CFP^® Certification

The CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER^TM professional is a member of a distinguished profession dedicated to serving the financial needs of individuals, families and businesses.
"CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER^TM" is far more than a title, it is precise definition of a person’s competence, experience, and intelligence in the complex profession of financial planning. Not every person who is described as a financial planner is a CFP^® Licensee; to earn this title the financial planner has demonstrated competence in analyzing and developing personal and business financial plans through the successful completion of a series of rigorous financial planning examinations.

The CFP^® professional’s area of expertise is in analyzing needs and prudently arranging overall financial plans rather than in promoting individual financial products. In carrying out this task, one CFP^® certificant may be more knowledgeable in a particular field than another and therefore recognizes the need to consult with qualified individuals in other specialties and in those areas traditionally and legally set aside for others.

Requirements for Becoming a Certified Financial Planner^TM

Education Requirement:

The foundation of the personal financial planning profession is based on rigorous educational standards. There is a model curriculum of more than 100 topics, which must be tested and mastered in order to sit for the Certification Examination. The educational topics include:

· The Process of Financial Planning
· Insurance Planning
· Investment Planning
· Income Tax Planning
· Retirement and Employee Benefits Planning
· Estate Planning

Currently, there are three paths to the completion of this education requirement:

· Registered Programs
· Transcript Review
· Challenge

Before applying for the Certification Examination, a candidate must first complete academic coverage of the financial planning curriculum. Typical college course titles covered by the curriculum include investments, estate planning, individual income tax, retirement planning, risk management, insurance and finance. In addition to the required curriculum, the CFP Board recommends courses in the areas of finance, accounting, economics, computer programming and communications, especially for those who are new to the area of financial services.
Regardless of which educational path you choose, it is important to note that the CFP^® curriculum topics remain the basis for the Certification Examination. You should be certain that the courses you take cover the subjects contained in this section.

CFP^® Examination Requirement

When you have successfully completed the education requirement or you have satisfied the examination challenge requirements, you are eligible to apply for the Certification Examination. The Certification Examination is a 10-hour examination, divided in to:
· One four-hour session (Friday afternoon) and
· Two three-hour sessions (Saturday).

The Certification Examination is designed to assess your ability to apply your financial planning education to financial planning situations in an integrated format, thereby protecting the public by assuring that you are at the appropriate level of competency required for practice.

Work Experience Requirement

The third requirement centers on work experience: individual, personal financial planning-related experience. The experience component is designed to provide the public with the assurance that you understand the counseling nature of personal financial planning. The general requirement is three years, performed before or after the successful completion of the Certification Examination.

Ethical Requirement Prior to Becoming a CFP^® Professional

Once you have completed the education, examination and work experience requirements, you will receive a Declaration Packet, which includes an ethics statement form and your license application with a bill for your initial license fee. Prior to certification, you will be required to disclose past or pending litigation or agency proceedings and to acknowledge the right of the CFP Board to enforce its Code of Ethics and Professional Responsibility through due process described in its Disciplinary Rules and Procedures. If you have any questions about the affect of any past or pending action on your authorization to use the marks, you should contact CFP Board legal counsel directly at (303) 830-7500.

Continuing Educational Requirements

Once licensed, (and you have paid the License Fee) you must continue to meet the CFP Board's post-certification standards in order to continue using the marks. To assure compliance with these requirements, the CFP Board oversees licensees through marks licensing and ethics enforcement. Further, all CFP^® certificants are required to meet a continuing education requirement of 30 hours every two years, two hours of which must be in the CFP Board's Code of Ethics. Details about the requirement are provided in the Licensee Manual.
All certificants are required to renew their license on a regular basis. You will be required to sign the Licensee's Statement on the license renewal form disclosing any legal proceedings, ethics violations, pending disciplinary matters or litigation in the prior year.

FPA Helps Members Earn CFP^® Certification

FPA has created three exceptional opportunities to help members attain the hallmark of financial planning - CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ certification:

• Free Assessment Tests. Evaluate your strengths and weaknesses and determine where you need to spend time studying for the CFP® Certification Examination - and do it online! Dalton Publications' Diagnostic Exam and Keir Educational Resources' Preliminary Assessment of Certification Exam Readiness (PACER) are now available at no cost to FPA members.
  
  
• CFP Certification Review Materials at Reduced Prices. Get ready for the CFP® Certification Examination. Take advantage of Keir and Dalton's highly effective review materials - both at discounted prices for FPA members.
  
  
• Reduced Pricing for Financial Planning Education Programs for FPA Members
  

Links to CFP^® Courses

Click here to visit our Resources Link. We have listed some local and national programs, as well a link to the national site that lists all of the available programs.

Scroll
down
\/
\/
\/
\/
for
the
menu
bar.