many questions come from each chapter, and a chapter's count can move by up to two from one paper to the next. The chapter names are the workbooks' own.

CME-3A's split isn't shown, because its workbook leaves out that page.

Other things that make a paper harder

• Rules that change. The B papers test Saudi regulations, and the FA doesn't say which version is examinable (FA exam policy, CISI rules). The two fund regulations behind CME-4B were last amended on 24 November 2025 (investment funds; real estate funds).
• Language. Every paper is offered in Arabic and English, and a CISI paper's language can't be changed after booking (FA exam policy). Arabic and English candidates can also be on different editions of the A-paper material (CISI candidate update).
• No calculator of your own. The FA's rules bar calculators, phones and watches from the exam room (FA exam policy). The CISI workbooks the FA links for the A papers say every CISI computer-based exam, in any language or country, comes with an on-screen calculator (FA CME-1A workbook); no FA page confirms one at its centres.

If you fail

Every attempt is paid for. The FA's policy has one set of retake rules for CISI exams and another for exams the FA owns, and it doesn't say which applies to the B papers (FA exam policy). The details are on exam day, retakes and results.

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