Research Analyst Certification (Renewal)

This is a renewal paper for research analysts, open only to candidates who already hold a valid NISM-Series-XV: Research Analyst certificate. It renews that certification; it is not a way to obtain it in the first place.

You apply through NISM's certification portal at cert.nism.ac.in by declaring that you hold a valid XV certificate. NISM checks it against its records and confirms by email, which it says takes about two working days.

If your XV certificate has already lapsed, or you never held one, the full Series XV examination is the route — not this paper.

XV-B is delivered entirely online in two parts, and both must be completed:

1. Pre-recorded video training on the NISM portal — NISM describes this as around 2 to 3 hours of material.
2. A one-hour assessment of 50 multiple-choice questions, one mark each, with no negative marking. You need 25 marks to pass.

The exam is proctored online and needs a desktop or laptop with a webcam and microphone; phones and tablets are not accepted.

One thing worth knowing if you are renewing: NISM revised the parent Series XV examination with effect from 20 January 2026, replacing the earlier test objectives and workbook (circular dated 5 December 2025). NISM does not say whether the XV-B training has been updated to match, so we do not claim either way — but the current Series XV material is what our own XV chapters teach.

NISM publishes no workbook and no syllabus for XV-B, and no chapter weightages — only the pre-recorded training on its portal, which you work through as part of the exam. We will not invent a syllabus NISM has not published, so this page carries the pattern and the eligibility rules instead of chapters. To revise the underlying research-analyst material, our Series XV chapters are written from that paper's own workbook.