Key facts
- November 2025: 47% (check the official website) of FRM® Exam Part I candidates passed, and 50% (check the official website) of Part II candidates – the latest figures in the sources we read on 30 October 2026.
- Since October 2020, Part I rates have ranged from 44% (check the official website) to 58% (check the official website) (May and August 2025); the twelve windows average 49.2% (our calculation).
- The 2024–2025 windows averaged 54%, against 45.3% in 2020–2021 (our calculation).
- GARP reports pass or fail only and publishes no passing score; a careers website estimates about 49% to 53% for the 2026 Part I exams from its readers' results – an estimate, not a GARP figure.
- These are GARP’s figures for all candidates; we publish no pass rates of our own users.
How has the Part I pass rate changed since 2020?
What was the Part I pass rate in each exam window?
- May and August 2022: From 2022 GARP gives one figure for the May and August windows together.
- October 2020: The May 2020 exam was disrupted by COVID-19; GARP reports an October and a November 2020 figure instead.
Which periods had the highest Part I pass rates?
The period averages climbed from 45.3% to 54%, and then the latest window fell back. The averages below are ours, worked out from the window rates in the table:
| Period | Windows | Average | Lowest and highest window |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020–2021 | 4 | 45.3% | 44% (October 2020) to 47% (May 2021) |
| 2022–2023 | 4 | 48.3% | 45% (November 2023) to 51% (May and August 2022) |
| 2024–2025 | 4 | 54% | 47% (November 2025) to 58% (May and August 2025) |
The highest rate in the table is 58% (check the official website) for May and August 2025; the next window, November 2025, came in at 47% (check the official website). Over all twelve windows the average is 49.2%. A single window can move a long way, so a recent high says little about the next exam.
Is Part I harder to pass than Part II?
By pass rate, usually – but not always. In the five windows from October 2020 to November 2023 where we have both figures, Part I was 4 to 18 points below Part II. Then, for three windows from May and August 2024, Part I was the higher one, before November 2025 turned it round again: 47% (check the official website) for Part I against 50% (check the official website) for Part II.
| Exam window | Part I | Part II | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| November 2025 | 47% | 50% | −3 points |
| May and August 2025 | 58% | 52% | +6 points |
| November 2024 | 55% | 52% | +3 points |
| May and August 2024 | 56% | 52% | +4 points |
| November 2023 | 45% | 53% | −8 points |
| May and August 2023 | 47% | 51% | −4 points |
| November 2021 | 45% | 63% | −18 points |
| November 2020 | 45% | 59% | −14 points |
| October 2020 | 44% | 62% | −18 points |
The two groups are not alike, though. Part II is graded only for candidates who have passed Part I – if you take both parts in the same window and fail or miss Part I, your Part II exam is not graded (check the official website) – so a higher Part II rate does not mean Part II is the easier exam, and a lower one does not mean it is harder.
Are May and August pass rates higher than November’s?
In each year from 2021 to 2025, the first figure of the year – May in 2021, May and August together from 2022 – was 1 to 11 points higher than the November figure of the same year (our calculation). Most years the difference was one or two points; in 2025 it was 11. The figures do not say why, and five years are too few to plan around: a window you are ready for matters more than its history.
What score do you need to pass Part I?
GARP does not say. Your result is pass or fail only, with no score and no published passing score (check the official website), and you also get a quartile for each topic area that ranks you against the other candidates of the same exam: quartile 1 is the top quarter, quartile 4 the bottom quarter (check the official website). A pass rate is the share of candidates who passed; it is not the score they needed. A pass rate of 47% does not mean 47% of questions right is enough, or that it is not.
