Series 7 and Grad School

You're gonna need to simultaneously have a job at a member firm. It stays active for 2 years following termination/resignation from a member firm, then you're gonna have to retest.

There is no way to keep them active, short of being employed while in school as DontSleep said. But you may be able to avoid retesting for the 66 (assuming it is like the 63).

If you end up taking a job after school that requires the 66, some states (63 is technically a state exam) allow you a waiver if you were in graduate school for the duration of the time since your license expired. Probably out of luck on the 7 though and even if you weren't, if you go into banking you would have to take the 79 regardless since you were not grandfathered in (had to do that by 2010).

I have the 7 and 66 just started my MSF program so I'm in the same boat as you. I actually just got the paperwork from my previous employer regarding this... planning on calling the firm's compliance dept and FINRA to make sure I know what the deal is so I'll post updates or you can PM too.

Regarding the 2 year period, I know a big thing is still staying compliant with FINRA (i.e. updating them with address changes, not getting any felonies, etc.)

Thanks for the updates - I will check with the company here soon and I'll see what they say but knowing them and their general policies, I can't imagine they'll be too willing to help anyone who's leaving.

As far as the 66 goes, that's a much smaller deal as I feel like I can probably much more easily retake the 66 than the 7. I am planning on moving into ER after school so it may not be as big of a deal anyway, but I'd rather have them active than not.

If you are a summer associate will a company hold your licenses for those few months?

@djcaa1130 - I probably won't have time to make some calls until next week so if you hear anything first let me know.

I would obviously rather have them transfer over when I start FT again after grad school, but I don't really care if I have to take them again in the future... I just want to make sure its legit to keep on my resume since I'm doing MSF and going for analyst roles/competing against undergrads who most likely aren't licensed.

I also have the 7 & 66 and will be done working in at the end of July. In August I'm starting Cornell's M. Fin Eng program (total 1.5yrs). Did anyone verify that these licenses can be held for 2 years? Also, I'll have a summer internship after 1 year. Will they be transferred and held then?

I still haven't been able to find anything out - I know there have to be people on this board that had the 7 before going back to school. Granted I haven't done a ton of research yet, but hopefully I will get something soon and let you know what I hear.

@The Kid - were you able to figure anything out?

So I think this info was already mentioned earlier but I finally looked into and it was fairly easy to figure out.

I just called FINRA, gave them some personal info and CRD number, they looked me up and gave me to date when my license expires (2 years after termination date from your firm), and then she showed me where to find the change of address form as that was pretty much the only requirement I personally needed to take care of to stay compliant.

Also, since the 66 is state specific she gave me a contact number for the state I will probably be working in after I graduate (not the same state where I previously worked). Called that number, got transferred a few times, finally talked to a guy who said his state's policy is to accept and honor my license regardless of where I was originally licensed.

There is absolutely no way at all to put a Securities License (Series 6/7, 63, 65, 66, 26/24) on Hold. But there may be a way to minimal transactions and still hold on to it. More details can be found here. https://www.wealth.guru/careers/