FRE1 exam guide: Industry, Regulation and Key Parties

FRE1, "FSRE: Industry, Regulation and Key Parties", is the first of the two units in CeMAP® Module 1, Financial Services, Regulation and Ethics (FSRE). It tests how the UK financial system works, who the main parties are, the legal ideas behind financial advice and how the FCA and PRA regulate firms. This guide explains the exam format, how to handle the case studies, how the five learning outcomes fit together and how they relate to the old UKFR units.

Where FRE1 sits in CeMAP

CeMAP has five mandatory units in three modules. FRE1 and FRE2 together form Module 1 (FSRE). FSRE is also a mandatory module of the DipFA, so a pass counts towards both qualifications.

Module	Units	Exam
CeMAP 1 - FSRE	FRE1, FRE2	1 hour each
CeMAP 2 - MORT	MRT1, MRT2	1 hour each
CeMAP 3	ASEW/ASSC (synoptic)	2 hours

Each unit carries 5 credits and 50 hours of Unit Study Time. Taken on its own, FSRE is a Level 4 qualification. Inside CeMAP it counts towards a Level 3 certificate.

Walbrook suggests the order FRE1, MRT1, FRE2, MRT2 and then the synoptic unit last. You can study in any order you like. Many learners take FRE1 first because its vocabulary (regulated activity, authorisation, Handbook, trust, agency) appears in every later unit.

The exam format

Feature	FRE1
Part 1	25 standalone multiple-choice questions
Part 2	3 case studies, each with 5 linked multiple-choice questions
Total	40 questions, 40 marks (1 mark each)
Question type	Select 1 answer from 4
Time	1 hour
Pass	28/40 (70%)
Merit	80% (32/40)
Distinction	90% (36/40)

How the exam is delivered

The exam runs on Brightspace, the same platform as the study materials, with remote invigilation.
It is on demand. You do not book a slot; the link stays open until you sit the exam or your registration expires.
Before you start you scan the room (a 360-degree check) with your webcam or laptop.
Toilet breaks are not allowed, so plan for a full uninterrupted hour.
Walbrook states that FSRE exams give same-day results.

Registration and resits

A full CeMAP registration lasts 18 months. A module registered on its own lasts 12 months.
Your first attempt at each unit is included in the registration fee. Each resit costs £120.
For a failed unit you can have at most three attempts in a week and ten attempts in any 12-month period.

Working out your pace

Worked example: timing

You have 60 minutes for 40 marks, which is 1.5 minutes per mark on average.

Section	Marks	Suggested time
25 standalone questions	25	about 30 minutes (just over 1 minute each)
3 case studies × 5	15	about 24 minutes (8 minutes per case)
Review flagged items	-	about 6 minutes

Standalone recall questions should be quicker than average. That saves time for the case studies, where you have to read a scenario first.

Worked example: what the grades mean in marks

28 correct is a pass. 27 is a fail, however close it feels.
32 correct is a merit; 36 is a distinction.
If you aim for 32 in practice, you have a four-mark buffer on the day.

Approaching the case studies

The case studies make up 15 of the 40 marks (37.5%). Each scenario describes a client, a firm or an adviser, and five questions follow from it. In FRE1 they are likely to draw on topics that suit a story, such as a client's will or trust, joint ownership of a home, an attorney acting for a parent, a firm applying for authorisation, or an adviser's responsibilities under the Senior Managers and Certification Regime.

A reliable method:

Skim the five questions first. Knowing what you are looking for makes the scenario faster to read.
Read the scenario once, carefully. Note names, ages, relationships, dates, amounts and the type of firm.
Answer from the facts given. Do not add assumptions. If the scenario says the couple own the house as joint tenants, survivorship applies; do not imagine a will that changes it.
Treat each question as separate. One wrong answer should not drag the others down. Re-read the relevant line of the scenario for each question.
Watch for changed facts. Some questions say "if instead..." and alter one detail. Apply the change to that question only.
Flag and move on. If a question stalls you, pick your best answer, flag it and come back.

