Guide for brokers and trading apps

Forex knowledge test for retail traders

Last reviewed: October 29, 2026

Retail forex is usually offered as rolling spot contracts or CFDs on currency pairs, with leverage. Regulators treat it as a derivative business and ask firms to check what clients understand. Here are the main rules with sources.

European Union

Rolling spot forex and currency CFDs are derivatives under MiFID II (Directive 2014/65/EU), so a firm offering them without advice must assess appropriateness under article 25(3), based on the client's knowledge and experience.

Under ESMA Decision (EU) 2018/796, applied since 1 August 2018 and then made permanent by national authorities, leverage for retail clients is limited to 30:1 on major currency pairs and 20:1 on non-major pairs, with margin close-out at 50%, negative balance protection and a standardized risk warning.

United Kingdom and United States

United Kingdom: FCA PS19/18 applies the same type of limits to retail CFDs, including currency CFDs and rolling spot forex, since 1 August 2019.

United States: retail forex is regulated by the CFTC under 17 CFR Part 5 and by NFA rules. NFA sets minimum security deposits of 2% for major currency pairs and 5% for the others, which means maximum leverage of 50:1 and 20:1. NFA Compliance Rule 2-30 sets the customer information and risk disclosure duties of its members.

Singapore

Under MAS Notice SFA 04-N12, leveraged foreign exchange trading is an unlisted Specified Investment Product: a retail client must pass a Customer Knowledge Assessment or receive advice before trading.

What a forex knowledge test usually covers

base and quote currency, pips, lots and contract size;
bid, ask and spread;
leverage, margin and margin calls;
rollover and swap costs on positions held overnight;
how interest rates, central banks and economic data move currencies;
weekend gaps and slippage.

How Unicorn Academy for Business works

You choose the product category, the number of questions (5 to 40), the pass mark, the number of attempts and the waiting time between attempts.
You add the test to your app or website with one script, a signed link or the REST API, with your name, logo and colors, in 16 languages.
Every attempt draws random questions from the Unicorn Academy courses and shuffles the answers. Users who do not pass get the lessons linked to the questions they missed.
You receive the result by signed webhook or API. Every attempt is stored with date, questions, answers, score, test version and language in a tamper evident hash chain, exportable to CSV or JSON, with an optional PDF certificate.

The assessment stays yours

Unicorn Academy for Business is a knowledge assessment tool that you use inside your own processes. It does not decide whether a product is appropriate for a client and it does not by itself ensure compliance with MiFID II, MiCA or any other rule. How you use the results, and the appropriateness or suitability assessment, remain your responsibility.

Try the demo test See pricing

Every account starts with a test environment: sample data, test keys, no time limit, no card.

Questions

Can we require the forex test before enabling leverage?

Yes. Your platform receives the result by webhook or API and decides what to enable; the decision and the assessment remain yours.

Is the test the same for every user?

No. Questions are drawn at random from the course bank and answers are shuffled at every attempt.

Which languages are available?

16, including Arabic shown right to left.

Official sources

This page is general information, not legal advice. Rules change and apply differently by country, licence and client type: check the current official texts and the guidance of your regulator.