Exam Pattern

FRM Exam Pattern

FRM (Financial Risk Manager)

Two sub-topics inside one of four areas: that is the whole scope here. Part I officially sets 100 equally weighted four-option questions spread evenly over four topic areas, and Quantitative Analysis is one of them. What is built on this site sits inside that area alone: ten questions on probability and distributions and ten on regression and estimation, in 48 minutes. No mark comes off for a wrong answer. Read a result as a measure of those two topics rather than as a prediction of Part I.

Part I: Quantitative Analysis

Official 2026 pattern
Questions20
Total marks20
Duration48 minutes
Negative marking0 per wrong answer
SectionsProbability and Distributions, Regression and Estimation
TestQsMarks
Probability and Distributions1010
Regression and Estimation1010

Timing: Single composite 48-minute timer for both topic areas combined: no sectional lock.

The official FRM Part I exam has 100 equally weighted, 4-option multiple-choice questions in 4 hours, across four topic areas: Foundations of Risk Management, Quantitative Analysis, Financial Markets and Products, and Valuation and Risk Models. Quantitative Analysis carries roughly 20% weight, about 20 of the 100 questions. This mock covers only Quantitative Analysis, the one Part I topic area built entirely from probability, statistics, and regression, so every answer is independently checkable by calculation. The other three Part I topic areas, and every Part II topic area (Market Risk, Credit Risk, Operational Risk, Liquidity and Treasury Risk, Risk Management and Investment Management, and Current Issues in Financial Markets), require accurate recall of risk-management methodology, regulatory frameworks, and market practice, which this site is intentionally reserving for its standard content-review process rather than self-authoring. This mock matches Quantitative Analysis's approximate official question share (20 questions) with a proportional 48-minute duration estimate, since the topic areas are not timed separately in the official exam. There is no negative marking. This mock shows a raw score; the official exam reports only a pass/fail result with quartile-based topic feedback, not a numeric score.

Official source · checked 15 August 2026

The FRM Part I: Quantitative Analysis exam pattern is 20 questions carrying 20 marks, to be answered in 48 minutes. That works out to about 144 seconds per question on average, before any time spent reading instructions or revisiting marked answers. The 2 sections are Probability and Distributions and Regression and Estimation. All 2 sections carry 10 marks each, so none of them repays disproportionate preparation and a weakness anywhere costs the same. All sections share one composite timer, so you are free to move between them and spend your time where it earns most.

FRM Part I: Quantitative Analysis marking scheme

  • Each correct answer is worth 1 mark.
  • There is no negative marking, so leaving a question blank can only cost you: an unattempted question and a wrong one score the same zero. Attempt everything.
  • Worked example: attempt 16 of the 20 questions and get 12 right and 4 wrong, and you score 12 out of 20.

Practising against the same clock is the point of a mock test: at 144 seconds a question, the difference between a good score and an average one is usually pacing rather than knowledge. Attempt a free FRM mock test to see where your time actually goes.

FRM exam pattern: frequently asked questions

Is there negative marking in FRM?

FRM has no negative marking. An unattempted question always scores zero, so the choice is only ever between guessing and leaving it blank.

How many questions are there in FRM?

FRM has 20 questions. That leaves about 144 seconds per question in FRM.

What are the total marks in FRM?

FRM is out of 20 marks, which works out at 1 mark a question.

How long is the FRM exam?

FRM runs for 48 minutes.

Does FRM have a sectional time limit?

No. FRM runs every section on one composite timer of 48 minutes, so you can move between sections freely and give the slower ones more of your time.