The CFP® Certification Examination is designed to assess your ability to apply financial planning knowledge to real-life financial planning situations. By passing this exam, you demonstrate to the public that you are at the appropriate level of competency required to practice financial planning.
IMPORTANT: You can now register for the CFP® Certification Examination prior to completing the Education coursework requirement. CFP Board, however, must receive verification of your coursework completion by the Education Verification Deadline. If verification is not received by that deadline, you will be de-registered, your seat will become available to other candidates, and you will be charged a $100 postponement fee.
The coursework requirement can be met in several ways, including completing a CFP Board-Registered Program, completing equivalent coursework subject to CFP Board's Transcript Review process, or having one of the "Challenge status" designations, credentials or degrees pre-approved by CFP Board.
View acceptable qualifying documentation for the education coursework requirement
Steps
Create an online account: If this is your first time applying for the CFP® Certification Examination, you will need to create a secure online account with CFP Board and then log in to start the registration process.
Create an Account
Log in to your account: If you have previously registered for the exam or have already created your online account, log in to your secure CFP Board account to start the registration process.
Once you are logged in to your online CFP Board account, please click on the Certification Requirements tab to access the Exam Application.
Login/Apply
If you have any questions about registering for the CFP® Certification Examination, please contact CFP Board at 800-487-1497 or examinations@cfpboard.org.
Verify Education Coursework Requirement Completion
View acceptable qualifying documentation for the education coursework requirement
If you attended a CFP Board-Registered Program, your program will provide CFP Board with documentation verifying your completion of the education program, and you will receive email confirmation when CFP Board receives that documentation. If you have questions about the status of your education documentation, please contact your Registered Program.
Exam Dates and Deadlines
The CFP® Exam is offered in a computer-based format during an 8-day testing window. The exam is administered on one day during two 3-hour testing sessions, separated by a scheduled 40-minute break. A 7-hour appointment is scheduled to allow time for check-in, and security procedures.
Candidates select their test day (Tuesday-Tuesday) and test site location from among Prometric’s network of testing sites. The CFP® exam is administered in more than 265 dedicated professional testing locations across the U.S.
Note: The July 2018 CFP® exam is the final exam that will test on the current tax laws. Starting with November 2018, the CFP® exam will reflect the 2018 federal tax law changes.
Exam
Window |
Registration
Open |
Education Verification
Deadline |
Registration
Deadline |
| Nov. 6-13, 2018 |
July 18, 2018 |
Oct. 10, 2018 |
Oct. 23, 2018 |
*Candidates may reschedule their Prometric appointment within the testing window as late as five days prior to their scheduled appointment, subject to seat availability and rescheduling fees.
Beginning with the March 2016 CFP® Exam, a new exam blueprint will be in effect that will incorporate the findings from the 2015 Job Task Analysis.
Learn more about policies related to rescheduling, withdrawals, retakes and policy exception requests.