Difficulty
HKSI Paper 1 pass rate and difficulty
"How hard is Paper 1?" and "what is the pass rate?" are the two questions candidates ask most. Here is an honest answer, and what the difficulty actually comes from.
Reviewed 18 July 2026
Is there an official pass rate?
The HKSI Institute does not publish an official candidate pass rate for LE Paper 1. Any single percentage you see quoted online is a third-party estimate, not an official figure — treat it with caution.
What is fixed and official is the pass mark: you need 70%, which is 42 correct answers out of 60. That is the only number you should plan around.
What actually makes Paper 1 hard
Paper 1 is not conceptually difficult, but it is broad and precise. It is multiple-choice only, drawn from the entire nine-chapter syllabus, and the wording of options is often deliberately close — two answers can look right until you notice a threshold, a time limit, or an exception.
The questions are also unevenly weighted: Chapters 4, 5 and 6 carry the largest share, so weakness there costs more marks than weakness in a lighter chapter.
| Makes it easier | Makes it harder |
|---|---|
| A finance or compliance background | First exposure to HK securities regulation |
| Practising across all nine chapters | Reading the manual without testing recall |
| Learning the exact thresholds and time limits | Relying on rough or outdated summaries |
| Being comfortable with the exam language | Translating each question in your head under time pressure |
Related guides
Sources
- HKSI Institute — LE examination overview — HKSI Institute
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