IIQE Complete Guide: Eligibility, Papers, Fees, Format and Results

Last updated 2026-08-09

Most English-language information about the IIQE is second-hand, uncited, and inconsistent between sources.

This guide was written by reading the official documents clause by clause. Every fact cites where it comes from. Where the official documents are silent, this page says so rather than filling the gap. All material was retrieved on 2026-08-09.

Contents

1. Who may sit the examination
2. Which papers you need
3. The three examination modes
4. Fees
5. Format, question counts and the pass mark
6. When results are released
7. Passing is not the same as being licensed
8. What we could not obtain

1. Who may sit the examination

"Any person may enrol for the examination; no qualification is required." — Examination handbook, clause 3.2.1

You do not need to join an insurer first, hold a licence first, or hold any particular academic or professional qualification.

The online enrolment system lists only four things you need: a Hong Kong identity card or passport, a Visa / Mastercard / UnionPay credit card, a Hong Kong mobile number, and an email address.

2. Which papers you need

Paper I is compulsory. The rest follow from the line of business you intend to carry on (handbook clause 2.1.3):

There is also Paper VI: Travel Insurance Agents Examination, which has its own separate handbook and is not covered by the table above.

There is no Paper IV in the numbering. Handbook clause 2.1.5 states that with effect from 2 May 2013, the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Examination — formerly Paper IV — ceased to form part of the IIQE. It is now specified by the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority and has its own separate handbook.

The industry still says "Paper IV" out of habit. The practical cost is that some candidates sit an examination they do not need, and others assume "the full set" covers MPF work when it does not.

3. The three examination modes

The remotely invigilated mode has applied since 1 September 2023. It is available only to candidates who are not currently individual licensees but intend to apply to the Insurance Authority for a licence, and the same paper may not be booked more than once in the same month.

If you want the result quickly, choose the computer-based mode — the paper-and-pencil mode takes five full working days.

4. Fees

Payment is made only through the online enrolment system, by Visa, Mastercard or UnionPay credit card.

Handbook clause 5.5 states that fees are subject to adjustment when necessary. Check the current official version before you enrol.

Three rules that catch people out: online enrolment must be completed within 20 minutes or the selected session is not held; once an enrolment is accepted the fee is neither refundable nor transferable; and your personal particulars must match your identity document exactly — a discrepancy means you are not admitted to the examination and the fee is not refunded.

5. Format, question counts and the pass mark

All questions are multiple choice, all questions must be attempted, and all questions are set in both Chinese and English (handbook clauses 2.2.1–2.2.3).

A candidate must score at least 70 marks in each paper to pass.

One consequence is worth stating plainly: the examination centre does not release marks, questions or correct answers. Even after a re-mark, a candidate is told only whether the paper is now a pass.

So "how far off was I" is information that does not exist. Weak areas can only be located from your own practice record before the examination, not from feedback afterwards.

6. When results are released

• Computer-based mode: the result appears on screen immediately; the electronic result notification

can be downloaded 1 hour after the designated end time of the examination

• Paper-and-pencil mode: available from the fifth full working day after the examination
• The electronic result notification and certificate can be downloaded only within three months of

the examination date. After that you must apply for a replacement, which carries a fee and is watermarked Duplicate

Download and keep the PDF as soon as you have it. This is a nuisance that costs nothing to avoid.

7. Passing is not the same as being licensed

"Unless exempted, every individual licensee must have passed the relevant paper(s) of the Insurance Intermediaries Qualifying Examination." — Handbook clause 1.1

Read it carefully: it says that a licensee must have passed — passing is a necessary condition for holding a licence. The handbook nowhere says that passing makes you a licensee.

The Vocational Training Council is appointed by the Insurance Authority as the examination body, with day-to-day operation by the PEAK Examination Centre (clause 1.2). Licensing is the Insurance Authority's function, not the examination centre's. The footnote to clause 1.1 defines "individual licensee" by reference to Cap. 41, the Insurance Ordinance.

Clause 9 also provides that disqualification may last up to three years, and that the examination centre reports disqualifications to the Insurance Authority.

8. What we could not obtain

Rather than paraphrase second-hand material, here is where to get it accurately:

• PEAK Examination Centre: 2919 1467 / 2919 1468 / 2919 1478 · [email protected]
• Insurance Authority: www.ia.org.hk

One more thing that costs nothing: handbook clauses 2.1.4 and 14.1 state that the syllabus for each paper and the study notes are downloadable from both the examination centre's website and the Insurance Authority's website. Get those two before buying any preparation material.

Sources and currency

All facts above come from three official documents, all retrieved on 2026-08-09: the Insurance Intermediaries Qualifying Examination (Paper-and-Pencil and Computer-based Modes) Handbook, applicable from 1 September 2025; the Remotely Invigilated Mode of Examination FAQ, applicable from 1 September 2023; and the declaration and mode pages of the PEAK online enrolment system.

⚠️ The handbook is versioned, and fees, papers and syllabus are all subject to change. Check the current official version before enrolling. Mange is not an official body. Nothing here is enrolment, legal or career advice; the official announcements of the Insurance Authority and the PEAK Examination Centre govern.