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Hong KongThe HKSI Paper 1 exam fee is HKD 1,800 - here is what that does and does not cover
The HKSI Paper 1 examination fee is HKD 1,800 for one sitting. It buys the exam itself and nothing else - no study manual, no tuition, no free resit. Fail, and a second attempt costs HKD 1,800 again. Around 48.1% of candidates do not pass first time.
HKD 1,800. That is the number, and it is worth sitting with for a second, because the fee is per attempt and the mean pass rate over the twelve months to June 2026 was 51.9%. Price the exam at what it is likely to cost you rather than what it costs once, and the maths of preparing properly changes.
What the fee covers
- Examination fee
- HKD 1,800
- What it buys
- One sitting of Paper 1 at an HKSI Institute examination centre
- Includes study material?
- No
- Includes a free resit?
- No - a resit is a fresh enrolment at the same fee
- Twelve-month mean pass rate
- 51.9%, to June 2026
- Implied cost if you sit twice
- HKD 1,800 twice over
The fee is for the examination. It does not include the HKSI study manual, any tuition, or any practice material. Those are separate purchases from separate places, and the Institute sells the manual through its own site at a price it publishes there.
The costs the fee hides
Candidates budget for the exam and then find three or four other line items waiting. None of them are enormous on their own. Together they change the picture.
| Cost | Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Paper 1 examination fee | HKD 1,800 | Per attempt, every attempt |
| A second paper for your regulated activity | Published separately by HKSI | Almost everyone needs one - check which |
| HKSI study manual | Priced on the HKSI site | Optional. Many candidates pass without it |
| Practice questions or a course | Varies by provider | The one place where spending changes your odds |
| SFC licence application fee | Set by the SFC | Paid at the application stage, not the exam stage |
| A resit, if it comes to that | HKD 1,800 | The cost most people forget to price in |
HKSI publishes current fees, concessions and payment methods on its enrolment page, and the SFC publishes application fees on its own site. Those figures move. We only print HKD 1,800 because we can source it, and we would rather point you at the live page than quote something stale.
Who usually pays
If you already have a job offer or a seat at a licensed corporation, your employer very often pays the exam fee, sometimes with a clawback if you leave within a set period. If you are sitting the paper speculatively to make yourself hireable, you pay. Both are common. The second group tends to prepare harder, for reasons that have nothing to do with intelligence.
One practical note for the employer-paid group: firms usually cover the fee for the first attempt and are far less enthusiastic about the third. That is worth knowing before you book a sitting you are not ready for.
Is the fee good value?
Against what a Hong Kong licence is worth to a career, HKD 1,800 is not a serious sum. Against the risk of paying it twice, it is. Here is the opinion: the fee is priced such that failing is the expensive outcome, not sitting. Roughly 48.1% of candidates do not pass, and every one of them pays again. If you are weighing up whether to spend on preparation, compare the cost of that preparation to the cost of a resit plus the delay to your start date, not to zero.
The concession: plenty of people pass on the free syllabus, the Ordinance text and disciplined self-testing, spending nothing beyond the fee. If you have a legal or compliance background and eight clear weeks, that route is entirely viable. It is just slower.
Booking and payment
Enrolment runs through the HKSI Institute's own system, and the fee is payable at the point of enrolment. Payment methods, enrolment windows and the cut-off before each monthly sitting are all published on the Institute's enrolment page, and they change often enough that quoting them here would do you a disservice. Check the page, then book. Our walkthrough of how to register for Paper 1 covers what you will be asked for.
If you want the whole picture rather than just the exam line, the total cost of getting licensed adds up every stage from first sitting to the SFC application.
Common questions
How much does HKSI Paper 1 cost?
HKD 1,800 for one sitting. That is the examination fee only. It does not include the HKSI study manual, tuition, practice questions, or the SFC's own licence application fee, all of which are billed separately by whoever provides them.
Do I pay again if I fail Paper 1?
Yes. A resit is a fresh enrolment at the full fee of HKD 1,800. There is no discounted second attempt. Given that roughly 48.1% of candidates did not pass over the twelve months to June 2026, it is worth budgeting as if a resit is possible.
Does the exam fee include the study manual?
No. The HKSI Institute sells its study manual separately and publishes the price on its own site. Plenty of candidates pass using the free syllabus and the primary legislation instead, so treat the manual as a choice rather than a requirement.
Will my employer pay the HKSI exam fee?
Many licensed corporations do, particularly for new joiners who need the licence to start. Some attach a clawback if you leave within a set period, and most are less willing to fund repeated attempts. Ask your compliance or HR team before you enrol.
Are there any fee concessions?
HKSI publishes any current concessions, member rates or promotional arrangements on its enrolment page. We do not reproduce them here because they change, and a stale discount is worse than no information. Check the live page when you book.