Based on my experience working with successful RE5 candidates, the best time of year to take the RE5 exam is generally between mid-February and late April.
You can write the RE5 exam throughout the year, but choosing the right period can make your preparation more manageable. Your exam date affects how consistently you study, how much pressure you experience, and whether work and family commitments interrupt your routine. Contact Growth in Motion for all the RE needs
The best date is not simply the next available date on the booking portal. It should give you enough time to understand the material, practise scenario-based questions, complete mock exams, and enter the examination venue with confidence.
Why February to April Is Usually the Best RE5 Exam Window
The period from mid-February to late April offers a practical balance between personal routine, workplace pressure, and study preparation.
By February, most people have settled back into their normal routines. Schools have reopened, annual leave has ended, and the disruption of the December holiday season has passed. This makes it easier to protect regular study periods without constantly changing your plans.
Your Routine Has Usually Returned to Normal
Studying during December and early January can be difficult. Family visits, travel, school holidays, social events, and irregular working hours compete for your attention.
By the middle of February, those disruptions have usually settled. You can create a realistic weekly study schedule and follow it consistently.
This is particularly valuable for candidates with children. Once the school year is underway, it becomes easier to identify quiet periods before work, after dinner, or over weekends.
You Are Further Away From Year-End Burnout
October, November, and December are demanding months in many financial services businesses. Employees may be managing annual targets, compliance reporting, client renewals, increased transaction volumes, staff shortages, and year-end administration.
Trying to prepare for the RE5 exam while handling these pressures can result in mental fatigue. You may spend an hour looking at the study guide without properly absorbing the information.
At the beginning of the year, candidates are often mentally fresher and more motivated. This creates a better environment for understanding legislation and learning how to apply it to exam questions.
Public Holidays Can Support Your Final Preparation
March and April often include public holidays and long weekends. When used responsibly, these days can provide valuable preparation time before the exam.
A candidate may take one day of annual leave and create a three-day or four-day revision period. This time can be used to:
- Complete full mock examinations under timed conditions.
- Review incorrect answers.
- Revise difficult legal definitions and timeframes.
- Practise identifying words such as “most appropriate”, “least appropriate” and “best”.
- Improve concentration across a full 50-question paper.
This does not mean you should leave all your studying for a long weekend. The long weekend should strengthen knowledge you have already built over several weeks.
Read our latest blog: What happens if you fail the RE5 exam?
You Can Avoid Competing With Last-Minute CPD Administration
The regulatory Continuous Professional Development cycle generally closes on 31 May for affected financial services professionals. The RE5 exam and CPD requirements are separate obligations, but they can compete for your time and attention.
Writing the RE5 in March or April allows you to deal with the examination before the final CPD administration rush. You can then focus on checking your CPD hours, certificates and records without trying to prepare for a regulatory examination at the same time.
When Should You Start Studying?
For an examination scheduled between February and April, I generally recommend beginning your preparation eight to twelve weeks before your intended date.
The exact starting point depends on your existing knowledge, reading ability, work schedule, and whether this is your first attempt.
A first-time candidate may require the full eight to twelve weeks. A rewriting candidate who narrowly missed the pass mark may be ready within two to six weeks if they use their diagnostic feedback correctly.
Phase 1: Familiarise Yourself With the Material
During the first stage, your goal is to understand the structure of the material rather than memorise every detail.
Read through the relevant study material and become familiar with the terminology, roles, responsibilities, and regulatory framework. Pay attention to concepts such as:
- The duties of a representative.
- The role of a key individual.
- Fit and proper requirements.
- Supervision requirements.
- Debarment processes.
- Record-keeping responsibilities.
- The General Code of Conduct.
- Relevant FICA responsibilities.
At this stage, two to three focused hours per week may be sufficient. The objective is to make the legal language feel less intimidating before you begin intensive study.
Phase 2: Build Your Core Knowledge
During the second phase, break the study material into individual topics or tasks. Give each study session a specific purpose.
For example, do not sit down with the vague goal of “studying RE5”. Decide that the session will cover the duties of representatives, complaints, disclosure requirements, debarment, or record keeping.
A practical weekly routine could include:
- One hour on three or four weekday mornings.
- Two hours on a Saturday morning.
- A short Sunday review of the week’s difficult concepts.
This gives you approximately six to eight hours of structured study per week without forcing you to cram everything into one exhausting session.
Phase 3: Move From Reading to Active Recall
In the final two to three weeks, your focus should shift towards reputable mock examinations and active recall.
Reading the same pages repeatedly can create a false sense of confidence. You recognise the words, but that does not necessarily mean you can apply the legislation to an unfamiliar scenario.
Complete unseen questions and investigate every mistake. Do not only record the correct answer. Return to the relevant material and determine why your selected answer was incorrect.
You should also practise completing 50 questions within the official two-hour examination period. Aim to finish your practice paper in approximately 90 to 100 minutes so that you have time to review flagged questions.
A Practical RE5 Success Story
Consider the example of Sipho, a bank representative who booked his RE5 exam for the middle of March. He began an eight-week preparation plan in mid-January, once the festive season had ended and his family routine had returned to normal.
Sipho passed on his first attempt with 78%, comfortably above the required pass mark of 66%.
How Sipho Structured His Preparation
During the first four weeks, Sipho studied from 05:00 to 06:00 before his family woke up and before his working day began. He worked systematically through the material and made short notes on important duties, definitions, processes, and timeframes.
