CFP® certification
CFP® certification requirements: the four steps and the hours
CFP® certification asks for 6,000 hours of experience, or 4,000 on the apprenticeship pathway: about 2.9 years at 40 hours a week. Type your own weekly hours to see how long it takes you.
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CFP® experience: how long it takes
Example, not your result yet· change a figure to see yours
Time to log the hours
2.9 years
| Hours required | 6,000 |
| Months at this pace | 35 |
| Hours a year at this pace | 2,080 |
Counted at 52 working weeks a year; vacation weeks push the date back.
CFP Board grants CFP® certification to candidates who meet four requirements, often called education, examination, experience and ethics. Education means a bachelor’s degree and CFP Board coursework from a registered program. The exam is the CFP® exam, offered three times a year. Experience is 6,000 hours of professional experience related to the financial planning process on the standard pathway, or 4,000 hours on the apprenticeship pathway, which carries additional requirements; it can be gained before or after the exam. Ethics means agreeing to CFP Board’s standards and passing its background check. At forty hours a week, 6,000 hours take about 2.9 years and 4,000 about 1.9. After certification, CFP® professionals renew every year and complete 30 hours of continuing education every 2 years.
Fees read and totals checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Method and sources
The four requirements
- Education. A bachelor’s degree and CFP Board coursework, according to CFP Board’s final steps page.
- Examination. The CFP® exam, in one of three windows a year. See exam dates and pass rates.
- Experience. 6,000 hours on the standard pathway or 4,000 on the apprenticeship pathway, per the experience requirement page.
- Ethics. Commitment to CFP Board’s code and standards and a background review.
Once all four are met, CFP Board asks for the $250 application fee and a prorated first certification fee, to be paid within six months.
How long the experience takes
| Pace | Standard pathway, years | Apprenticeship, years |
|---|---|---|
| 20 hours a week | 5.8 | 3.8 |
| 30 hours a week | 3.8 | 2.6 |
| 40 hours a week | 2.9 | 1.9 |
| 50 hours a week | 2.3 | 1.5 |
CFP Board counts many kinds of work, from engaging with clients directly to supporting the financial planning process or teaching related courses. Hours can be reported at any time through the candidate account, so a candidate can see where they stand long before applying.
Until certification, a candidate may not use the CFP® marks. CFP Board’s guidelines require the mark in capitals with ®, followed by an approved noun: a person is a “CFP® professional”, never the bare letters.
Keeping the certification
Renewal comes every year, with the $575 fee due by the expiration date on your CFP Board account; paying late adds $75 and can lead to losing the right to the marks, according to the renewal policies. Continuing education runs on a two-year cycle: 30 hours, 2 of them in a pre-approved CFP Board ethics course. Over ten certified years, the fees alone come to $5,750, before any CE course costs. The cost calculator adds them for the number of years you choose.
Order of the steps
The four requirements do not have to be met in a fixed order, but two depend on each other. The exam requires the coursework to be verified by the deadline of the window you choose; certification requires all four. In practice, most of the calendar is set by the experience requirement. At forty qualifying hours a week, the standard pathway takes close to three years and the apprenticeship pathway about two. Someone who starts logging hours while still taking the coursework, and sits the exam in the meantime, can reach certification soon after the last hour is logged. Someone who waits to start work until after the exam adds the whole experience period to the end.
The money follows the same order: education first, the exam fee at each registration, then the application and the first prorated certification fee within six months of meeting every requirement, then the annual fee for as long as you hold the marks.