• CFP® certificants must sign and adhere to Code of Ethics.
• CFP Board polices certificants’ practices
• Since 2007, a bachelor's degree has been required.
• To meet the education requirement, individuals must satisfy the education requirement in one of 5 methods:
• Complete a degree program.
• Complete a Certificate Program.
• Challenge status for CPA, CFA, Ph.D./DBA (in business or economics), CLU, ChFC, or licensed attorney.
• Self Study
• Transcript review (used rarely).
• Continuing Education of 30 hours every 2 years is required once the CFP designation is earned.
• Work experience in financial planning required for certification, not examination.
• 3 years experience required for certification.
• Completed from 10 years before passage of exam to 5 years after exam.
• See
Guide to CFP® Certification for specifics and examples of qualifying job descriptions.
• Tests students in income taxation, insurance, investments, trusts/ estates, retirement/ employee benefits and financial planning processes.
• Generally offered 3rd weekend in March, July and November each year.
• Number of test-takers averages 5,000 - 6,000 each year.
• Generally 275-325 multiple-choice questions, with some discarded ex post
10-hour exam: one 4-hour session Friday afternoon, two 3-hour sessions Saturday
Includes 3 case studies; point values are 50% greater than that of a regular question.
• Sidebar: If you are working on your ChFC or CLU through the American College and pass the CFP exam, then 5 of the 8 required exams for the CLU or ChFC designation have been satisfied.
The CFP Board maintains general statistics on the profiles of CFP® certificants.
