NISM Series III-A practice questions

150 questions. Each answer is explained.

Question 1 of 10Practice · Series III-A — Securities Intermediaries Compliance (Non-Fund)

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Series III-A12. SEBI (Stock Brokers) Regulations, 1992AdvancedCalculationQuestion reference III-A-099

Illustrative collateral worth ₹80,000 has an assumed 15% haircut. Add ₹12,000 eligible cash against ₹90,000 margin required. What is the shortfall?

₹2,000₹10,000₹22,000₹78,000

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Exam format

Questions	100 · 1 mark each
Duration	120 min · 2 hours
Pass mark	60% · 60 of 100 marks
Negative marking	25% · 0.25 marks off per wrong answer
Certificate validity	3 years · from the date of the examination

NISM Series III-A Securities Intermediaries Compliance (Non-Fund)

Exam rules read on NISM's site on 17 October 2026. Check the current rules on NISM's site (opens in a new tab)

Series III-A

Securities Intermediaries Compliance (Non-Fund)

50 questionsPass mark 60%Negative marking 25% / wrong answer

Mock 1 Mock 2 Mock 3

What these answers assume, and when it was last checked

Each question uses the rules listed below. We last checked them on 5 September 2026. A Budget or SEBI circular can change a rate, lot size or expiry day. If a rule changes before your exam, treat the linked questions as out of date and check NISM's current workbook.

Rules used across this bank

NSE uses Tuesday expiry and BSE uses Thursday expiry. This applies from 1 September 2025.
The January 2026 index lot sizes are NIFTY 65, BANKNIFTY 30, FINNIFTY 60, MIDCPNIFTY 120 and NIFTYNXT50 25.
The October 2024 SEBI framework sets a minimum index contract value of Rs 15–20 lakh. Each exchange may list one weekly benchmark index.
Option buyers pay the premium upfront from 1 February 2025. A short index option has an extra 2% Extreme Loss Margin on expiry day from 20 November 2024.
Equity short-term capital gains are taxed at 20%. Long-term gains are taxed at 12.5% above Rs 1.25 lakh. Both rates apply from 23 July 2024.
F&O income is non-speculative business income in ITR-3. NSE equity derivatives trade from 9:15 a.m. to 3:40 p.m.
The final ten-minute session began on 3 August 2026. It aligns with the cash market Closing Auction Session.
Most Securities Transaction Tax questions test the base and who pays. On an option sale, it is the premium and the seller pays. On a futures sale, it is the traded value and the seller pays.
On exercise, Securities Transaction Tax uses intrinsic value: settlement price minus strike price. The buyer pays it.
Two questions test the current rate. From 1 April 2026, option sales carry 0.15% on the premium and futures sales carry 0.05% on traded price. The earlier rates were 0.10% and 0.02% from 1 October 2024.

Extra rules for Series VII

This section uses the T+1 rolling settlement cycle. Obligations are fixed on T+1. A short delivery goes to buy-in auction on T+1 and settles on T+2.
The trade-for-trade surveillance segment uses direct close-out. Funds pay in by 10:30 a.m. and pay out on or after 1:30 p.m. on settlement day.
Securities pay in to the settlement pool by 10:30 a.m. They pay out directly to the client’s demat account by 3:30 p.m.
The 3:30 p.m. deadline replaced 1:30 p.m. under SEBI’s 10 October 2024 circular. Direct client credit was required by SEBI’s 5 June 2024 circular.
The optional T+0 cycle trades until 1:30 p.m. Obligations are fixed by 2:30 p.m. on the trade day. An early pay-in shortage is closed out directly.
Cash-market Value at Risk margin is six times exponentially weighted moving-average volatility. It has a 9% floor for Group I, a 21.5% floor for Group II, and a fixed 50% or 75% level for Group III.
Extreme Loss Margin is 3.5% for a share and 2% for a broad-market-index exchange traded fund. Mark-to-market margin is collected before the next day’s trading. The trade-for-trade segment has 100% upfront margin.
Close-out uses the higher of the highest price from trade day to auction day and 20% above the auction day’s official close.
A funds shortage costs 0.07% a day. The trading facility is withdrawn at a shortage of Rs 5 lakh or more.
SCORES allows 21 calendar days, then two 15-day review levels. Online Dispute Resolution moves from conciliation to arbitration after the market participant and SCORES steps.
At NSE, the Investor Protection Fund limit is Rs 35 lakh per investor for each defaulting or expelled member. This applies to claims arising after 13 August 2024.
A Basic Services Demat Account has no annual maintenance charge up to Rs 4 lakh of holdings. It costs up to Rs 100 above that, until the Rs 10 lakh eligibility ceiling. These slabs apply from 1 September 2024.

