Eligibility Requirements for CFP Program

If you are a graduate (possess an undergraduate degree), you will require on an average 18 to 24 months to become a CFP. You can pay a minimum amount of $925 and do not require the pursue the coursework. Further, those candidates who do not possess financial designation, can apply for CFP program but they need to fulfill an experience criteria ranging from 24 to 36 months.

1. Meet the Educational Criteria: Specific courses on financial planning is needed to be completed and a bachelor’s or higher degree from an affiliated university or college is required as specified by the CFP Board. These are the two major components required in the eligibility of education. A flexibility is there that they get a relaxation period of five years after passing the examination to complete their bachelor’s degree. If you have completed related courses in financial planning or possess certain professional designations such as chartered financial analyst (CFA) or certified public accountant (CPA) or even a higher degree such as master of business administration (MBA), you can bypass the CFP Board’s compulsory coursework.

2. Eligibility in Experience: The CFP aspirants need to have a full-time professional experience of atleast 6000 hours (or three years) in the field of financial planning or at least 4000 hours (or two years) of apprenticeship that meets additional requirements. This eligibility criteria needs to be completed either prior attempting the exam (within 10 years) or after clearing the exam (within five years).

3. Process for Registering: For appearing in the exam, there are certain steps which you need to follow. You must first complete CFP Board’s exam registration and then pay the registration fee for the exam. After this, you need to schedule your test date with Prometric. Before getting started, you must have a CFP Board online account where registration is free, secure and fast. The below steps needs to be followed to complete your registration process-

• Create or log in (if previously registered) to your secure CFP Board account for initiating the registration process.
• After log in, in the Account Dashboard, look for the “Exam” section. Here, click on the link “Select Your Test Dates” and fill in the required details and complete the registration form for the exam.
• Pay the required registration fee using credit card or debit card. Online transaction is possible.
• In Prometric, schedule your testing dates or fix your testing appointment. For this step, instructions will be provided on the website.

There is a flexible period of when you want to appear for the exam as the CFP exam is conducted three times in a year (March, July and November) and on a 8-day testing window. In Promteric, first-come, first-serve motto is followed for scheduling your test dates. It would be helpful if you register for the exam at least two months before for choosing the best date and site availability.

4. Fees for the Registration: The standard registration fee is $925. However, till 6 weeks before the registration deadline, an early bird fee of $825 is applicable. During the final week of registration, a late fee of $1,025 is applicable.

5. Comply with the Ethical Standards: Before you are certified CFP, you need sign the Ethics declaration, where you promise to act as a fiduciary for your clients and then the CFP board conducts an extensive background check where you need to pass. The CFP holders and the future CFP holders must comply to the CFP Baord’s standards of professional ethics. Regular disclosure of information related to any involvement in criminal activity, bankruptcies,termination by employers, customer complaints or inquiries by government agencies must be done to the CFP Board.