Renewal Policies
CFP® Certification Renewal Policies
As a CFP® professional, each year you will be required to pay an annual certification fee and submit a Renewal Application, where you will confirm that you are adhering to CFP Board's Code of Ethics and Standards of Conduct to maintain CFP® certification. In addition, every two years, you will be required to complete continuing education (CE). Renewing your certification is easy and can be completed through your CFP Board online account.
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Renewal Policies
CFP® certification expires on the last day of the month indicated by your certification period. The expiration date is located on your CFP Board ID card, as well as in your CFP Board online account. The Renewal Application must be completed and the annual certification fee must be paid by your expiration date in order to avoid a non-refundable $75 late fee and possible relinquishment of the CFP® marks.
The annual certification fee supports the operation of CFP Board in fulfilling its mission and objectives. Some of these activities include protection of the CFP® certification marks, enforcement of CFP Board's Code and Standards, educating the public about the CFP® marks, and development and administration of the CFP® certification examination. $145 of the certification fee is dedicated solely to the CFP Board Public Awareness Campaign to increase awareness of CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER® professionals.
The annual certification fee is non-refundable, and acceptance of the fee payment does not guarantee or imply that your certification will be maintained. All applicable certification requirements must be completed to maintain CFP® certification.
renewal PRocess
In addition to completing the Renewal Application, which includes an Ethics Declaration, and paying the annual certification fee, every two years you must also complete the continuing education (CE) requirement.
These three renewal requirements are completed in the following order:
The CE requirement is effective immediately upon certification and involves completing 30 hours of continuing education (CE), including completion of a 2-hour, pre-approved CFP Board ethics CE course. Use "Find a CE Program" to identify pre-approved CE and CFP Board ethics courses.
CE hours for new CFP® professionals are prorated into the two-year cycle based on your renewal month. To view your CE requirement and to manually report completed CE hours, log in to your CFP Board account.
All reported CE hours must be processed by CFP Board on or before the expiration date of your two-year period in order to avoid certification expiration. Learn more about the CE requirement.
Along with contact and demographic information, an important part of the form is the acknowledgement of voluntary adherence to the terms and conditions of certification with CFP Board. The application also involves completing a statement disclosing any involvement in criminal and civil proceedings, inquiries or investigations, bankruptcy filings, internal reviews and customer complaints. CFP Board monitors your ongoing compliance with its ethical standards, in addition to investigating consumer complaints, reviewing reports from other regulatory bodies and the press and searching FINRA's Central Registration Depository system.
If it appears that you may have violated CFP Board'sCode of Ethics and Standards of Conduct, we have the right to investigate your alleged behavior according to the Disciplinary Rules and Procedures. If it is found that you are in violation of the Code of Ethics and Standards of Conduct, CFP Board may impose disciplinary action ranging from a private letter of censure or public admonition to suspension or revocation of the right to use the CFP® marks. CFP Board reserves the right to verify the accuracy of the completed statement and routinely conducts audits to ensure compliance with disclosure requirements.
CFP® professionals pay an annual certification fee. You can pay the fee online by logging into your CFP Board account.
In the year when renewal requirements include CE , the certification fee payment is made through your CFP Board account, after CE requirement and the Renewal Application are complete.
If all applicable certification requirements are not submitted and processed by the last day of your certification period, a late fee of $75 is assessed.
To avoid this late fee, we recommend that you complete the certification requirements a week before your certification expires.
A non-refundable fee will be charged to cover the administrative costs of returned checks and credit card charges not honored by our bank.
Seven days after your certification period has expired, you will receive a reminder notice. At this point, you are marked in our records as "not certified" and you are no longer authorized to use the CFP® marks. The notice specifies which requirements have not been completed, and advises you that a late fee has been assessed. Prompt action should be taken to correct any deficiency.
45 days after your certification period has expired, you will receive a notice of deficiency.
If you have not met your certification requirements within 90 days of the certification expiration date, you will be subject to additional requirements to reinstate your certification. A notice is sent advising you that, due to a failure to complete the renewal requirements, you are deemed to have relinquished the right to use the CFP® marks. Continued use of the marks in such circumstances is viewed by CFP Board as unauthorized use. We consider unauthorized use an extremely serious matter and we are prepared to take necessary steps to protect the certification marks in such cases.
If you are currently certified, and not under review by CFP Board's Professional Standards department, you can choose to voluntarily relinquish your certification. You must notify CFP Board, by submitting the appropriate form, that you voluntarily relinquish your rights to use the CFP® certification marks. Please note that certification fees paid to CFP Board are non-refundable. If you are not certified because you did not renew your certification within the appropriate window, you are considered administratively relinquished and do not need to submit a voluntary relinquishment form.