Extra rules for Series I

The rupee pairs are USD-INR, EUR-INR, GBP-INR and JPY-INR. The cross-currency pairs are EUR-USD, GBP-USD and USD-JPY.
Each contract covers 1,000 units of the foreign currency, except JPY-INR. JPY-INR covers 100,000 yen and is quoted in rupees per 100 yen.
The tick is 0.25 paise, or Rs 0.0025. It equals Rs 2.50 a contract.
Rupee pairs trade from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. A monthly contract stops trading at 12:30 p.m. two working days before the expiry month’s last business day.
Final settlement is in cash at the FBIL reference rate on expiry day. FBIL, Financial Benchmarks India, has published this rate in place of the Reserve Bank since 2018. Premium-style European options are quoted in rupees. The buyer pays the premium in cash on T+1.
Daily settlement is on T+1 and final settlement is on T+2.
NSE Clearing circular 026/2020 sets SPAN margin plus Extreme Loss Margin. The futures margin is 0.50% for USD-INR, 0.15% for EUR-INR, 0.25% for GBP-INR and 0.35% for JPY-INR. A short option has 0.75%. These figures apply from 1 June 2020.
A USD-INR client may hold 6% of total open interest or USD 20 million, whichever is higher. A trading member may hold 15% or USD 100 million.
A resident user has one USD 100 million equivalent limit across all rupee pairs and exchanges. No document is needed below that limit, but a valid underlying contracted exposure must still exist. This clarification applies from 3 May 2024.
The currency segment has no Securities Transaction Tax.

The exam figures (questions, time, pass mark, negative marking and certificate validity) come from NISM's own pages, read on 17 October 2026. Timed practice uses the same figures. Study with the official workbook as well.

The written-out answers on this page are hidden while your timed set runs.

5 sample questions with answers

The other 145 are on the unit pages above, written out the same way.

