Public margin drill
Series 7 Margin Practice Questions
Use these public sample questions to rehearse long and short account equity, Regulation T, maintenance calls, SMA, and buying power. These are educational examples, not actual FINRA exam questions.
10 public questions
Explanations in HTML
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Topic summary
Margin questions reduce to account equations. For long accounts, market value minus debit equals equity. For short accounts, credit balance minus short market value equals equity.
Every question, answer choice, correct answer, and explanation on this page is public sample content. The private PassSeries7 mapped bank remains protected inside the paid product.
Common traps
- Using debit balance in a short account instead of credit balance.
- Forgetting that Regulation T is an initial requirement, not maintenance.
- Treating SMA as cash instead of buying power capacity.
- Not checking whether the account is long or short before calculating equity.
Public margin sample questions
0 of 10 answered
Question 1 / 10
MarginA long margin account has $24,000 market value and a $10,000 debit balance. What is the equity?
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: $14,000
Explanation: Long account equity equals long market value minus debit balance. $24,000 - $10,000 = $14,000.
Related: Long account equity
Question 2 / 10
MarginA customer buys $20,000 of marginable stock in a new margin account. If Regulation T is 50%, what is the initial deposit?
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Correct answer: $10,000
Explanation: Regulation T requires 50% initial equity for a long margin stock purchase. 50% of $20,000 is $10,000.
Related: Regulation T
Question 3 / 10
MarginA long margin account has $16,000 market value. What is the FINRA minimum maintenance equity at 25%?
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Correct answer: $4,000
Explanation: Minimum long maintenance is generally 25% of current market value. 25% of $16,000 is $4,000.
Related: Maintenance requirement
Question 4 / 10
MarginA short margin account has a $30,000 credit balance and $22,000 short market value. What is the equity?
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: $8,000
Explanation: Short account equity equals credit balance minus short market value. $30,000 - $22,000 = $8,000.
Related: Short account equity
Question 5 / 10
MarginA long margin account has $3,000 of SMA. How much additional stock buying power does that SMA generally create?
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Correct answer: $6,000
Explanation: In a long margin account, SMA buying power is generally twice the SMA because Regulation T is 50%. $3,000 x 2 = $6,000.
Related: SMA buying power
Question 6 / 10
MarginA long margin account is restricted when equity is below which requirement?
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Correct answer: Regulation T initial requirement
Explanation: A restricted account has equity below the Regulation T initial requirement, even if it may still be above maintenance.
Related: Restricted accounts
Question 7 / 10
MarginIn a long margin account, the debit balance represents what?
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Correct answer: The amount borrowed from the broker-dealer
Explanation: The debit balance is the loan balance in a long margin account. Equity is market value minus that debit balance.
Related: Margin account vocabulary
Question 8 / 10
MarginIn a short margin account, what happens to equity when the shorted stock rises in price, assuming credit balance is unchanged?
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Correct answer: Equity decreases
Explanation: Short equity equals credit balance minus short market value. If the short market value rises, equity falls.
Related: Short account equation
Question 9 / 10
MarginWhich item is most central to a basic Series 7 long margin account calculation?
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Correct answer: Debit balance
Explanation: Long account math starts with market value, debit balance, and equity. The debit balance is central to the equation.
Related: Core margin equations
Question 10 / 10
MarginWhy must margin recommendations consider risk tolerance?
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Correct answer: Borrowing can magnify losses
Explanation: Margin uses borrowed money. Leverage can magnify gains, but it can also magnify losses and create calls for additional equity.
Related: Suitability and margin
Topic score
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Related Series 7 resources
- Take the free Series 7 diagnostic
Get an instant score, missed topics, and an optional missed-topic study plan.
- Review Series 7 margin formulas
Drill Reg T, equity, maintenance, SMA, and buying power.
- Series 7 margin overview
Review long and short account setup before more practice.
- Practice Series 7 options questions
Switch from margin equations into options payoff and breakeven drills.
- Review Series 7 suitability scenarios
Connect margin risk to customer-profile and recommendation-fit questions.
- Series 7 study guide 2026
Review the public chapter outline before you drill more questions.
- Preview the margin chapter
Use the public chapter preview to place margin math in sequence.
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- Review the Series 7 study guide
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