The numbers you will see online are estimates, not GARP figures. They come from one careers website and do not agree with each other:
| Estimate for | Estimate | Based on | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Part I, August 2026 | about 49% | Results its readers reported | (300Hours, passing-score estimates (secondary source)) |
| Part I, May 2026 | about 53% | Results its readers reported | (300Hours, passing-score estimates (secondary source)) |
| Part I, in general | about 60% to 65% of questions right | The website’s own analysis; no method given | (300Hours, Part I study guide (secondary source)) |
The survey estimates of 49% and 53% sit 7 to 16 points below the general range of 60% to 65%, and the survey covers only readers who chose to report their results. The same website suggests aiming for 65% or more in practice exams (300Hours, passing-score estimates (secondary source)). Treat every figure here as a rough guide, not a target to scrape past.
What does a pass rate not tell you?
- Your own chances. A pass rate describes everyone who sat a window – their background, study time and how much of Part I they covered. Your scores on timed, exam-style practice by topic area say more.
- How close you were. Quartiles rank you against the other candidates in each topic area; they are not marks. Failed Part I? Read your quartiles explains how to use them for a retake.
- Which window to book. Book the one your weeks can carry, not the one with the highest rate last year.
What this means for you
- Plan for the exam, not the rate. The Part I study planner works back from a window, and the 2027 dates and fees show the deadlines.
- Practise at exam pace. The exam pace calculator sets checkpoints for a 100-question mock.
- Comparing qualifications? Level I pass rates of the CFA® Program are on a page like this one.
How was the data compiled?
GARP publishes the pass rate of each FRM® Exam window for all candidates. The values here were read on 30 October 2026 from dated prep websites that report them: all of them from QuintEdge (QuintEdge, FRM pass rates (secondary source)), which names GARP as its source. We compared them with the table in 300Hours’ guide to the exam (300Hours, FRM Exam guide (secondary source)) (the same figures; it also lists Part II for the three windows we leave empty, but the page carries no date) and with Edzeb (Edzeb, FRM pass rates (secondary source)) (the same figures from 2024; different ones for 2022 and 2023, and for Part II in November 2021). AnalystPrep, on 24 September 2026, still named November 2025 as the latest window GARP had published (AnalystPrep, pass rates 2026 (secondary source)). Every row links to GARP’s exam page (GARP, FRM Exam information): if a figure there differs, GARP’s figure is the one to use.
- Windows: every window from October 2020 to November 2025. From 2022 GARP reports one figure for the May and August windows together; the table shows it once, at May. Before 2020 our sources give only a range: from 41% (check the official website) in May 2018 to 50% (check the official website) in November 2018 across the eight windows of 2016 to 2019 (QuintEdge, FRM pass rates (secondary source)).
- Part II is shown for comparison where a dated source names the window; the cells for May 2021, May and August 2022 and November 2022 are left empty, and the CSV leaves them empty too.
- Candidates: none of the sources we read gives the number of candidates per window, so the table has no such column.
- Rounding: the rates are whole percentages as reported. Our averages are unweighted – each window counts once, whatever its size – and our gaps are differences in percentage points between rounded rates.
- Not included: passing scores, which GARP does not publish (the estimates above are a careers website’s), and any figures about our own users, which we do not publish.
How to cite this dataset
Name the original publisher and link to this page. A full reference:
High Performer Certs (2026). FRM® Exam Part I pass rates and the passing-score question. Dataset, updated 30 October 2026. https://highperformer-certs.com/data/risk-part-1-pass-rates. Original figures: GARP (Global Association of Risk Professionals), FRM Exam results.
Under a chart or a table, a short credit line is enough: “Source: GARP (Global Association of Risk Professionals); compiled by High Performer Certs”. If you work with the CSV file or redraw the chart, check each value you quote against the page linked in its row first. Spotted an error? Tell us through the contact form, and see how we source, date and correct our pages.
When is the data updated?
- Figures as of
- Next update
- We add each window after GARP reports its results; the figure for May and August 2026 was not published in any source we read on 30 October 2026. Until a person has compared a value with GARP’s page, the row says so with a link to it.
- : First published with the twelve Part I windows from October 2020 to November 2025.
