FRM Part 2 Pass Rate 2026: Historical Data and How to Join the Top Performers

Kateryna Myrko
4 days ago
5 min read

Any number you see for the FRM Part 2 Pass Rate 2026 right now is only a prediction based on historical data and recent trends, not an official figure. GARP publishes actual pass rates only after each exam window closes. Your job is to use the history to understand the range you’re likely facing and then prepare to land safely above it.

1. What the historical data says about FRM Part 2

From GARP’s own historical pass-rate charts since 2010, FRM Part 2 has consistently shown:

Pass rates generally above 50%
A typical range roughly between 50% and low-60%
A long-run pattern where Part 2 pass rates are higher than Part 1

Recent official consolidated data (through 2023) shows:

May/Aug 2022: Part 2 ≈ high-50s
Nov 2022: Part 2 ≈ high-50s
May/Aug 2023: Part 2 ≈ low-50s

The same chart shows that, over more than a decade, Part 2 rarely drops below 50% and often prints mid-50s or more. That’s the statistical reality behind any “FRM Part 2 Pass Rate 2026” forecast.

2. A realistic prediction band for FRM Part 2 Pass Rate 2026

Based purely on official historical behavior:

Part 2 has been consistently above 50% most years
The typical band is about 50–60%, depending on the administration

So a realistic prediction for the FRM Part 2 Pass Rate 2026 is:

Somewhere in the low-50s to high-50s, roughly 50–60%.

This is not a guaranteed range; it is a projection grounded in what GARP has actually done exam after exam. Treat it as the environment you’re competing in: roughly half of candidates pass, half don’t.

3. Why FRM Part 2 pass rates are higher than Part 1

Do not confuse a higher FRM Part 2 Pass Rate 2026 prediction with an “easier” exam.

There are two structural reasons Part 2 pass rates are higher:

Filtered candidate pool
- Everyone sitting Part 2 has already passed Part 1.
- Weak and non-serious candidates are removed by the first filter.
Self-selection and commitment
- By Part 2, more candidates are mid-career risk professionals or highly motivated analysts.
- People who drifted into Part 1 on a whim usually never make it to Part 2.

The exam itself is harder than Part 1 in terms of application depth. The higher pass rate simply reflects a smaller, stronger group of candidates.

4. Exam structure and topic weights that drive outcomes

GARP’s official exam information defines FRM Part 2 as:

80 multiple-choice questions
4 hours, single sitting
Computer-based testing
Offered in May, August, November

Topics and approximate weights:

Market Risk Measurement and Management – 20%
Credit Risk Measurement and Management – 20%
Operational Risk and Resilience – 20%
Liquidity and Treasury Risk Measurement and Management – 15%
Risk Management and Investment Management – 15%
Current Issues in Financial Markets – 10%

Implications:

60% of your score comes from Market, Credit, and Operational risk.
Liquidity/Treasury and Risk Management & Investment Management add another 30%.
Current Issues is “only” 10%, but poorly prepared candidates routinely leak marks here.

The structure is designed to test applied risk management, not raw memorization.

5. Factors that will shape your personal odds in 2026

The FRM Part 2 Pass Rate 2026 is an aggregate statistic. Your own probability depends on the following.

5.1 Study hours and intensity

From GARP’s own guidance and candidate surveys, average reported preparation time per part is around 240 hours, with a wide range depending on background.

For Part 2 in 2026, assume:

Minimum 250–300 serious hours if you passed Part 1 comfortably and use the tools at work
300–350+ hours if Part 1 was a close call or your day job doesn’t involve hands-on risk modelling

If you try to clear Part 2 on “leftover” time from a full-time job with <200 focused hours, you are voluntarily pushing yourself into the failing half of whatever FRM Part 2 Pass Rate 2026 ends up being.

5.2 Alignment with official curriculum and LOs

The only binding definition of exam scope is:

GARP’s official FRM curriculum (books/readings), and
The published Learning Objectives (LOs) for each topic.

If your plan is:

Unofficial notes only
Outdated material not matched to the current LO list
Question banks that don’t clearly map to the 6 Part 2 topics

then you’re building blind spots by design. Top performers anchor everything on the official LO list and use third-party resources as support, not as the core.

5.3 Depth in high-weight topics

To join the top tier in the FRM Part 2 Pass Rate 2026 group, you need strong, not marginal, performance in:

Market Risk (VaR, ES, backtesting, stressed VaR, incremental/ component VaR, risk decompositions)
Credit Risk (PD/LGD/EAD, portfolio credit models, credit derivatives, securitization structures)
Operational Risk and Resilience (loss distributions, scenario analysis, RCSA, cyber/technology risk, resilience frameworks)

These are not “learn the formula and move on” areas. You need to be able to:

Choose the correct framework for a given scenario
Interpret model outputs and their limitations
Compare methods and justify one approach over another

Candidates who treat all topics as equal will under-invest in these heavyweights and get crushed.

5.4 Use of official practice exams and sample questions

GARP provides:

Official practice exams and sample questions
Study documents that illustrate expected question style

Top performers:

Use these as benchmarks to calibrate their preparation
Adjust pacing and depth based on match/mismatch with the official style

If you never touch official-style questions until the last week, you’re guessing how close you are to the true exam standard.

6. How to position yourself in the top slice of FRM Part 2 in 2026

If you want to be in the pass subset of whatever the FRM Part 2 Pass Rate 2026 turns out to be, and ideally in the top quartiles:

Lock a 5–6 month timeline.Stop thinking in weeks. Plan a half-year window with 10–12 focused hours per week.
Re-use Part 1 foundations aggressively.FRM Part 2 assumes you still know the Part 1 math, distributions, derivatives, and risk metrics. Do a targeted refresher early rather than discovering gaps in Month 4.
Prioritize the 20%+20%+20% block. Market, Credit, and Operational risk get the bulk of your hours and your question volume. Your aim: be comfortable, not just “familiar,” with every LO in these topics.
Treat Current Issues as easy marks, not optional reading.10% of the paper in a narrative topic is a gift if you’ve actually read the material. Don’t leave those points on the table because you skipped a PDF.
Base your metrics on honest mocks.
- Take at least two full 4-hour mocks under timed conditions.
- Track your score topic-by-topic.
- Fix weak areas with targeted review plus more questions, not by re-reading entire books.
Use the prediction as context, not a target.Assume a predicted FRM Part 2 Pass Rate 2026 of roughly 50–60% and aim to perform at a level where you would be comfortable even if the actual pass rate came in at the low end of that band.

If you execute that plan properly, the exact FRM Part 2 Pass Rate 2026 statistic won’t matter. You will have positioned yourself alongside the fraction of candidates who treat this as a professional exam, not a lottery.

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