Table of Contents
SERIES 63 | SERIES 65 | SERIES 66 | FINANCIAL REGULATION COURSES
The North American Securities Administrators Association — NASAA — is a voluntary association of sixty-seven state, provincial, and territorial securities regulators from the fifty United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, and the provinces and territories of Canada and Mexico, founded in Kansas in 1919 as the oldest international organisation devoted to investor protection.
NASAA is not itself a regulatory body and has no independent enforcement authority. It is a coordinating and standard-setting association through which member state securities administrators collaborate, share enforcement intelligence, develop model legislation, and speak collectively on investor protection policy before Congress, the SEC, and other federal bodies.
For securities industry professionals, NASAA's most direct practical significance is the examination programme it develops — the Series 63, Series 65, and Series 66 state law qualification examinations, all administered by FINRA under a long-standing service agreement between the two organisations.
NASAA was founded in Kansas in 1919 — the same state that in 1911 had enacted the first blue sky law in United States history. By 1919 virtually every state had adopted its own securities regulation and the need for coordination among state administrators had become apparent.
The name North American Securities Administrators Association reflects the founding vision of coordination not only among United States state regulators but also among provincial securities administrators in Canada — whose securities regulatory framework similarly operates at the provincial rather than federal level. Mexican securities regulators subsequently joined as well.
NASAA's sixty-seven members are the state securities administrators — the officials or agencies responsible for administering state securities laws within each jurisdiction.
Each administrator holds broad regulatory authority under their state's securities laws including the power to register or deny registration to broker-dealers, agents, investment advisers, and investment adviser representatives, investigate potential violations, issue subpoenas, issue cease and desist orders, impose civil monetary penalties, revoke registrations, and refer criminal matters to the state attorney general for prosecution.
Because NASAA members are state regulators rather than federal regulators they are geographically closest to the investors they protect — giving them particular effectiveness in investigating locally concentrated fraud schemes and protecting elderly and vulnerable investors in their communities.
NASAA develops the content of three state law qualification examinations administered by FINRA.
Series 63 — Uniform Securities Agent State Law Examination Required for registration as an agent of a broker-dealer in most states alongside the SIE and an applicable product examination such as the Series 7. Sixty-five questions — sixty scored — seventy-five minutes — passing score seventy-two percent.
Series 65 — Uniform Investment Adviser Law Examination The primary qualification for registration as an investment adviser representative under state law. One hundred and forty questions — one hundred and thirty scored — three hours — passing score seventy-two percent. Does not require firm sponsorship — any individual may sit independently.
Series 66 — Uniform Combined State Law Examination Combines the Series 63 and the state law portion of the Series 65 into a single examination qualifying candidates as both securities agents and investment adviser representatives. One hundred questions — ninety-five scored — one hundred and fifty minutes — passing score seventy-three percent. Does not require firm sponsorship.
NASAA publishes the content outlines for all three examinations on its website — these are the authoritative guides for examination preparation.
The foundational document of state securities regulation is the Uniform Securities Act — the model law developed by the Uniform Law Commission and refined through NASAA's ongoing model rule and policy statement programme. NASAA members may adopt NASAA model rules as their own state regulations, creating greater uniformity across jurisdictions without requiring formal legislative action.
Model rules address specific topics including dishonest and unethical business practices for broker-dealers and agents, requirements for broker-dealers conducting business on banking premises, and conduct standards for investment advisers and their representatives.
Because each state administrator has jurisdiction only within its own state, coordinated action among multiple administrators is essential to address fraud schemes that span state lines — which describes the vast majority of significant investment fraud targeting retail investors.
NASAA coordinates multi-state enforcement actions through its enforcement committee — allowing multiple administrators to pool investigative resources, share evidence, and present a unified enforcement front that maximises regulatory impact.
NASAA also publishes annual lists of the top investor threats identified by state regulators, serving as both investor education and advance warning to securities professionals about prevalent fraud schemes.
NASAA's members operate within the dual federal-state securities regulatory system established by the Securities Act of 1933, the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and the National Securities Markets Improvement Act of 1996 — which divided jurisdiction between federal and state authorities.
Under the NSMIA framework state administrators retain full registration authority over state-registered investment advisers managing less than one hundred million dollars, concurrent fraud enforcement authority with the SEC over all persons committing securities violations within the state, and notice filing authority over federal covered securities.
NASAA represents its members' collective interests before Congress and federal agencies — advocating for the preservation of meaningful state regulatory authority while working collaboratively with the SEC and FINRA on shared concerns.
NASAA is tested on the Series 63, Series 65, and Series 66 examinations in the context of state securities regulation, the Uniform Securities Act, the role of state administrators, and the examinations NASAA develops.
The key points to retain are these.
NASAA is a voluntary association of sixty-seven state, provincial, and territorial securities regulators founded in Kansas in 1919 — the oldest international investor protection organisation.
It has no independent enforcement authority — it coordinates member activities, develops model rules, and develops examination content. NASAA develops the Series 63, Series 65, and Series 66 examinations — all administered by FINRA.
The Series 65 and Series 66 do not require firm sponsorship.
State administrators hold broad authority under state blue sky laws — registering broker-dealers, agents, investment advisers, and investment adviser representatives, investigating violations, issuing cease and desist orders, and imposing penalties.
Under NSMIA, state administrators retain full registration authority over investment advisers managing less than one hundred million dollars and concurrent fraud enforcement authority with the SEC over all persons committing violations within their state.