Q1A bond has ₹20,000 face value and an 8% annual coupon. What annual coupon amount is due?
- Option A. ₹160
  Why it is wrong: ₹160 results from using 0.8% instead of 8%.
- Option B. ₹2,500
  Why it is wrong: ₹2,500 results from dividing face value by 8 rather than applying 8%.
- Option C. ₹1,600 — Correct answer
- Option D. ₹21,600
  Why it is wrong: ₹21,600 includes repayment of principal, which the question does not ask for.
Answer: C. The annual coupon is ₹1,600. Coupon = face value × annual coupon rate = ₹20,000 × 8 ÷ 100 = ₹1,600. Remember: A fixed coupon is calculated on face value, not the purchase price.
Hint, shown before you answer in practice mode: Common mistake: Using the quoted market price when the question asks for the coupon. Use the stated coupon rate with the bond’s face value.
III-A-005mediumnumerical
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Q2Under section 21 of the Securities Contracts (Regulation) Act, a listed person must comply with what?
- Option A. Only the issuer’s informal investor promises
  Why it is wrong: Informal promises do not replace the applicable listing conditions.
- Option B. Only the underwriting commission agreement
  Why it is wrong: An underwriting contract is different from the listing agreement.
- Option C. Only the broker’s internal dealing policy
  Why it is wrong: A broker’s internal policy does not discharge the listed person’s listing obligations.
- Option D. The conditions of the applicable listing agreement — Correct answer
Answer: D. Section 21 requires compliance with the listing-agreement conditions where securities are listed on an application. Remember: Listing brings obligations rather than merely access to exchange trading.
Hint, shown before you answer in practice mode: Common mistake: Treating listing approval as the end of the issuer’s compliance duties. Connect admission to exchange listing with the issuer’s continuing obligations.
III-A-043mediumregulatory
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Q3What does interoperability between Know Your Client Registration Agencies help an agency determine?
- Option A. Whether the client has an unsettled exchange delivery obligation
  Why it is wrong: An unsettled exchange obligation is not the cross-KRA record-location purpose.
- Option B. Whether an issuer has approved the client’s share allotment
  Why it is wrong: Allotment approval is not determined by KRA interoperability.
- Option C. Whether the client has authorised a particular trade instruction
  Why it is wrong: Trade authorisation is separate from identifying an existing KYC record.
- Option D. Whether another KRA holds the client’s KYC records — Correct answer
Answer: D. Interoperability helps a KRA determine whether the client’s KYC documents are held by another KRA. Remember: Interoperability supports reuse and discovery of existing KYC records.
Hint, shown before you answer in practice mode: Common mistake: Treating each KRA database as an isolated identity system. Think about locating an existing record across connected agencies.
III-A-085easyconceptual
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Q4A shareholder owns 600 shares. A rights issue offers one new share for every four held. What is the shareholder’s entitlement?
- Option A. 100 shares
  Why it is wrong: One hundred shares would use a one-for-six ratio.
- Option B. 150 shares — Correct answer
- Option C. 240 shares
  Why it is wrong: Two hundred forty does not follow the stated one-for-four ratio.
- Option D. 2,400 shares
  Why it is wrong: Multiplying by four reverses the entitlement ratio.
Answer: B. The entitlement is 150 shares. Rights shares = 600 ÷ 4 × 1 = 150. The stated holding creates no fractional entitlement. Remember: Apply the new-shares-to-existing-shares ratio in the correct direction.
Hint, shown before you answer in practice mode: Common mistake: Multiplying existing holdings by the denominator of the rights ratio. Apply the entitlement ratio to the existing holding.
III-A-114mediumnumerical
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Q5A client loses stable income and now needs invested money within six months. What should the adviser do before giving further advice?
- Option A. Continue using the original profile without review
  Why it is wrong: An outdated profile can lead to unsuitable advice.
- Option B. Update the client’s risk profile and reassess suitability — Correct answer
- Option C. Increase risk automatically to replace lost income
  Why it is wrong: A need for income does not automatically justify taking greater risk.
- Option D. Ignore the change unless the client signs a complaint
  Why it is wrong: Material changes matter before any complaint is filed.
Answer: B. The adviser should update the risk assessment and reassess whether further advice is suitable for the changed circumstances. Remember: Risk profiling and suitability are continuing duties rather than one-time forms.
Hint, shown before you answer in practice mode: Common mistake: Relying on an old profile after the client’s financial circumstances change. Identify whether the client’s capacity, needs or time horizon have changed.
III-A-134mediumapplication
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NISM Series III-A practice: common questions

Are these the real NISM Series III-A exam questions?

No. LearnNifty wrote every question from NISM's public syllabus. NISM does not publish its question bank, so nobody can offer you the real paper. Use these questions to check that an idea has gone in. Use the official NISM workbook to see what is examined.

How many practice questions are there for NISM Series III-A?

150 at the moment, across 23 practice topics, with one page per unit. It is a practice set, not a copy of the paper: the real NISM-Series-III-A: Securities Intermediaries Compliance (Non-Fund) Certification Examination has 100 questions.

Where are all the questions and answers?

On the 23 practice topics listed above. There are 5 in full. Each unit's page has the rest, with all four options, the correct answer and why each other option is wrong.

Does negative marking apply to NISM Series III-A?

Yes. NISM takes off 25% of a question's marks for a wrong answer. On a 1-mark question that is 0.25 marks off. A blank question earns nothing and loses nothing, so a wrong guess costs marks on this paper. Timed practice here uses the same rule.

How do I book the NISM Series III-A exam?

You register and pay on NISM's own website, nism.ac.in. The steps and the fee change from time to time, so read them there on the day you book.

Are these practice questions kept up to date?

Each question is written against the rules printed on this page, last checked on 5 September 2026. A Budget or a SEBI circular can change a rate, a lot size or an expiry day. If one of those rules changes before your exam, treat the questions that use it as out of date. Then check NISM's current workbook.

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