Exam Pattern
NISM Exam Pattern
NISM Series V-A: Mutual Fund Distributors Certification Examination
This is a certification examination rather than an entrance, and it behaves accordingly. One hundred questions in 120 minutes is 72 seconds each with nothing deducted for a wrong answer, so there is no guessing calculus to manage and no reason to submit with anything blank. What is built here covers the calculation-heavy part of Series V-A, net asset value and returns alongside systematic investment plans and growth, rather than the whole syllabus, so read a score as a measure of that slice rather than of the certification.
Series V-A: Mutual Fund Distributors
Official 2026 pattern| Questions | 100 |
| Total marks | 100 |
| Duration | 120 minutes |
| Negative marking | 0 per wrong answer |
| Sections | NAV and Returns Calculations, SIP and Growth Calculations |
Timing: Single composite 120-minute timer for the whole 100-question paper: no sectional lock.
The official NISM Series V-A exam has 100 questions of 1 mark each in 2 hours, with no negative marking and a 50% passing score, covering mutual fund concepts, regulation, taxation, and fund accounting and calculations. This mock covers only the calculation-based portion of the syllabus, NAV, returns, SIP, and compounding mathematics, since every answer there is independently verifiable by formula. It does not cover fund categorization rules, regulatory and compliance content, or taxation, since those change with SEBI and tax circulars and require accurate, current recall rather than calculation, the same content-risk boundary applied to this site's other finance and science-heavy sections. This mock matches a proportional 24-minute duration estimate for its 20 questions against the official 100-question, 120-minute exam. This mock shows a raw score; the official exam reports a percentage score against the 50% pass mark.
Official source · checked 15 August 2026The NISM Series V-A: Mutual Fund Distributors exam pattern is 100 questions carrying 100 marks, to be answered in 120 minutes. That works out to about 72 seconds per question on average, before any time spent reading instructions or revisiting marked answers. The 2 sections are NAV and Returns Calculations and SIP and Growth Calculations. All sections share one composite timer, so you are free to move between them and spend your time where it earns most.
NISM Series V-A: Mutual Fund Distributors 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 80 of the 100 questions and get 60 right and 20 wrong, and you score 60 out of 100.
Practising against the same clock is the point of a mock test: at 72 seconds a question, the difference between a good score and an average one is usually pacing rather than knowledge. Attempt a free NISM mock test to see where your time actually goes.
NISM exam pattern: frequently asked questions
Is there negative marking in NISM?
NISM 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 NISM?
NISM has 100 questions. That leaves about 72 seconds per question in NISM.
What are the total marks in NISM?
NISM is out of 100 marks, which works out at 1 mark a question.
How long is the NISM exam?
NISM runs for 120 minutes.
Does NISM have a sectional time limit?
No. NISM runs every section on one composite timer of 120 minutes, so you can move between sections freely and give the slower ones more of your time.