The Certified Financial Planner (CFP) certification is a professional certification mark for financial planners. It is generally considered the gold standard in the financial planning industry. The CFP certification process is known as the 4Es: Education, Exam, Experience & Ethics. Here are the requirements for initial certification:
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Education: The candidate must have a bachelors degree (or higher), or its equivalent in any discipline, from an accredited college or university. The bachelors degree requirement may be completed after passing the CFP exam (within five years) and is not a requirement to be eligible to take the CFP Board Certification Examination.
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Exam: The CFP Certification Examination is a multiple-choice, computer-based exam consisting of 170 questions, broken into two sessions separated by a 40-minute break.
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Experience: To meet the experience requirement, prospective CFPs need to complete either 6,000 hours of professional experience related to financial planning or 4,000 hours of apprenticeship that meets additional requirements. These hours can be completed either within 10 years before taking the exam and/or within five years after passing it.
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Ethics: CFP professionals must adhere to a strict ethical standard as set by the CFP Board of Standards.
To receive authorization to use the designation, a candidate must meet education, examination, experience, and ethics requirements and pay an ongoing certification fee. The CFP certification is managed by the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc. (CFP Board), which was founded in 1985 as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.
