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Steps to Becoming a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER ™ certificant
To become a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ certificant, you are required to meet all of the following four initial certification requirements:
- Education
- Examination
- Experience
- Ethics
Education Requirements
To receive CFP® certification, you must first master the topics
covered in the major planning areas:
- General Principles of Financial Planning
- Insurance Planning
- Income Tax Planning
- Investment Planning
- Employee Benefits Planning
- Retirement Planning
- Estate Planning
(For a complete list of topics, please visit the website of the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc.)
Bachelor's Degree Requirement
A bachelor's degree, in any discipline, will be required to attain CFP® certification. It is a condition of initial certification, not a requirement to be eligible to take the CFP® Certification Examination and does not have to occur before sitting for the exam or fulfilling the work experience. A bachelor's degree in any major from a regionally accredited U.S. college or university will be accepted, and evidence (a photocopy of the degree) will be required at the final stage of the initial certification.
- You have five years from the date you pass the CFP® Exam to satisfy the bachelor's degree requirement.
- For information on international degrees, please visit: www.cfp.net/become/education.asp
Examination Requirements
After you have successfully met the educational program requirement, you will be eligible to apply for the CFP® Certification Examination. This examination will assess your ability to apply your financial planning knowledge, in an integrated format, to financial planning situations.
Eligibility: Applicants must have successfully fulfilled the educational program requirement.
Exam Development: The CFP Board reviews the typical taks performed by planners and assesses the knowledge and skills needed to perform these tasks by conducting regular job analyses. This is used to develop exams that reflect the current practice of financial planning. Questions include multiple choice questions and cas scenarios.
Exam Logistics
Test Dates - The CFP® Examination is given three times a year. The 10-hour Exam is divided into one four-hour session (Friday) and two three-hour sessions (Saturday). You can find the exam dates at www.cfp.net/become/examdetails.asp
Application Submittal - Applications may be downloaded at www.cfp.net/become
Fee - The fee for the examination is $595 and must be paid in full by the application deadline.
Scheduling Confirmation - You will be sent a confirmation of your exam registration about two weeks after the CFP Board has received your exam application. You can also confirm your exam status with the CFP Board at www.cfp.net/login.
For More Information on the CFP® Examination Requirements, please visit: http://www.cfp.net/become/exam.asp
Work Experience Requirements
Qualifying work experience must fit within one or more of the
six primary elements of the personal financial planning process:
- Establishing and defining the relationship with the client
- Gathering client data including goals
- Analyzing and evaluating the client's financial status
- Developing and presenting financial planning recommendations and/or alternatives
- Implementing the financial planning recommendations
- Monitoring the financial planning recommendations
Work experience must comply with the following standards:
- Three years full-time, or the equivalent part-time
(2, 000 hours equals one year full-time)
- Six months experience must have been gained within 12 months of submitting your work experience. Click here for the work experience report form.
- Work experience may be gained up to 10 years before or up to five years after the exam date.
For more information on Work Experience Requirements, please visit: www.cfp.net/become/work.asp
Ethics Requirements:
When the education, examination, and experience components of the CFP® certification process are completed, you will receive a Declaration Packet from the CFP Board. The Declaration Packet includes a Declaration and Agreement form that must be signed by you. This form asks you to disclose whether you have ever been a party (or involved) in any criminal, civil, governmental, or self-reglatory agency proceeding or inquiry. You will also be required to agree to adhere to CFP Board's Code of Ethics and Professional Responsibility and Financial Planning Practice Standards and acknowledge the CFP Board's right to enforce them.
For more information on the Ethics Requirements please visit: www.cfp.net/become/ethics.asp
CFP®, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™, and
 marks are certification
marks owned by Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards
Inc. These marks are awarded to individuals who successfully
complete CFP Board's initial and ongoing certification
requirements. Oglethorpe University does not certify individuals to
use the CFP® , CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNERT™ and
certification marks. CFP certification is granted only by Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards
to those persons who, in addition to completing an educational
requirement such as this CFP Board-Registered Program, have met its
ethics, experience and examination requirements. |
