How to Become a Certified Financial Planner in Florida?

Financial planners must adhere to an ethics code.

The rules governing certification of financial planners do not change from state to state. In Florida, as in other states, those who wish to become certified financial planners must meet what the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards identifies as the four Es: Education, Examination, Experience and Ethics. The CFP Board certifies all certified financial planners in the United States.

Things You'll Need

• Bachelor’s degree
• Passing grade on the CFP Certification Exam
• Adherence to the CFP Board’s code of ethics
• 3 years of experience

Instructions

1. Meet the education requirement. Certification requires that applicants earn a bachelor’s degree or higher from an accredited college or university. Applicants may sit for the exam prior to completing a bachelor’s degree but must have a bachelor’s degree in order to receive certification and practice as a CFP. Curriculum requirements established by the CFP Board include college courses in investments, estate planning, individual income tax, retirement planning, risk management, insurance, finance, accounting, economics, computer programming and communications, according to the University of West Florida.

2. Pass the examination. The CFP Board examination is a 10-hour examination divided into one 4-hour session and two 3-hour sessions. It is taken over two days and is offered three times a year on the third Friday and Saturday in March, July and November. According to the CFP Board, the exam, “assesses your ability to apply your financial planning knowledge, in an integrated format, to financial planning situations.”

3. Earn at least three years of financial planning experience, which can be done before or after the certifying exam.

4. Complete a CFP Certification Application. You will have to disclose any involvement in any ongoing ethics inquiries.

5. Pass the CFP Candidate Fitness Standards, which describe conduct that would bar an individual from becoming certified.The Disciplinary and Ethics Commission identifies that the following will always bar someone from becoming a certified CFP: felony conviction for a financial-based crime, for tax fraud or a tax-related crime, for murder, rape or any other violent crime committed in the last five years, having a previous financial license revoked, or two or more personal or business bankruptcies.

6. Agree to adhere to the CFP Board’s “Code of Ethics and Professional Responsibility” and “Financial Planning Practice Standards.”

7. Maintain your certificate. Certified financial planners must become re-certified every two years. Recertification demands 30 hours of continuing education, two of which must be spent studying the CFP Board’s “Code of Ethics and Professional Responsibility” or “Financial Planning Practice Standards.”

References

• Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc.: Guide to CFP® Certification
• University of West Florida Department of Accounting and Finance: Professional Tracks: Certified Financial Planner (CFP)