About the RE5 Exam

About the RE5 Exam

Quick Answer: RE5 (Regulatory Examination: Representatives in all Categories of FSPs) is the FAIS competence exam for representatives. It has 50 multiple-choice questions, runs for 2 hours, is closed-book and supervised in person, and is administered by Moonstone Information Refinery under FSCA mandate. You need a 65% pass mark — at least 33 correct answers out of 50.

If you render advice or intermediary services for a licensed financial services provider (FSP) in South Africa, the Financial Advisory and Intermediary Services Act 37 of 2002 (FAIS Act) is the primary statute that governs how you work with clients. The Regulatory Examination for Representatives — RE5 is the formal competence assessment that proves you understand those duties well enough to operate as a representative.

This is not a product-knowledge exam about unit trusts, risk policies, or share trading techniques. It is a regulatory application exam: questions ask you to apply FAIS concepts, fit-and-proper rules, the General Code of Conduct, record-keeping duties, FIC-related controls that apply to FSPs, Ombud processes, and the day-to-day role of a representative.

Official name, regulator, and exam body

The FSCA sets the competence framework and publishes the Regulatory Examinations FAQ. Moonstone runs registration, venues, invigilation, marking, and results for the national RE papers. When sources conflict on logistics, treat the FSCA FAQ and the current Moonstone RE1/RE5 Preparation Guideline as your first-line references.

Why the RE5 exists

Industry consultation in the mid-2000s showed that many FSPs, key individuals, and representatives did not adequately understand the legislation they were required to comply with under FAIS and the Financial Intelligence Centre Act (FIC Act). That knowledge gap led to repeated regulatory action. Regulatory examinations were introduced so that people authorised, approved, or appointed in FAIS roles could demonstrate that they understand their statutory responsibilities — and so that clients receive better protection when those duties are met.

For a representative, that means more than knowing your product brochure. You must understand, among other things:

• What an FSP licence authorises and how representatives help keep that licence in good standing
• The difference between advice and intermediary services
• Honesty, integrity, competence, experience, and continuous professional development (CPD) requirements
• Disclosure, conflict-of-interest, and suitability duties under the General Code of Conduct
• When you must work under supervision and how to disclose that status
• Debarment grounds and consequences
• How complaints escalate to the FAIS Ombud
• Core FIC-related obligations that affect client interaction in an FSP

Who must write RE5

As a default rule, representatives in all categories of FSPs must successfully complete RE5 as part of FAIS competence requirements, subject to the fit-and-proper rules in Board Notice 194 of 2017 and related FSCA notices.

Important exceptions (you do not write RE5 if you fall only in these groups)

The FSCA FAQ lists three representative groups that are not required to write RE5:

1. Funeral and friendly society only — representatives appointed to render financial services in respect of subcategory 1.1 (funeral policies) and subcategory 1.19 (friendly society benefits) only.
2. Tier 2 products only — representatives appointed to render financial services in respect of Tier 2 financial products only (see BN 194 of 2017, Annexure Three, Table 1, Column B).
3. Execution of sales of Tier 1 only — representatives appointed for execution of sales in respect of Tier 1 financial products only (Tier 1 products are listed in BN 194 Annexure Three, Table 1, Column A).

If your appointment is wider than those limited scopes — for example you give advice on long-term insurance, short-term insurance beyond the Tier 2 list, collective investment schemes, or other Tier 1 products — you should assume RE5 applies unless your compliance officer or key individual confirms a valid exemption.

Scenario: Thandi at a Category I FSP

Thandi is appointed on the register of representatives of a Category I FSP. Her product authorisations include long-term insurance subcategory A and short-term personal lines. She gives advice to retail clients and helps complete applications. Thandi must write RE5. The funeral-only and Tier 2-only exemptions do not apply because her appointment is not limited to those product sets.

Scenario: Sipho on funeral policies only

Sipho works for a funeral-book FSP and is appointed only for subcategory 1.1 funeral policies. He does not give advice on any other product. On the FSCA FAQ position, Sipho is not required to write RE5 for that limited appointment. If the FSP later expands his appointment to other subcategories, the RE5 obligation can apply from that change.

Scenario: Execution-of-sales desk

Lerato works on a scripted execution-of-sales line for selected Tier 1 products and is appointed only for that function, without rendering advice. Where the appointment truly is execution of sales in respect of Tier 1 products only, the FSCA FAQ treats RE5 as not required. Stretching that label while still giving advice would be a compliance risk — the substance of the activity, not the job title, matters.

RE5 versus RE1 (and the other RE papers)

Candidates often confuse the RE papers. Use this comparison:

If you are a representative only, RE5 is your paper. If you are (or become) a key individual, you move into the RE1 world (and possibly RE3 or RE4 depending on category). Some people hold both roles over a career; pass the paper that matches your current regulatory role.

What “competence” means in FAIS terms

Under the FAIS fit-and-proper framework, competence is not only “I passed a product course.” For many appointments it includes:

• Minimum experience (or supervision arrangements while gaining experience)
• Recognised qualifications where required for the product category
• Class-of-business and product-specific training where applicable
• Regulatory examination (RE5 for most representatives)
• Ongoing CPD once you are past the entry phase

RE5 sits in that stack as the legislation and conduct checkpoint. Passing it does not replace product training, honesty and integrity screening, or your FSP’s internal supervision model — it proves you can navigate the regulatory map of how services must be rendered.

What the exam does not test

To study efficiently, know what RE5 is not:

• It is not a pure memory test of section numbers without context (when a question cites a section, that section is reproduced in the question).
• It is not an open-book research exercise — no materials in the room.
• It is not company-specific product training for one insurer or platform.
• It is not RE1. Do not study only KI licence-application detail that is outside the RE5 task map unless it appears in the representative qualifying criteria.

How this study guide is organised

This OpenExamPrep guide follows the eight official RE5 tasks and their qualifying criteria (from the Re5 Task QC map dated 14 January 2025). Later chapters walk through the FAIS framework, licence maintenance, key individuals (as they affect representatives), the General Code of Conduct, record-keeping, FIC interfaces, the FAIS Ombud, fit-and-proper rules, the register of representatives, supervision, and debarment.

Treat every chapter as applied law for a working representative. When you read a rule, ask: If a client, compliance officer, or Ombud asked me to justify my conduct tomorrow, could I explain the FAIS duty in plain language?

Official study anchors

Before booking, download and use:

1. The current Moonstone RE1 and RE5 Preparation Guideline (check the version date on Moonstone’s site — candidates in 2026 commonly work from the January 2026 version).
2. The Re5 Task QC map (14 January 2025 Version 1) listing tasks and qualifying criteria.
3. The actual legislation — FAIS Act, General Code of Conduct, BN 194 of 2017, and related notices referenced in the Task QC.
4. The FSCA Regulatory Examinations FAQ for logistics, pass mark, and who must write.

Short workshops and low-quality “mock banks” that are not aligned to the official qualifying criteria are a common reason candidates feel prepared and still fail. The FSCA itself stresses reading the legislation and using the official preparation guides as the core path.

Bottom line for candidates

RE5 is the gatekeeping regulatory paper for most FAIS representatives in South Africa. Know your role (representative vs KI), check whether any exception truly applies to your appointment, then prepare against the eight tasks using legislation plus Moonstone’s official maps — not marketing slogans. The rest of this chapter turns that orientation into exam logistics and a practical study method.