FRM Exam structure: format, topics and weights for Part I and Part II
The FRM® Exam has two parts, both multiple-choice and both taken on a computer. This guide sets out the format and the topic weights as GARP published them in the 2026 FRM Candidate Guide. Check garp.org/frm for the current year: weights and rules can change.
The format in one table
| Part I | Part II | |
|---|---|---|
| Questions | 100 | 80 |
| Time | 4 hours | 4 hours |
| Question type | Multiple choice, equally weighted | Multiple choice, equally weighted |
| Penalty for a wrong answer | None | None |
| Time per question (average) | 2 min 24 s | 3 min |
| Order | Pass Part I first | Part II is taken after, or in the same window as, Part I |
If you sit both Parts in the same window and fail Part I, Part II is not graded. GARP reports a pass or fail with percentile ranges comparing you to your peers; there is no numerical score and no published pass mark.
Part I: topics and weights
| Topic | Weight | Questions in a 100-question exam |
|---|---|---|
| Foundations of Risk Management | 20% | 20 |
| Quantitative Analysis | 20% | 20 |
| Financial Markets and Products | 30% | 30 |
| Valuation and Risk Models | 30% | 30 |
Part I covers the tools used to assess financial risk: basic risk types and governance, CAPM and risk-adjusted performance, probability and statistics, regression and time series, simulation and machine learning, derivatives and hedging, interest rates, bonds and mortgage-backed securities, Value-at-Risk and expected shortfall, volatility and correlation, option and fixed-income valuation, and operational risk.
Part II: topics and weights
| Topic | Weight | Questions in an 80-question exam |
|---|---|---|
| Market Risk Measurement and Management | 20% | 16 |
| Credit Risk Measurement and Management | 20% | 16 |
| Operational Risk and Resilience | 20% | 16 |
| Liquidity and Treasury Risk Measurement and Management | 15% | 12 |
| Risk Management and Investment Management | 15% | 12 |
| Current Issues in Financial Markets | 10% | 8 |
Part II applies the tools from Part I in depth: VaR methods and backtesting, extreme value theory, copulas, term structure models, the Fundamental Review of the Trading Book, credit analysis and counterparty risk, securitization, operational and cyber resilience, model risk, Basel, liquidity metrics and funding, portfolio construction and risk budgeting, and the current issues GARP names each year (for 2026: artificial intelligence, private credit, geopolitical risk, rising government debt, digital assets and digital resilience).
How this maps to practice
Each simulation in FRM Prep follows these weights: a Part I simulation has 100 questions in the 20/20/30/30 split and a Part II simulation has 80 questions in the 20/20/20/15/15/10 split. The question bank holds 1,000 questions per Part, each mapped to a reading and a learning objective of the 2026 curriculum.
Every FRM exam question maps to at least one learning objective, so the learning objectives in the GARP curriculum are the best checklist of what can be asked.