CE Policies

Initial CE Reporting Period

The CE requirement is effective immediately upon initial certification, or after the 12th month following successful completion of the CFP® exam, whichever comes first. The number of CE credit hours for newly-certified CFP® professionals is prorated from the date of the initial certification to the end date of the initial certification period. CFP® professionals are required to complete 30 CE credit hours each two-year reporting period:

• 28.00 credit hours of General CE
• Your CE hours must include one 2.00 credit hour CFP Board Code of Ethics CE program distributed by one of CFP Board’s active CE Sponsors

General CE

General CE credit is granted for completion of programs that cover CFP Board's Principal Knowledge Topics and do not fall under a topic exclusion. CFP Board strongly recommends that CFP® professionals complete pre-accepted CE programs that are registered with CFP Board by CE sponsors. Pre-accepted CE programs can be found using the Find a CE Program search tool. Non-sponsor CE programs that have not been registered with CFP Board can be submitted for consideration of General CE credit, but submissions must still meet CFP Board's CE program requirements in order to be eligible for CE credit.

CFP Board-Approved Ethics CE

Every CE reporting period, CFP® professionals must complete a pre-approved CFP Board Ethics CE program. Exceptions are not made. A list of pre-approved CFP Board Ethics CE programs can be found using the Find a CE Program search tool, and selecting the option to limit the search to CFP Board Ethics CE programs.

• Your CE hours must include one 2.00 credit hour CFP Board Code of Ethics CE program distributed by one of CFP Board’s active CE Sponsors.

Earning CE Credit Hours

CE credit hours must be earned during the current reporting period, which ends on the last day of a CFP® professional's renewal month. Excess CE credit hours may not be applied to subsequent reporting periods. CE credit hours earned for any one program many not be split between two reporting periods. CFP® professionals can receive credit for completing any given CE program once within their two-year reporting period; credit will not be granted for duplicate completions. 

Find a CE Program

CE programs must meet the following criteria to be eligible for CE credit:

• Address one or more topics listed in CFP Board's Principal Knowledge Topics.
• Contribute to the professional competency of participants in providing financial planning to clients.
• Developed and/or presented by persons qualified in the subject matter.
• Include content that is current and accurate.
• Be at least 30 minutes of content (for courses pre-approved and sponsored by a Quality Partner) or 50 minutes of content for all other courses both pre-approved and self-reported non-registered.

Ethics CE programs have additional requirements. In order to be eligible for Ethics CE credit, a program must be pre-approved by CFP Board.

Program Topic Exclusions

CE credit will not be accepted for programs with content pertaining to practice management, public accounting, computer hardware and software, marketing or prospecting, sales, specific company or product presentations, or any other topic not included in the list of CFP Board's Principal Knowledge Topics.

CFP Board defines practice management as a focus on the planning, development and management of a CFP® professional's business operations, including topics such as office management, business model design, budgeting processes, leadership training, and other activities that do not directly contribute to the knowledge, skills, and abilities needed for a CFP® professional to provide competent and ethical financial planning to clients.

CFP Board defines Live Programs as educational sessions in which the instructor or presenter conducts the program in real time; the instructor and students are engaged in the educational program at the same time.

• Examples (non-inclusive): in-person sessions, live webinars, live seminars, sessions at conferences, structured discussion groups, teleconferences, preparatory courses leading to a license or designation and college/university courses.

CE credit hours are determined using the following criteria:

Any course submitted for CFP Board CE must be a minimum of 50 minutes of program content or 1.00 CE credit hour. Additional CE, awarded in 0.50 CE credit hours per 25 minutes can be awarded after the first 50 minutes of program content. For example, a 75-minute program is eligible for 1.50 CE credit hours.

CFP Board will approve, on a special basis, online courses, offered by CE Quality Partners, with less than 50 minutes of program content but a minimum of 30 minutes.

