Ethics Declaration and Background Check

The Ethics Requirement Consists of the Following Steps:

1. Complete the Application for CFP® Certification. In the certification application, you agree to abide by CFP Board's Terms and Conditions, in which you agree to comply with, and to be bound by, CFP Board's Code of Ethics and Standards of Conduct as they presently exist, and as modified in the future. The application also requires you to complete the Ethics Declaration, which contains a series of questions that require you to disclose information that is relevant to your fitness to become a CFP® professional.
2. CFP Board Conducts a Background Check. We will review your responses on the Ethics Declaration, any regulatory disclosures that are available, including regulatory databases such as FINRA's BrokerCheck and the SEC's Investment Adviser Public Database, and public records.
3. CFP Board Applies the Fitness Standards. We will review the results of the background check and determine whether your conduct meets our specific character and fitness standards for candidates for CFP® certification. The Fitness Standards contain 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. For more information on the types of conduct that will disqualify a candidate for CFP® certification, please review the Fitness Standards.
4. CFP Board Will Notify You. Once we complete our review, we'll let you know whether you've completed the ethics requirement. If we notify you that you have not completed the ethics requirement, we'll likely contact you to seek additional information about issues discovered during your background check. Read about our investigative process.