CFP® certification
CFP® exam dates and registration deadlines
CFP Board has posted exam windows for March 16 to 23, 2027 and July 13 to 20, 2027. The exam costs $825 with early bird registration, $925 standard and $1,025 late. Pick a window to see its deadlines.
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CFP® exam window: dates and fee
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Exam fee, early bird / standard / late
$825 / $925 / $1,025
| Registration opens | October 21, 2026 |
| Education verification deadline | February 23, 2027 |
| Early, standard and late deadlines | not yet posted by CFP Board |
Testing: March 16 to 23, 2027.
The CFP® exam is offered three times a year, in testing windows of about a week. CFP Board’s registration page lists the windows of October 29 to November 5, 2026, March 16 to 23, 2027, July 13 to 20, 2027. Registration for the March 2027 window opened on October 21, 2026, and for July 2027 it opens on February 17, 2027. Each window has an education verification deadline: candidates must have their CFP Board coursework verified by February 23, 2027 for March and June 22, 2027 for July. Inside a window, the fee rises in three steps: $825 for early bird registration, $925 standard and $1,025 late, as listed for the October 2026 window. CFP Board had not yet posted the early, standard and late closing dates for 2027 when we read the page on November 7, 2026, so the tool shows them only for the window where they were published.
Fees read and totals checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Method and sources
The three windows
| Testing window | Registration opens | Education verified by | Early bird closes | Registration closes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October 29 to November 5, 2026 | June 2, 2026 | October 6, 2026 | September 1, 2026 | October 13, 2026 |
| March 16 to 23, 2027 | October 21, 2026 | February 23, 2027 | not posted | not posted |
| July 13 to 20, 2027 | February 17, 2027 | June 22, 2027 | not posted | not posted |
For October 2026, the standard deadline was October 6, 2026, the same day as the education deadline, and late registration ran a week longer. If the 2027 windows follow the same pattern, the last cheap day to register falls well before the education deadline; but that is a pattern, not a published date, and the tool does not fill it in.
Picking a window
Three questions decide it. Will your coursework be verified in time? Can you register early bird, which is $200 cheaper than late? And how many weeks of review do you need between the end of the course and the exam? Candidates who miss a window lose nothing but time if they had not registered; once registered, moving to another window follows CFP Board’s own rules and fees.
Recent windows, by size
| Window | Candidates who sat | Overall pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| November 2024 | 3,755 | 62.2% |
| March 2025 | 3,854 | 64.9% |
| July 2025 | 3,214 | 63.6% |
| November 2025 | 3,970 | 63.7% |
| March 2026 | 4,391 | 66.7% |
| July 2026 | 3,621 | 65.9% |
Recent windows have been larger than those of 2023, and pass rates have stayed in a narrow band. The full list of sessions, with first-time and repeat rates, is on the CFP® pass rate page.
Check three things on CFP Board’s site: the education deadline for your window, the identity documents the test provider requires, and the cancellation and transfer policy in force for that window.
The cost calculator turns the deadline you choose into a full budget, and the requirements page covers what you still need after the exam.
Working back from a window
A simple way to use the table is to start from the window you want and count backward. The education verification deadline is the hard stop: if your program cannot confirm completion by then, the window is out of reach whatever you pay. Before that comes the early bird deadline, the date that decides whether the exam costs $825 or more. And before both comes your review: the weeks between finishing the coursework and sitting the exam. For March 2027, registration has been open since October 21, 2026 and the education deadline is February 23, 2027; for July 2027, registration opens on February 17, 2027 and the education deadline is June 22, 2027. If you need more time, the next window is four months later, and nothing is lost by waiting if you have not yet registered.
The fee steps are the part most guides leave out. A candidate who misses the early bird deadline twice, on a first attempt and a retake, pays $200 more than one who meets it both times, for the same exam.