• 0.50 CE credit hours per 25 minutes 

CFP Board defines Self-Study Programs as those in which the instructor and student are separated by time and location, or programs for which the student engages in the learning activity without an instructor. Self-Study Programs must include an assessment scored by the provider.

• Examples (non-inclusive): pre-recorded audio/video programs, recorded webcasts, self-paced online courses, printed material, and preparatory courses leading to a license or designation.

CE credit hours are determined using the following criteria:

Self-Study program hours are reviewed and accepted based on a two-part requirement.

1. EITHER using a pilot test of the representative completion time* with a minimum of five participants OR using the following word count formula: [(# of words / 180) + actual duration time of any audio/video in minutes] / 50 = CE Credit Hours.
   • 1.00 CE credit hour per 50 minutes of average completion time; 0.50 CE credit hours per 25 minutes. Programs must be eligible for at least 1.00 CE credit hour. CE credit hours are rounded down to the nearest half CE credit hour. *Exam time may not be included in the average completion time.
2. Evidence of satisfactory completion, including an assessment/examination scored by the program provider.
   • The assessment/examination must contain a minimum of 5 questions per full CE credit hour (Example: a 1.00 CE credit hour program must include an assessment containing a minimum of 5 questions; a 1.5 CE credit hour program must include an assessment containing a minimum of 8 questions).
   • A passing score is 70% or higher (including Ethics CE programs).

CFP Board will approve, on a special basis, online courses, offered by CE Quality Partners, with less than 50 minutes of program content but a minimum of 30 minutes.

• 0.50 CE credit hours per 25 minutes.
• A minimum of 5 questions on the assessment. 

Non-sponsor CE programs that have not been registered with CFP Board, both Live and Self-Study, offered by colleges and universities (including community colleges) may be submitted for CE credit provided they meet CFP Board's CE program requirements. Both college credit and non-college credit courses may be submitted for consideration of General CE credit. CE credit awarded for completion of a college course may not exceed 28.00 CE credit hours during any reporting period.

CE credit hours are determined using the following criteria:

15.00 CE credit hours per one semester unit of credit. 10.00 CE credit hours per one quarter unit of credit. For non-credit courses, the standard live CE credit hour quantification method should be used (1.00 CE credit hour per 50 minutes of instruction time. For example:

• A 1 semester credit course is eligible for 15.00 CE credit hours.
• A 2 quarter credit course is eligible for 20.00 CE credit hours.
• A non-credit course with 750 minutes of instruction is eligible for 15.00 CE credit hours.

Crediting and Reporting

CE credit for teaching and/or authorship may not exceed 50 percent of the total CE credit hours required during any reporting period. In a majority of instances, the maximum CE credit for teaching and/or authorship is 15.00 CE credit hours per reporting period. These activities are reported online using the online Non-Registered CE Self-Reporting form. There is no fee for self-reporting teaching/authorship CE credit.

Definition and Crediting of Teaching CE

CFP Board defines teaching as serving in the capacity of a faculty member or adjunct faculty member responsible for the planning and delivery of course material at the university level, where instruction and preparation time is equal to a minimum of 30 hours per quarter/semester.

To receive teaching CE credit, the CFP® professional must document the following:

• Course focus is consistent with CFP Board's Principal Knowledge Topics.
• The CFP® professional is the primary instructor of the course whose responsibilities include creation of the course syllabus, content and assessments.
• Verification from the institution or organization of role, responsibilities, presentation dates and times.

Teaching Credit Exclusions

CE credit is not granted for presentations designed primarily for persons not engaged in financial services (ex. presentations to the general public, presentations for marketing purposes, television and radio talk shows, and participation in financial literacy programs) or for conference or program presentations.

CE credit hours are determined using the following criteria: One semester/quarter of teaching is eligible for 15 CE credit hours.

