An independent, unofficial guide to the four SOA/CAS preliminary actuarial exams that a current undergraduate or recent graduate can sit for today — not affiliated with or endorsed by the Society of Actuaries (SOA) or the Casualty Actuarial Society (CAS).
Why only these four: the full actuarial credentialing path runs all the way through ASA/FSA (SOA) or ACAS/FCAS (CAS), but Exam P, Exam FM, Exam FAM, and Exam SRM are the only ones with zero prerequisites, zero work experience, and zero employer involvement required to register — anyone can sit for them, which is why most candidates knock out one or more while still in college. Exam P and Exam FM are jointly administered by the SOA and CAS; passing either one earns credit toward both organizations' paths (where they're known as CAS Exam 1 and CAS Exam 2). Later requirements — Exam PA, ATPA modules, the ALTAM/ASTAM choice, VEE credit, and e-learning modules — are real steps on the path, but most candidates complete them after they're already working as an actuarial analyst, so this platform doesn't build out full mock exams for them.
30Exam P Q · 180 min
30Exam FM Q · 150 min
40Exam FAM Q · 210 min
35Exam SRM Q · 210 min
Exam P — No prerequisiteExam FM — No prerequisiteExam FAM — No prerequisiteExam SRM — No prerequisite
Exam
Administered by
Prerequisite
Scoring
Focus
Exam P — Probability
SOA / CAS (joint) — CAS Exam 1
None
Scaled pass/fail
Calculus-based probability — distributions, expectation, joint/conditional probability. The most commonly recommended first exam.
Exam FM — Financial Mathematics
SOA / CAS (joint) — CAS Exam 2
None
Scaled pass/fail
Time value of money, annuities, loans, bonds, and interest-rate term structure.
Exam FAM — Fundamentals of Actuarial Mathematics
SOA
None
Scaled pass/fail
Combines life contingencies (survival models, life insurance/annuities) with loss models (deductibles, coinsurance, aggregate claims).
Exam SRM — Statistics for Risk Modeling
SOA
None
Scaled pass/fail
Regression, GLMs, statistical learning, and time series — the most conventional "stats class" of the four.
How this platform's mock exams differ
The real exams run 30 to 40 questions delivered over 150 to 210 minutes, on a rolling continuous-testing basis rather than fixed sitting dates. This platform's mock exams are focused 10-question testlets across all four — enough to check pacing and concept recall without pretending to replicate a multi-hour sitting.
A note on scoring
Unlike the FINRA/NASAA family covered elsewhere on this portal, the SOA and CAS don't publish a fixed percent-correct pass line for any of these four exams — each uses a scaled pass/fail system where the cut score isn't disclosed. This platform reports mock-exam results as a plain raw score and percent-correct, as a study signal rather than a pass/fail prediction.
Study Guide
Strategy notes for Exam P, Exam FM, Exam FAM, and Exam SRM — general test-taking approaches, written for this platform.
Practice Bank
Untimed, with explanations. Filter by exam or question type, answer, then reveal the explanation whenever you're ready.
Mock Exams
Choose an exam below to take a focused, timed, 10-question testlet.
Once you start, the clock runs continuously and auto-submits when it hits zero. Explanations are withheld until you finish. Results are shown as a raw score and percent-correct — the real exams use a scaled pass/fail system with no published cutoff, so no pass/fail line is claimed here.
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Score History
Saved on this device only (browser local storage) — nothing is sent anywhere.