How to Prepare for NISM Series II-B
Chapter order, time needed, and where marks are actually lost on the Registrars and Transfer Agents (Mutual Fund) paper.
Series II-B is a process and timelines exam. Most questions ask what an RTA does with a mutual fund transaction: which NAV applies, who may time stamp it, which document is needed, how many days the RTA has. The first five units are general securities and SEBI basics; from unit 6 on, everything is seen from the RTA's desk.
The pass mark is 50 out of 100 (50%) and there has been no negative marking since 1 April 2025. NISM has not published a pass rate, so nobody can tell you in numbers how hard it is. NISM publishes no chapter-wise weightage either. What you can use is the shape of the workbook: four blocks of units, and how much reading each one takes.
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The four blocks
Pages are the December 2024 workbook's own page ranges for each block, rounded.
1 to 5
Block
Securities basics and SEBI
Workbook pages
about 44
6 to 8
Block
RTA basics, RTA regulations, mutual fund basics
Workbook pages
about 37
9 to 11
Block
MF structure, products, operational concepts
Workbook pages
about 51
12 to 15
Block
Investors, banking, financial and non-financial transactions
Workbook pages
about 56
| Units | Block | Workbook pages |
|---|---|---|
| 1 to 5 | Securities basics and SEBI | about 44 |
| 6 to 8 | RTA basics, RTA regulations, mutual fund basics | about 37 |
| 9 to 11 | MF structure, products, operational concepts | about 51 |
| 12 to 15 | Investors, banking, financial and non-financial transactions | about 56 |
Where the time goes
Units 12 to 15 are the longest block and hold the transaction rules an RTA applies every day, so they get the most time. But units 6 to 8 are the densest: the RTA regulations packed into about 37 pages. A page of RTA regulations needs slower reading than a page of equity basics. Do not skim it.
A three-week plan
For someone studying one to two hours on weekdays and more at weekends. Read the units in order: the later ones assume the earlier ones.
- 1
Days 1 to 4: units 1 to 5
Equity, debt, other securities and SEBI. Move quickly through what you know from investing, but learn yield and credit rating in unit 3 and SEBI's powers in unit 5 properly.
- 2
Days 5 to 8: units 6 to 8
What an RTA does, Investor Service Centres and Official Points of Acceptance, Qualified RTAs, the RTA regulations and mutual fund basics. Make one page of notes per regulation: what it requires and of whom. SEBI replaced the 1993 RTA regulations in December 2025, so check any older notes against the current rules.
- 3
Days 9 to 13: units 9 to 11
Sponsor, trustee, AMC and custodian roles, scheme types and plans, then unit 11: NFO, NAV, applicable NAV, time stamping, cut-off times and segregated portfolios. Spend the most time on unit 11; it feeds questions across the whole back half of the paper.
- 4
Days 14 to 18: units 12 to 15
Investor types, KYC and nomination, payment modes and third party payments, then every financial and non-financial transaction. Build a single sheet of the turnaround times in Tables 14.2 and 15.1.
- 5
Days 19 to 21: revise and test
Do the sample questions at the end of each workbook chapter, then at least one full 100-question paper in 120 minutes. Spend the last day on the weakest block it shows.
Free account, this exam preselected.
The one sheet to make: numbers that get tested
All from the December 2024 workbook. Options in the paper often differ by one of these.
| Rule | Figure |
|---|---|
| Cut-off, equity and debt funds (not liquid): purchases, redemptions, switches | 3.00 pm |
| Cut-off, liquid funds: purchases and switch-ins | 1.30 pm |
| Cut-off, liquid funds: redemptions and switch-outs | 3.00 pm |
| Redemption payment | Within 3 working days of receiving the request |
| IDCW payment | Within 15 days from the record date |
| Account statement after an NFO or ongoing transaction | Within 5 working days |
| NFO allotment or refund | Within 5 business days of the NFO closing |
| Transmission request (RTA) | 21 days |
| Change of address, bank details or PAN (RTA) | 15 days |
Where marks are lost
- check_circleMixing up the liquid fund cut-off (1.30 pm for purchases) with the 3.00 pm cut-off for everything else
- check_circleForgetting that for purchases in non-liquid funds the NAV follows the day funds are available, not the time the form arrived
- check_circleThinking a distributor's office can time stamp: only official points of acceptance can
- check_circleConfusing the party: AMC, trustee, custodian, RTA, distributor. Many options are the right action by the wrong party
- check_circleLearning turnaround times from old notes. SEBI and AMFI revise them, so use the current workbook
- check_circleTrusting sites that still say 25% negative marking, and leaving questions blank because of it. A blank is a mark given away
How to know you are ready
Take a full paper under exam conditions: 100 questions in 120 minutes, which is 72 seconds each. If you score 50 with a clear margin, book your slot. If you are close, look at which block cost you most: a weak unit 11 or unit 14 is a better target for the last few days than unit 1.
The workbook notes that test centre workstations have Microsoft Excel or OpenOffice Calc for numericals. NAV sums and the number of units for an amount are simple, but practise one or two in a spreadsheet so the tool is not new on the day.
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