Definition and Crediting of Authorship CE
CFP Board defines authorship as scholarly original work, and/or research directly related to the development of papers, presentations or other materials that contribute to the financial planning body of knowledge. Authorship may also extend to the development and presentation of general CE programs pre-approved by CFP Board.

Eligibility for Authorship CE is based on the following:

• Topic addressed is consistent with CFP Board's Principal Knowledge Topics and is directly related to or indirectly supports the financial planning process.
• The CFP® professional is a primary or secondary author and listed as a writing contributor.
• Outcome of original work, scholarly contribution and/or research has been accepted for publication and/or presentation.
• Publication/presentation occurs within the dates of the reporting period with verification from the publisher.
• Publications must have a minimum word count of 4,500.

CE credit hours for Publication of Topical Work is determined using the following criteria:

• 7.50 CE credit hours will be awarded for qualifying publications with a minimum word count of 4,500.
• 15.00 CE credit hours will be awarded for qualifying publications with a minimum word count of 9,000.

CE credit hours for the Presentation of Topical Work is determined using the following criteria:

• 3.00 CE credit hours will be awarded for a 50 minute presentation;
• 5.00 CE credit hours will be awarded for a half-day presentation;
• 10.00 CE credit hours will be awarded for a full-day presentation.
• 5.00 CE credit hours will be awarded for Poster Presentations (based on scholarly contribution and/or research).

CE credit hours for the Development and Presentation of General CE topics is determined using the following criteria:

• The CFP® professional presents a program that has been pre-approved for CE by CFP Board and has been assigned a Program ID number;
• Presentation length, as pre-approved by CFP Board, plus two hours of preparation time. 

Authorship Credit Exclusions
CE credit will not be granted for short newspaper and magazine articles (not pre-approved for CE); Q&As and company newsletter articles for clients; articles intended for an audience not in financial services (ex. presentation to the general public, presentations for marketing purposes, television and radio talk shows, and participation in financial literacy programs).

CFP^® professionals can access up-to-date information regarding CE credit hours that have been reported for them by logging into their online account. CFP^® professionals do not have to self-report CE credit hours for program completions reported to CFP Board directly by CE sponsors.

Pre-Accepted CE Programs
CE Credit Hours Reporting by CE Sponsors

CE sponsors are required to report completion of pre-accepted CE programs within 14 days of program completion. Upon receipt, it may take CFP Board three (3) business days to upload the records to CFP® professionals' accounts. When CE credit hours are uploaded, an email notification from CFP Board is sent to the individuals receiving the credit.

Self-Reporting CE Credit Hours

A CFP® professional may also self-report registered programs through their online account in order to apply credit in advance of the 14 day time-frame allotted for CE sponsor reporting. CE sponsor-reported records will overwrite self-reported records in our system, which will prevent the CFP® professional from receiving duplicate credit.

Non-Registered CE

Non-registered programs are those that have not been submitted for review and credit hour determination to CFP Board through an active CE Sponsor. These course completions may be reported using the online reporting form for consideration of CE credit.

A nonrefundable $60.00 reporting fee is required for each non-registered CE program at the time of submission. This fee must be paid before CFP Board reviews the submission. Programs will be reviewed to ensure they meet CFP Board's CE requirements prior to acceptance. Program reviews will be completed within 3 to 5 business days of submission. Only online submissions using the online reporting form will be accepted.

Documentation Required for Non-Registered Live CE:

CFP Board may request the following documentation provided by the non-registered educational provider:

• Certificate of Completion/Attendance or unofficial transcript showing successful completion of program.
• Program summary or description.
• Timed agenda with actual dates and times to verify topics, duration, meals, and breaks 

Documentation Required for Non-Registered Self-Study CE:

CFP Board may request the following documentation provided by the non-registered educational provider:

• Certificate of Completion or unofficial transcript showing successful completion of program and exam score.
• Official, detailed outline/syllabus or course description.
• A copy of the final assessment/examination provided by the CE provider or documentation from the CE provider verifying the number of assessment/examination questions
• Evidence of a passing score of 70% or higher.