The five learning outcomes

LO	Official wording (summarised)	Our note
LO1	The UK financial services industry in its European and international context: markets, asset classes, government and EU, Bank of England, financial crime	fre1_01_markets
LO2	How the retail consumer is served: firm obligations, consumer needs and priorities, product types	fre1_02_consumers
LO3	Legal concepts: legal entities, powers of attorney, contract and agency, property ownership, insolvency, wills, intestacy and trusts	fre1_03_legal
LO4	Development of UK regulation from 1986 to 2021, the framework, other regulators and oversight	fre1_04_reg_history
LO5	The FCA and PRA: objectives, principles-based regulation, enforcement, the Handbook, T&C, prudential, COBS, CASS, SM&CR, authorisation	fre1_05_fca_pra

Walbrook publishes no official split of questions between learning outcomes. On the number of sub-bullets in the syllabus, LO5 (the FCA, PRA and Handbook) and LO3 (legal concepts) are the largest. Our practice mocks give them more weight, but treat that as our estimate, not an official blueprint.

How FRE1 relates to the old UKFR units

Until 2025, CeMAP 1 was UK Financial Regulation (UKFR), made of two units: Unit 1, Introduction to Financial Services Environment and Products (ITFS), and Unit 2, UK Financial Services and Regulation (UKFS). Each was 50 standalone questions with a 35/50 pass mark. New registrations for the old CeMAP closed on 29 September 2025, and the final date to sit UKFR exams was 16 July 2026.

Walbrook's official equivalence is at module level only: a pass in both ITFS and UKFS is treated as equivalent to FRE1 and FRE2 together. It does not map individual learning outcomes. The table below is our own reading of the old and new syllabuses. It is useful if you are working from older notes, but it is not an official mapping.

FRE1 LO	Closest old UKFR content (our reading)
LO1 markets	ITFS LO1 (purpose and structure of the industry), ITFS LO2 (asset classes); UKFS LO2 (UK legislation and EU directives); UKFS LO7 (financial crime)
LO2 consumers	ITFS LO3 (product types), ITFS LO4 (main financial advice areas)
LO3 legal	ITFS LO6 (basic legal concepts)
LO4 history and framework	UKFS LO2 (government departments, CMA, the Pensions Regulator), UKFS LO3 (auditors, trustees, compliance, professional bodies)
LO5 FCA and PRA	UKFS LO1 (FCA/PRA aims and Principles), UKFS LO4 (authorisation, capital, supervision, enforcement), UKFS LO5 (control structures, T&C)

What has changed in emphasis

Tax is lighter. UKFR ITFS had a whole learning outcome on income tax, CGT, IHT and National Insurance. FRE1 mentions taxation only as part of the government's role (AC1.3).
History has a fixed window. FRE1 asks for regulation "from 1986 to 2021", so expect questions on the 1986 Act, the FSA, FSMA 2000, the 2013 split into the FCA and PRA, and the post-Brexit position.
Wills, intestacy and trusts have their own criterion (AC3.2) and are set at "apply" level, so expect scenario questions.
Advice process and ethics have moved to FRE2. The old ITFS LO5 (the advice process) now sits mainly in FRE2 LO6.

How to prepare

Work through the notes in LO order. LO4 and LO5 build on each other, so read them together.
Learn the precise wording of key ideas: the FCA's strategic and operational objectives, the 12 Principles for Businesses and the individual conduct rules.
For LO3, practise applying the rules to people: who inherits, who owns, who can sign.
Use the dates table in the LO4 note. Questions often hinge on which body existed at a given time.
Sit at least one timed 40-question mock under exam conditions, with the 25/15 split, before booking your real attempt.

Exam traps

FRE1 and FRE2 are separate exams, each 1 hour and each 28/40. They are not sat together as UKFR was.
The case-study questions are still single-answer, 4-option MCQs. There are no multi-select items in the official description.
Results are pass, merit or distinction at unit level. The CeMAP qualification as a whole is pass or fail.
An old UKFR exemption granted by recognition of prior learning did not carry over to FSRE automatically.

Recap

FRE1 is 40 marks in 1 hour: 25 standalone questions plus 3 case studies of 5 questions each. Pass at 28/40.
The exam is on demand on Brightspace with remote invigilation, a room scan and no toilet breaks.
Five learning outcomes: markets, consumers, legal concepts, regulatory history and the FCA/PRA.
Officially, both old UKFR units together equal FRE1 plus FRE2; any LO-level mapping is an informal guide.
Budget about 30 minutes for the standalone questions and 8 minutes per case study, and leave time to review.