After months of coursework and exam prep you did it—you are now an official CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER®! Now, you can kick back and never study or learn anything ever again. Right?
Not quite.
One, you need to keep your skills sharp for your clients’ sake. You still need to know what’s going on in the wonderful world of tax and keep up with investment trends. Most importantly, you need to refresh your ethical knowledge and stay aware of changing standards! Two, CFP Board requires practitioners to complete continuing education courses to maintain their marks. After all the work you put in to earn your certification, the last thing you want to do is lose it.
So, learn what you need to know about the CFP® CE requirements and get some tips on how to make it easier to meet them.
What Are the CFP® CE Requirements?
To keep your credential active, you need to earn 30 hours of approved CE for CFP®s during every two-year renewal cycle. Think of it as a professional development subscription you can't cancel. Of those 30 hours, you'll need to complete two hours of CFP Board-approved ethics CE. The remaining 28 hours need to be in courses covering CFP Board Principal Topics and must be current, accurate, and taught by certified pros (you deserve nothing less). Make sure you check with CFP Board for approved programs.
Meet these CFP® CE requirements, and you’re golden.
One thing to note: those 30 hours stay in that two-year cycle. No rolling over extra credits like you’re stockpiling vacation days. Use them or lose them
What Does CE for CFP®s Focus On?
You probably remember these from your exam prep days. The CFP Board has a defined list of eight knowledge domains that your CE must fall into. These topics ensure you stay current on all fronts of financial planning.
- Professional Conduct and Regulation
- General Principles of Financial Planning
- Risk Management and Insurance Planning
- Investment Planning
- Tax Planning
- Retirement Savings and Income Planning
- Estate Planning
- Psychology of Financial Planning
Taking courses in these topics helps you stay up to date on changes, build new skills, and broaden your expertise so you can confidently handle any client scenario that comes your way.
How Do I Report CFP® CE?
Part of meeting your CFP® CE requirements is ensuring your completed coursework is delivered to CFP Board. Board registered CE providers must report completion of coursework directly to CFP Board after you complete the course and earn a passing grade on the course exam. In certain instances, you will need to report your CE credits directly. Here’s how to do it:
- Complete 30 hours of CE credits before your two-year cycle ends.
- Log in to your CFP Board account and verify that your provider has reported your completed courses. If not, you can report them manually (Bonus tip: Do it as you go, so it’s not a mad dash at the end.).
- Renew your certification online, which includes updating your contact details and paying the annual certification.
- Celebrate your success! You’ve maintained your elite status for another year and that's definitely worth doing a little victory dance.
Pro tip: Please don’t procrastinate. If you miss the renewal deadline, you’ll be hit with a reinstatement fee. And if you don’t renew for five full years? Yep, it’s back to square one with the CFP® Exam.
Bonus pro tip: Keep your documentation for at least three years following program completion. It's always better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it.
Tips to Breeze Through Meeting Your CFP® CE Requirements
Meeting your CE obligations doesn't have to feel like a chore. With a little strategy, you can make it a valuable and even enjoyable part of your professional life!
- Focus on your niche: Use this as a chance to hone your specialty (retirement planning, anyone?) or explore new ones. Your clients will thank you.
- Double dip your continuing education: If you hold other credentials, like a CPA license that also requires continuing education, you may be able to take courses that will satisfy the requirements of each.
- Consider a subscription: Subscribe to a continuing education service. With bundles of courses covering all your CFP CE needs, it’s like a streaming service—but for your brain.
- Make a plan: Spread out your credit hours over the two years. Four or five hours per quarter keeps it manageable and stress-free. Plus, no frantic late-night CPE cramming sessions? Yes, please.
Tools and Resources for Success
CFP Board’s website makes it easy to find the right courses. Their website features more than 14,000 pre-approved programs that you can filter by topic, complexity, or credit hours. Need to fulfill your ethics requirement? Just apply the “ethics” filter and voilà, you’re one step closer to completion.
Go Beyond the Basics!
CE for CFP®s isn’t just something you have to do, it’s an opportunity to get better at your job, build your skills, and deliver better services to your clients. Instead of a box you have to check, view it as your chance to level up and set yourself apart in a crowded field.
If you’re ready, head to CFP Board’s CE website to browse courses or start mapping out your game plan. Soon enough, earning continuing education credits will feel like second nature, and your clients will feel the difference.
Best Sources of CE for CFPs
Okay, now that you know how to meet your CFP CE requirements, the next step is actually getting started. Here are some great sources.
Becker
With courses on taxes, finance, and other key topics, Becker's CPE courses include hundreds of CFP Board-approved options, available both on-demand and via live webcasts.
STC
STC offers IAR CE programs for Investment Adviser Representatives. These one-hour courses meet the CFP CE requirements and are also NASAA-approved.
eMoney Advisor
Looking for free CE for CFPs? Check out eMoney Advisor's monthly CE webinars that are CFP Board-approved and cover a variety of relevant topics.
Financial Planning Association
From webinars and on-demand CE courses to a week-long FPA Residency that's ideal for newly certified CFP® professionals, Financial Planning Association has some great options for continuing your education.
CFP Board
When all else fails, find CE for CFP®s through CFP Board! They have an index of approved courses where you can filter down by area of learning, provider, and format. We highly recommend checking here to meet the ethics portion of your CFP® CE requirement.
Choose a BIF partner to meet your CFP® CE requirements
BIF partners with both STC and Becker Professional Education, and both organizations offer CFP Board approved continuing education. STC’s Investment Adviser Representative trainings are ideal for securities-focused training and coursework while Becker’s tax, retirement, and estate planning CPE courses sharpen your skills these areas.