What this dataset covers
- Last updated
- Based on
- GARP’s results for each window, as reported by dated prep websites (QuintEdge, 300Hours, Edzeb, AnalystPrep – secondary sources)
- Passing-score estimates of a careers website (300Hours), marked as estimates
- Includes
- Every Part I window from October 2020 to November 2025, with May and August as one figure from 2022
- Part II where a dated source names the window
- Our averages and gaps, and what is known about the passing score
- Not included
- Windows before October 2020 (only their range)
- Candidate numbers
- A GARP passing score, which is not published
- Pass rates or numbers of our own users
Frequently asked questions
What is the FRM® Exam Part I pass rate?
In November 2025, the latest window in the sources we read on 30 October 2026, 47% (check the official website) of candidates passed. Since October 2020 the rate has ranged from 44% (check the official website) to 58% (check the official website).
What is the passing score for FRM® Exam Part I?
GARP does not publish one: the result is pass or fail only, with no score and no published passing score (check the official website). A careers website estimates about 49% for August 2026 and 53% for May 2026 from results its readers reported, and about 60% to 65% in general – estimates, not GARP figures.
Is Part I harder to pass than Part II?
By pass rate Part I was usually lower, but from May and August 2024 to May and August 2025 it was higher. In November 2025, Part I was 47% (check the official website) and Part II 50% (check the official website). Part II is graded only for candidates who have passed Part I, so the groups are not alike.
Why are May and August shown together?
From 2022 GARP reports one figure for the May and August windows together, and a separate one for November.
Is there a pass rate for May or August 2026 yet?
Not in any source we read on 30 October 2026. We add it once GARP reports it; until then November 2025 is the latest window.
Where do these figures come from?
GARP publishes the pass rate of each window. We read the values from dated prep websites that report them, and every row links to GARP’s exam page; if a figure there differs, use GARP’s.
Are these the pass rates of your users?
No. They are GARP’s figures for all candidates. We do not publish pass rates of our own users.
Related tools and pages
Sources
- QuintEdge (exam prep provider, secondary source): FRM Pass Rates 2026: Year-by-Year Trends & How They Compare to CFA – Part 1 and Part 2 pass rates by exam window (19 October 2026). Accessed 30 October 2026.
- 300Hours (finance careers website, secondary source): FRM Exam Guide 2026: Everything You Need to Know. Accessed 30 October 2026.
- Edzeb (exam prep provider, secondary source): FRM Pass Rates 2026: Part 1 vs Part 2 & Difficulty Explained – pass rates by exam administration (23 October 2026). Accessed 30 October 2026.
- AnalystPrep (exam prep provider, secondary source): GARP FRM® Pass Rates in 2026 and What May and August Suggest About November – latest published window (24 September 2026). Accessed 30 October 2026.
- 300Hours (finance careers website, secondary source): FRM Minimum Passing Score: Our Best Estimates So Far – pass or fail results, quartile bands and estimates from a survey of readers' results (2 September 2026). Accessed 30 October 2026.
- 300Hours (finance careers website, secondary source): FRM Part 1 Study Guide (2026): How to Pass First Time (4 June 2026). Accessed 30 October 2026.
- Global Association of Risk Professionals (GARP): FRM Exam information: format and exam topics. Accessed 26 October 2026.
- 300Hours (finance careers website, secondary source): FRM Exam Dates 2026-2027: Registration & Scheduling Deadlines (10 October 2026). Accessed 30 October 2026.
High Performer Certs is an independent study platform. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by CFA Institute or the Global Association of Risk Professionals (GARP). We are not a CFA Institute Prep Provider and not a GARP Exam Preparation Provider. CFA Institute does not endorse, promote, review or warrant the accuracy or quality of our products and services. GARP does not endorse, promote, review or warrant the accuracy of our products or services. All questions and explanations are our own original material and contain no CFA Institute or GARP exam, curriculum or practice questions. CFA®, Chartered Financial Analyst®, CIPM® and GIPS® are registered trademarks owned by CFA Institute. FRM® and GARP® are trademarks owned by the Global Association of Risk Professionals.