Important Note: Non-Registered self-study CE programs must have a minimum of 5 assessment questions per hour of CE credit. Exceptions are not granted.

Documentation Retention Requirement

Documentation for CE hours reported to CFP Board must be retained by the CFP® Professional for a minimum of three years after program completion. At minimum, that documentation should include:

• Certificate of Completion/Attendance or unofficial transcript showing successful completion of program.
• Program summary or description.
• Timed agenda with actual dates and times to verify topics, duration, meals, and breaks (for Live Programs).
• A copy of the final assessment/examination provided by the CE provider or documentation from the CE provider verifying the number of assessment/examination questions (for Self-Study Programs).

Each CFP® professional is responsible for demonstrating full compliance with the CE requirement. CFP Board may at any time request documentation of any registered CE credits self-reported by the CFP® professional.

Unsupported, misstated or fraudulent reporting of CE credits is a violation of CFP Board's Rules of Conduct and may be grounds for disciplinary action up to revocation of the CFP® certification.

CFP Board conducts random audits of self-reported registered CE programs where the CE Sponsor has not subsequently reported on the Certificant’s behalf. When audited:

• The CFP® professional will receive email notification if they are under audit. To clear the audit, the certificant will provide the requested documentation for specific CE programs, within seven-business days.
• CFP Board will review supporting documentation within three-business days, and determine whether it is sufficient to accept or deny hours.
• When there is no response from the CFP® professional after a second email notification, the reported hours will be marked as Denied – Per Audit.
• The CFP® professional will receive email confirmation from CFP Board regarding the audit outcome and any further action required.

Resulting Deficiencies will be handled in this manner:

Reporting Period Remains Open: If the reporting period is still open, the CFP® professional will have until the reporting period expiration date to report additional credit hours to fill the deficiency.

Reporting Period has Closed: If the audit results in a deficiency for a recently closed reporting period and the CFP® professional has recertified, the deficiency can be remedied in one of three ways:

• CE hours, reported by a CE Sponsor, in the current reporting period will be moved to fill the deficiency and/or,
• A deficiency, other than Ethics CE, up to five-hours, will be transferred to the current reporting period and/or,
• Deficiencies over five-hours will need to be remedied within 15-business days, from date of the denial notification. Course completions must be reported by the CE Sponsor or a Certificate of Completion for non-registered CE must be produced if requested.

Ethics CE Completion Not Verified: When an Ethics CE completion cannot be verified by the CFP® professional, a new program must be taken with the completion reported by the CE Sponsor within 15-business days from date of denial notification.

Non-Compliance:

If there is no response to the audit notification and/or a CE deficiency is not remedied as prescribed above, a Deficiency Notice will be sent to the individual.

CFP Board may reverse a Certified status to a CE Audit Relinquished status for those who’s reporting period has recently closed. In this case, the CFP® professional will lose authorization to use the CFP® marks and must reinstate per the reinstatement policy.

In circumstances where the CFP® professionals’ CE reporting may reflect adversely on his/her integrity or fitness as a certificant, upon the CFP® marks, or upon the profession, CFP Board may conduct an investigation to determine whether there is probable cause to believe grounds for discipline exist.

Fees Assessed:

In the case of relinquishment, the CFP® professional will be responsible for a $100 Reinstatement Fee assessed at the time of reinstatement. There is no reimbursement or credit of any portion of the Annual Certification Fee for the time the CFP® professional remains relinquished.

Requests for a waiver of the CE requirement due to extenuating circumstances are reviewed on a case-by-case basis. Written requests along with supporting documentation should be made to CFP Board through the Policy Exception Request Form.

The Continuing Education Standards and requirements stated in these sections are subject to revision. Changes and additions are on CFP Board's website. CFP® professionals are responsible for staying up-to-date and meeting the current standards.

Last policy update: October 15, 2018