This Series 3 cheat sheet boils the NFA National Commodities Futures Examination down to the futures, hedging, and rules facts that show up most, split across its two scored parts. It's a premium cheat sheet built by Capital Prep — the one premium prep we trust — and it's yours free. Reinforce it with the rest of your free Series 3 toolkit: the practice exam, study guide, and flashcards.
Series 3 exam at a glance
- Questions: 120 scored (+ a few unscored experimental); true/false and multiple choice
- Time: 2 hours 30 minutes (150 minutes) — one continuous session
- Passing score: 70% on EACH part (Market Knowledge and Regulations), scored separately
- Cost: $140 FINRA exam fee; no prerequisite exam and no limit on attempts
- Owner / administrator: NFA owns it, FINRA administers it, and the CFTC regulates the industry
What’s on the Series 3 cheat sheet
- Futures fundamentals & market structure (Market Knowledge) — contract vs. forward, the clearinghouse, long/short, open interest, and normal vs. inverted markets.
- Margins, premiums & settlement (Market Knowledge) — margin as a performance bond, mark-to-market, restore-to-initial calls, and option intrinsic vs. time value.
- Orders, accounts & price analysis (Market Knowledge) — order-placement grid (market, limit, stop, stop-limit, MIT) plus technical, fundamental, and interest-rate analysis.
- Hedging, basis, spreads & options (Market Knowledge) — long vs. short hedge, basis math, spread rules, return on margin, and options-on-futures payoffs.
- Regulations — CFTC/NFA rules (~29%, ≈35 Q) — registration categories (AP, IB, CPO, CTA), disclosure documents, prohibited conduct, and NFA arbitration.
How to use it in your final week
- Front-load Market Knowledge — it is roughly 85 of the 120 questions and the math (margin, basis, spreads, options) is where most points are lost, so review that side of the sheet first.
- Drill the memory hooks in one pass the morning of the exam: performance bond ≠ loan, restore margin to initial (not maintenance), intrinsic value is never negative, and long-hedge vs. short-hedge basis behavior.
- Don't neglect Regulations — the CFTC/NFA registration categories, disclosure documents, and prohibited conduct are learnable points, and that part still has its own 70% gate.
- Pair each review pass with a short timed practice set to keep pacing sharp — 120 questions in 150 minutes is about 1.25 minutes each on one shared clock.
The cheat sheet is your review layer — your Series 3 practice test drives the exam-readiness ring at the top of this page. Download it, review, then take a full practice exam (or drill with the study guide and flashcards) to see where you stand.
Series 3 cheat sheet FAQ
Yes — it downloads as a PDF with no sign-up and no account. It's one piece of Career Employer's free Series 3 toolkit, sitting alongside the practice exam, study guide, and flashcards.
It condenses the highest-yield facts into a quick reference: futures mechanics, margin as a performance bond, basis and hedging math, spreads and options-on-futures payoffs, and the CFTC/NFA registration and conduct rules — grouped under the exam's two scored parts, Market Knowledge and Regulations.
Yes. It splits the facts by Market Knowledge (the larger, math-heavy part, roughly 85 of 120 questions) and Regulations (roughly 35 questions), because you must independently clear 70% on each — a strong score on one part cannot rescue a failing score on the other.
No — it's a review and last-week cram aid, not a substitute for reps. The most reliable path is scoring consistently above 70% on both parts of a full, timed practice exam, then using the sheet to lock the formulas and rules into memory.
Click the download button (or the preview card) at the top of this page to open the PDF instantly. Bookmark the page so you can pull it up again during your final week of studying.
References
- 1.Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. “Series 3 — National Commodities Futures Examination.” FINRA.org, 2026. ↑
- 2.National Futures Association. “Study Outlines for Futures Industry Exams (Series 3).” NFA.futures.org, 2026. ↑
- 3.National Futures Association. “Who Has to Register.” NFA.futures.org, 2026. ↑
- 4.Commodity Futures Trading Commission. “Futures Market Basics.” CFTC.gov, 2026. ↑
Career Employer
Career Employer is the ultimate resource to help you get started working the job of your dreams. We cover topics from general career information, career searching, exam preparation with free study materials, career interviewing, and becoming successful in your career of choice.
All PostsCareer Employer’s Editorial Process
Here at Career Employer, we focus a lot on providing factually accurate information that is always up to date. We strive to provide correct information using strict editorial processes, article editing, and fact-checking for all of the information found on our website. We only utilize trustworthy and relevant resources. To find out more, make sure to read our full editorial process page here.