How to Get a CFP
A Certified Financial Planner certificate is granted by the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards. In order to become certified by the board, you need to meet specific requirements. Certification as a CFP tells others that you have met rigorous professional standards of competence in financial planning and have agreed to abide by the board's principles---integrity, objectivity, fairness, confidentiality and diligence. Many businesses require the certificate in order to work or to progress in a career as a financial planner.
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Instructions
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Complete the education requirements. You will need to have a bachelor's degree in any subject, as well as an advanced degree or credential that meets the education requirements. These include a Ph.D. in business or economics, a law license, a certified public accountant's license or a chartered financial consultant's license. If you do not have a required degree or credential, you can complete a CFP Board-registered education program instead. Contact the Certified Financial Planner Board for a list of locations (see Resources).
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Study for the certification exam. If you have taken a CFP education program, this will generally include examination preparation. Private exam preparation companies, such as Kaplan, also offer courses in CFP exam preparation. The CFP website offers a list of exam topics and sample questions to help you (see Resources).
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Take the certification exam. This is a 10-hour, multiple-choice exam taken over two days. The exam covers insurance, investment, tax, retirement and estate planning. The exam is given three times a year---in March, July and November. You can apply to take the exam online (see Resources). As of 2011, you must pay a fee of $595 on submission of your completed application.
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Gain experience in financial planning. In order to become certified as a CFP, you must already have three years of work experience in the area of financial planning. The experience can include teaching, acting as a financial planner or working in a support position within financial planning. You may gain experience up to 10 years before or five years after the exam date.
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Verify your work experience. Once you pass your CFP exam, you will be sent a form to fill out for reporting your work experience.
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Agree to abide by the CFP Board's codes of conduct, rules of conduct and practice standards. You are required to disclose any conduct that may disqualify you from certification. This includes information about whether you have been involved in any criminal or civil proceeding, bankruptcy or investigation. The CFP Board's fitness standards (see Resources) describes conduct that will bar you from becoming certified.
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Undergo a background check. The CFP Board will conduct a background check to ensure that you meet their fitness requirements. You must pay a $100 fee for the background check.
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Pay the certification fees. Once all of the above steps have been completed, you will need to pay a certification fee of $360. Once this is paid, you will be a certified CFP and authorized to use the CFP trademarks on your business correspondence.
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References
Resources
- Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards: List of Education Programs
- Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards: Exam Topic List
- Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards: Sample Exam Questions
- Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards: Apply for the Exam Online
- Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards: Fitness Standards for Candidates and Registrants
- Photo Credit Group of business people working together in the office. image by Andrey Kiselev from Fotolia.com
