What is CFP?

The CFP® certification process, administered by CFP Board, identifies to the public that those individuals who have been authorized to use the CFP® certification marks in the U.S. have met rigorous professional standards and have agreed to adhere to the principles of integrity, objectivity, competence, fairness, confidentiality, professionalism and diligence when dealing with clients.

CFP Board is a non-profit organization acting in the public interest by fostering professional standards in personal financial planning through its setting and enforcement of the education, examination, experience, ethics and other requirements for CFP® certification.

The CFP Board’s mission is to benefit the public by granting the CFP® certification and upholding it as the recognized standard of excellence for competent and ethical personal financial planning.

The CFP® certification marks identify professionals who have met the high standards of competency and ethics established and enforced by CFP Board. CFP Board’s Standards of Professional Conduct require CFP® professionals to act in their clients’ best interests.

The CFP Board conducted a nationwide consumer survey among upper-income households. That survey reflects the public’s growing demand for financial planners who adhere to rigorous standards. Of those surveyed:

85% considered successful completion of a certification examination “very important” or “extremely important.”
95% felt financial planners should adhere to professional practice standards.
97% said the most important standard for financial planners was adherence to a professional code of ethics.

Following widespread interest in the CFP® certification program from individuals and organizations around the globe, CFP Board facilitated the establishment of the International CFP Council in 1990 to promote the professionalism of individuals and organizations offering financial planning services and to ensure that such services are offered in an ethical and competent manner throughout the world.

As of November 2011, FPSB has members and associate members from 24 territories around the world, including CFP Board, which joined FPSB in 2008. Collectively, FPSB members have authorized approximately 140,000 individuals to use the CFP® marks in their respective countries and regions. More information on FPSB is available at www.fpsb.org.

To become certified, you are required to meet the following initial certification requirements (known as the four “Es”):

Education:

The first step to CFP® certification is to acquire the knowledge required to deliver professional, competent and ethical financial planning services to clients, as outlined in the major personal financial planning topic areas identified by CFP Board’s most recent Job Analysis Study (See the list of Principal Topics).

CFP Board’s coursework component requires the completion of a college-level program of study in personal financial planning, or an accepted equivalent (through Challenge Status or Transcript Review), including completion of a financial plan development (capstone) course registered with CFP Board.

You must also have earned a bachelor’s degree (or higher) from a regionally-accredited college or university in order to obtain CFP® certification. The bachelor’s degree requirement is a condition of initial certification; however, it is not a requirement to be eligible to take the CFP® Certification Examination and does not need to be met before registering for the examination. CFP Board does not grant equivalencies or exceptions to the bachelor’s degree education requirement.

Examination

After you must have successfully met the education coursework requirement, you will be eligible to register for the CFP® Certification Examination. The CFP® Certification Examination assesses your ability to apply your financial planning knowledge, in an integrated format, to financial planning situations (See the Job Task Domains). Combined with the education, experience, and ethics requirements, it assures the public that you have met a level of competency appropriate for professional practice.

Experience

Because CFP® certification indicates to the public your ability to provide financial planning without supervision, CFP Board requires you to have three years of professional experience in the financial planning process, or two years of apprenticeship experience that meets additional requirements. Qualifying experience may be acquired through a variety of activities and professional settings including personal delivery, supervision, direct support or teaching.

Ethics

CFP® professionals agree to adhere to the high standards of ethics and practice outlined in CFP Board’s Standards of Professional Conduct and to acknowledge CFP Board’s right to enforce them through its Disciplinary Rules and Procedures. When you have completed the education, examination and experience components of the CFP® certification process, you will be directed to complete a CFP® Certification Application on which you will be asked to disclose information about your background, including your involvement in any criminal, civil, governmental, or self-regulatory agency proceeding or inquiry, bankruptcy, customer complaint, filing, termination/internal reviews conducted by your employer or firm. CFP Board conducts a detailed background check for all candidates, including review of any disclosures made on the CFP® Certification Application. Matters that may or will bar you from obtaining certification are investigated in accordance with CFP Board’s Disciplinary Rules and Procedures. Authorization to use the CFP® marks will not be approved until the background check and any investigation are concluded successfully.

Once a CFP has been authorized to use the CFP® marks, they must meet CFP Board’s renewal standards to continue to use them. Part of the recertification process requires a CFP to complete 30 hours of continuing education (CE) accepted by CFP Board every two years. XTRAcredits offers continuing education courses qualified towards the recertification needs of the 30 hours of the required CE credits. XTRACreditsVT.com coming this summer will provide CFPs 24/7 access to courses online on demand from anywhere.

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More about the CFP Board: Applicants for CFP® certification are required to satisfy CFP Board’s Fitness Standards for Candidates and Professionals Eligible for Reinstatement, which describe conduct that will always bar an individual from becoming certified and conduct that is presumed to be unacceptable and will bar an individual from becoming certified unless the individual successfully petitions CFP Board’s Disciplinary and Ethics Commission for consideration. CFP Board encourages all individuals pursuing CFP® certification to review the Fitness Standards for Candidates and Professionals Eligible for Reinstatement before addressing the other certification requirements.