Long term care, mortgage and equity release qualifications could be reviewed by the FSA every three years to "ensure they remain up to date and relevant".
The regulator also disclosed the possibility that it could take over examinations control from the Financial Services Skills Council (FSSC).
Both the long term care and mortgage exams were last evaluated in 2004, with equity release looked at in 2007.
The proposal is made in the FSA's CP10/12 Competence and ethics consultation paper, which also notes that it is happy for non-examination based qualifications to continue for those areas not covered by the RDR.
The paper says that while the FSA does not have a view on the level of difficulty of qualifications required outside of the RDR, it is "primarily concerned with ensuring that any qualification is fit for purpose and areas examined cover the actual activities and skills necessary to perform the associated role."
"However, we will link those skills to the appropriate descriptors in qualifications frameworks so they are easy to use and understand."
It also suggests that the calls for reviewing the standards have come from within the industry, rather than from concerns over a market failure, and that alternative exam methods pose no problem.
The report continues: "Our research suggests that firms believe the existing content of qualifications does not accurately reflect the role individuals are performing.
"At present, written examinations are the primary qualification assessment methodology used, but we can see no reason why we should not permit use of other assessment methodologies for non-RDR activities."
It is asking for responses to the questions:
- Do you agree that all the appropriate examination standards should be updated every three years?
- Which appropriate examination standards do you think we should review first and why?
The consultation is open for three months.
