Guide for brokers and trading apps

MiFID II appropriateness assessment for CFDs and futures

Last reviewed: October 29, 2026

Contracts for differences (CFDs) and futures are derivatives and use leverage. European, UK and US rules ask firms to collect information on the client's knowledge and experience before trading starts. Here is a summary with the official texts.

MiFID II: appropriateness for derivatives

Under article 25(3) of Directive 2014/65/EU (MiFID II), a firm that provides execution or reception and transmission of orders without advice must assess whether the product is appropriate, based on the client's knowledge and experience. CFDs and futures are derivatives, so the execution-only exemption of article 25(4) does not apply.

Articles 55 and 56 of Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2017/565 set what information is collected and how the assessment is kept. The ESMA appropriateness guidelines (ESMA35-43-3006, January 2023) add expectations on question design, self assessment and repeated attempts.

ESMA product intervention on CFDs

With Decision (EU) 2018/796, ESMA restricted the marketing, distribution and sale of CFDs to retail clients from 1 August 2018. National authorities later adopted permanent measures based on the same model. The main elements:

leverage limits from 30:1 for major currency pairs to 20:1 for non-major pairs, gold and major indices, 10:1 for other commodities and non-major indices, 5:1 for individual equities and 2:1 for crypto-assets;
margin close-out when the account falls to 50% of the required margin;
negative balance protection on each account;
no monetary or non-monetary incentives to trade;
a standardized risk warning with the percentage of the provider's retail accounts that lose money.

United Kingdom and United States

United Kingdom: FCA Policy Statement PS19/18 made similar CFD restrictions permanent from 1 August 2019 (1 September 2019 for CFD-like options). Appropriateness rules for non-advised services are in COBS 10 and 10A.

United States: NFA Compliance Rule 2-30 requires futures firms to obtain information from individual customers, including occupation, estimated annual income and net worth, age and previous investment and futures trading experience, and to provide risk disclosure before the account is opened.

What a CFD and futures knowledge test usually covers

leverage and how a small price move changes the account balance;
initial and maintenance margin, margin calls and automatic close-out;
negative balance protection and gap risk;
overnight financing and other costs;
contract specifications, expiry and rollover of futures;
daily mark to market and variation margin.

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

Is a knowledge test enough for the appropriateness assessment?

Not by itself. Rules also look at experience, education and profession, and at how you use the result. The test gives you documented evidence on knowledge; the assessment remains yours.

Can the pass mark be different for CFDs and for futures?

Yes. Every category has its own number of questions, pass mark, attempts and waiting hours.

Are attempts recorded?

Every attempt is stored with date, questions, answers, score, test version and language in a hash chain, exportable to CSV or JSON.

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.