All versions of the examination are constructed to be of comparable difficulty to one another. For the January 2023 administration of Examination P, an average of 71% correct was needed to pass the exam.

But unlike doctors or lawyers, actuaries need to, in order to become fully credentialed, pass a series of difficult tests called Actuarial Exams. These are very hard. Very very hard. The preliminary exams are 3 hours long, consisting of 30-35 multiple choice problems, and the pass rate is typically only 30-40%.

The current pass rate for Exam FM is 48%. Sometimes it is higher, and other times it is lower. The effective pass rate is 54.3%. This percentage only takes into consideration those candidates who scored at least 50% of the pass mark.

The SOA has more than 30,000 actuaries as members. The society's members are involved in the life, health, pension, and general insurance areas of the actuarial profession. There are three classes of members.