Exam Dates
CFP® Certification Examination is one of the toughest financial exams in the country. The national average pass-rate is approximately 57%. Therefore you are highly recommended to enroll in a CFP® certification examination preparation program immediately after completing the core education. It is also recommended that you spend at least 100-120 hours between the exam application deadline and the actual exam date to be fully prepared.
The exams are held on specific dates, three times a year, in several major metropolitan areas. The 2012 exam dates are:
| Exam Date |
Application Deadline |
Withdrawal Deadline |
| July 20-21, 2012 |
June 5, 2012 |
June 12, 2012 |
| November 16-17, 2012 |
October 2, 2012 |
October 9, 2012 |
Important information about CFP® Certification Examination:
- Candidates for certification must have a bachelor's degree (or higher), or its equivalent, in any discipline, from an accredited college or university to attain CFP® certification. You can sit for the board exam without a bachelor's degree, however, after you pass the CFP® Certification Examination, you will be required to provide evidence that you hold a qualified bachelor's degree or higher degree within five years.
- Currently CFP Board charges a fee of $595 to sit for the exam in the US. Fee is paid directly to the board by Visa, MasterCard or American Express.
- The entire exam is given in a single two-day session, typically Friday and Saturday. The first day has one sitting of 4 hours, the second day has two sittings of 3 hours each for a total of 10 hours.
- There are 285 multiple choice questions across the three sittings.
- If you fail the CFP® Certification Examination and elect to retest, you are required to retake the entire exam. There is no limit on the number of times you may retake the exam. You will have to pay the current exam fee for each retake.
- A Candidate must complete the four Es: Education, Examination, Experience, and Ethics before they are authorized to use the CFP® mark.
