Procedural Rules

PREAMBLE

CFP Board is a non-profit organization that has established high standards of competency and ethics for personal financial planners for the benefit of the public. CFP Board enforces its standards through a peer review process set forth in these Procedural Rules that is credible to the public and fair to those whose conduct CFP Board is evaluating. The process includes written notice of the allegations and potential grounds for sanction, an opportunity to present documents, witnesses, and argument at a hearing, and a written order that sets forth the basis for the decision that may be appealed within CFP Board. The parties to a proceeding also have the right to be represented by counsel of their choice.

CFP Board applies these Procedural Rules to any person who has agreed to CFP Board’s Terms and Conditions of Certification and Trademark License or Pathway to CFP® Certification Agreement. CFP Board refers to such an individual as “Respondent” or, in the event of an appeal, as either “Appellant” or “Appellee,” depending on who initiates the appeal.

CFP Board Counsel (a term, as used in the Procedural Rules, that includes CFP Board staff operating at the direction of CFP Board Counsel) has the authority to investigate and file a Complaint against a Respondent for alleged violations of (a) the Code of Ethics and Standards of Conduct or, where applicable, its predecessors, including the Standards of Professional Conduct (“Code and Standards”), or (b) the Pathway to CFP® Certification Agreement. CFP Board’s Disciplinary and Ethics Commission (the “DEC”), which is composed of CFP® professionals and members of the public, has the authority to issue a final order that finds facts, determines whether a violation has occurred and, where appropriate, imposes discipline in the form of a sanction. Such a sanction may include, but is not limited to, a private censure, a public censure, a suspension or revocation of a CFP® professional’s Certification and License to use the CFP® marks, or a temporary or permanent bar on Respondent’s ability to obtain CFP® certification. In the event there is a public sanction, CFP Board will publish the decision in a press release and on CFP Board’s website.

In certain circumstances, a Respondent who is subject to an order of suspension may file a Petition for Reinstatement, and a Respondent who is required to demonstrate fitness for CFP® Certification may file a Petition for Fitness Determination. In those circumstances, CFP Board Counsel has the authority to investigate and the DEC has the authority to issue a final DEC order that resolves the Petition.

Except where these Procedural Rules otherwise specify, CFP Board Counsel or Respondent may appeal a final DEC order to CFP Board’s Appeals Commission. The Appeals Commission is composed of CFP® professionals and members of the public and has the authority to issue CFP Board’s final decision.

Amendments to the Procedural Rules

The Procedural Rules may be amended from time to time. CFP Board will publish for comment any material changes to the Procedural Rules prior to implementation.