During weeks five to seven, he changed his focus. He used Tuesday and Thursday evenings to work through difficult sections of the General Code of Conduct. He then reserved three hours every Saturday morning for mock questions.
In the final week, Sipho used the Human Rights Day period and one day of annual leave to create an extended revision weekend. He completed full mock examinations under closed-book, timed conditions.
He did not spend this time memorising answer patterns. Whenever he answered a question incorrectly, he returned to the legislation and identified the reason for his mistake.
Why His Timing Worked
Sipho avoided three common problems:
- He did not attempt to write during the demanding year-end period.
- He waited until his family and work routines had stabilised before beginning intensive preparation.
- He moved from reading to active recall several weeks before the examination.
On exam day, he was calm and well prepared. He completed the 50 questions with approximately 20 minutes remaining and had enough time to review the answers he had flagged.
The lesson from Sipho’s experience is not that every candidate must follow his exact schedule. The lesson is that a carefully chosen date creates room for consistent preparation.
What Is the Worst Time of Year to Write the RE5?
For most candidates, the most difficult period is from late November to the middle of January.
This period combines several challenges:
- Year-end workload and performance targets.
- Family holidays and travel.
- School holidays and reduced personal time.
- Social commitments.
- Training provider closures or limited workshop dates.
- Mental fatigue after a demanding working year.
- The temptation to postpone studying because everyone else is taking a break.
This does not mean it is impossible to pass during this period. It means you need a stronger reason, a stricter routine, and a realistic understanding of the sacrifices involved.
When You Should Ignore the Ideal Exam Window
February to April may be the most convenient period, but convenience must never take priority over regulatory deadlines, employment requirements, or a valuable career opportunity.
Your DOFA Deadline Is Approaching
Representatives must meet the regulatory examination requirement within the timeframe applicable to their Date of First Appointment and circumstances.
If your compliance deadline falls outside the ideal window, do not delay the examination simply because another month appears more convenient. Confirm your exact deadline with your employer or compliance officer and schedule your exam early enough to allow for a possible rewrite.
Never book your first attempt a few days before a regulatory deadline. If something goes wrong, you may have no realistic opportunity to correct it.
A Job Offer Depends on Your RE5
The RE5 can improve your employment prospects in banking, insurance, investments, financial advice, and other regulated roles.
If an employer offers you a position or promotion on the condition that you pass by a certain date, waiting for the perfect season could cost you the opportunity.
In that situation, study through the less convenient period and write as soon as you are adequately prepared.
You Recently Failed and Are Ready to Rewrite
A candidate who scores between 60% and 64% should usually not wait several months to try again.
Your knowledge is still fresh, and your diagnostic feedback can help you identify the areas requiring attention. Review those areas immediately and consider rewriting within two to three weeks, provided your updated mock-exam results show that you are ready.
Waiting too long may force you to relearn definitions, processes, and timeframes that are currently still familiar.
A Suitable Workshop Is Available
Training opportunities and examination venues are not equally available in every province or town.
If a reputable provider offers a valuable in-person workshop in your area during August, attending the workshop and writing in September may be more sensible than waiting until the following February.
The same principle applies to examination availability. Book early, particularly if you live in an area with limited venue options.
How to Know You Are Ready to Write
The most reliable sign of readiness is not the number of hours you have studied. It is your ability to apply the material accurately under examination conditions.
I recommend that candidates consistently achieve at least 80% on unseen, reputable mock examinations before writing the real exam.
The official pass mark is 66%, which means you need at least 33 correct answers out of 50. A practice target of 80% gives you a reasonable buffer for anxiety, fatigue, unfamiliar questions, and difficult wording.
You are likely ready when:
- You consistently score 80% or more on unseen mock examinations.
- You can explain why each incorrect option is wrong.
- You can connect your answers to the relevant legislation or regulatory principle.
- You can complete 50 questions in approximately 90 to 100 minutes.
- You have enough time left to review flagged questions.
- Legal terminology no longer feels unfamiliar.
- You can identify your weaker topics and explain how you corrected them.
If you are still scoring in the 60s, you are too close to the pass mark. Do not assume that adrenaline will improve your result on the day. Examination pressure often has the opposite effect.
The Biggest Mistake Candidates Make When Choosing a Date
The biggest mistake is booking an arbitrary date before looking at the study material.
A candidate may choose a date four weeks away because four weeks sounds like enough time. They then discover that the material is more technical than expected. Work becomes busy, a child gets sick, or family commitments remove several planned study sessions.
The candidate is suddenly one week away from the exam, scoring below the pass mark and attempting to cram legislation late at night.
A better approach is to begin studying before finalising the date. Complete your first reading, attempt some practice questions, and observe how quickly your results improve.
Once your mock scores are moving beyond 70%, book the examination for approximately two to three weeks later. This gives you a firm deadline without placing you under unnecessary pressure before you understand the size of the task.
Final Advice on Choosing Your RE5 Exam Date
For most candidates, mid-February to late April is the best time of year to take the RE5 exam. Your routine has stabilised, year-end fatigue has eased, and public holidays may provide useful revision time.
However, the calendar should guide your decision, not control it. Your DOFA deadline, employment requirements, personal circumstances, workshop availability, and mock-exam performance are more important than the season.
Choose a date that gives you enough time to prepare properly. Build your understanding first, move to active recall, and aim for consistent mock-exam results of at least 80%.
The best time to write the RE5 is ultimately when you are legally on schedule, properly prepared, and able to walk into the examination venue knowing that you understand the material rather than hoping you remember it.