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The Ethics Requirement
The ethics requirement is an important step on your path to CFP® certification. You must commit to CFP Board to act as a fiduciary, which means acting in the best interests of the client at all times when providing financial advice — and commit to other high ethical and conduct standards. You'll need to disclose information about your background, and CFP Board will conduct a detailed background check.
Sign the Ethics Declaration
To fulfill the ethics requirement for CFP® certification, candidates must complete the Application for CFP® Certification that contains the Ethics Declaration. Based on this application, we'll conduct a background check, apply the Fitness Standards and inform you when you've completed the ethics requirement.
Find out why ethical standards are so crucial to your role as a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER® professional and what steps you have to take to complete your path to certification.
Understanding Ethics
We encourage all candidates to review our Fitness Standards, which describe three categories of conduct that may prevent an individual from obtaining CFP® certification: (a) Conduct that Presents an Absolute Bar, (b) Conduct that Renders an Applicant Currently Ineligible, and (c) Conduct that requires the Applicant to petition the DEC for an order finding ethical fitness in accordance with CFP Board’s Procedural Rules.
We require that all CFP® professionals agree to comply with our Code of Ethics and Standards of Conduct, which include an expanded scope of the fiduciary standard.
Start Your Journey to CFP® Certification
- Track your progress with the CFP® Certification Tracker
- Post your resume at the Career Center
- Connect with a mentor who can guide you
- Register and prepare for the exam
- Find career and financial support
- Connect with other candidates at our online forum