How to Prepare for NISM Series VI
Chapter order, time needed, and where marks are actually lost on the Depository Operations paper.
Series VI is a procedure exam. It asks what a depository participant does, in what order, with which form, and what the rules say when something goes wrong. That makes it very passable with steady preparation, but it punishes vague reading: the options in a question often differ by one step or one party.
The pass mark is 60 out of 100, and a wrong answer costs 0.25. NISM has not published a pass rate for Series VI, so no one can tell you reliably how hard it is in numbers. What you can use is the weightage table, which tells you exactly where the marks are.
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Study order by weight
Chapters grouped by marks, from the workbook's syllabus outline.
Highest
Chapters
8 Trading and Settlement (13), 3 Business Partners (12), 4 Account Opening (12)
Marks
37
High
Chapters
2 Introduction to Depository (10), 9 Pledge and Hypothecation (10), 11 Debt Instruments and G-Secs (10), 7 Dematerialisation (9)
Marks
39
Medium
Chapters
10 Public Offering / Corporate Actions (7), 1 Capital Market (5), 6 Transmission and Nomination (5)
Marks
17
Light
Chapters
5 Account Operations (3), 12 FPI (2), 13 Investor Services (2)
Marks
7
| Priority | Chapters | Marks |
|---|---|---|
| Highest | 8 Trading and Settlement (13), 3 Business Partners (12), 4 Account Opening (12) | 37 |
| High | 2 Introduction to Depository (10), 9 Pledge and Hypothecation (10), 11 Debt Instruments and G-Secs (10), 7 Dematerialisation (9) | 39 |
| Medium | 10 Public Offering / Corporate Actions (7), 1 Capital Market (5), 6 Transmission and Nomination (5) | 17 |
| Light | 5 Account Operations (3), 12 FPI (2), 13 Investor Services (2) | 7 |
A study plan that follows the marks
The workbook's chapter order is logical, so read it in order, but give time in proportion to marks:
- 1
Chapters 1 to 3: build the map
Learn who the depository, the DP, the clearing corporation, the issuer and the RTA are, and the legal framework they work under. Chapter 3 alone carries 12 marks, and every later chapter assumes you know who does what.
- 2
Chapters 4 and 5: account opening and operations
Chapter 4 is the longest in the workbook and carries 12 marks. Make your own lists: account types, documents, closure, freezing, changes in details. Chapter 5 on the BSDA and joint accounts is short; read it in the same sitting.
- 3
Chapters 6 and 7: transmission, nomination, demat and remat
Learn each process as a sequence of steps and who acts at each step. Drawing the flow from client to DP to RTA and back helps it stick.
- 4
Chapter 8: trading and settlement
The single highest-weighted chapter at 13 marks. Separate off-market transactions from market transactions and know how instructions flow for each.
- 5
Chapters 9 to 11: special services
Pledge and hypothecation, corporate actions and public issues, debt instruments and government securities. Together they carry 27 marks, more than a quarter of the paper.
- 6
Chapters 12 and 13, then revise
FPIs and investor services are 4 marks between them. Read them, then spend the remaining time revising the heavy chapters from your notes and practising questions.
Free account, this exam preselected.
An example four-week schedule
Week 1: chapters 1 to 4. Week 2: chapters 5 to 8. Week 3: chapters 9 to 13. Week 4: revision and at least two full 100-question timed papers, with time between them to fix the weak chapters the first one shows. Stretch it if you can only study a little each day; compress it if you already work in DP operations.
Where marks are lost
- check_circleMixing up which party acts at a step: the DP, the depository, the RTA or the clearing corporation
- check_circleConfusing similar processes: transmission and transfer, pledge and hypothecation, dematerialisation and rematerialisation
- check_circleSkimming chapter 4 because it reads like a list, then losing marks on account-opening detail
- check_circleLeaving chapters 9 to 11 for the last few days, although together they carry 27 marks
- check_circleStudying from older notes that predate the March 2026 workbook's updates
- check_circleGuessing carelessly: at 0.25 per wrong answer, many wrong guesses add up quickly
How to know you are ready
Take a full paper under real conditions: 100 questions, 120 minutes, 0.25 off for each wrong answer. If you can score 60 with a margin, book your slot. If you are close but not there, use the weightage table to decide where to spend the next few days: a weak chapter worth 12 or 13 marks is a better target than one worth 2.
On exam day, read every option before choosing. Questions on procedure often include an answer that is almost right, such as the correct step attributed to the wrong party. Those are the questions careful reading wins.
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