What’s Changing and Why it Matters: CFP Board Leaders Break Down Changes to the Competency Standards

As financial planning continues to evolve, so must the standards that underpin CFP® certification to ensure the credential remains relevant, modern and practical. On Jan. 27, CFP Board announced that its Board of Directors approved seven updates to the Competency Standards for CFP® professionals. The following day, CFP Board hosted a public webinar to walk through the changes and answer questions from stakeholders.

“This work was grounded in a shared belief that financial planning is moving from an emerging profession to a more mature and developed one … our standards must evolve to reflect that reality,” said CFP Board Chief Operating Officer K. Dane Snowden during the webinar.

Snowden, who was recently announced as CFP Board’s incoming CEO, was joined by 2026 CFP Board Chair-Elect Martin Seay, Ph.D., CFP® and CFP Board Managing Director of Research Kevin Roth, Ph.D., for the Jan. 28 webinar, “Understanding the New Competency Standards”.

The updates are the result of a rigorous two year review led by CFP Board’s Competency Standards Commission, a 15 member body of practitioners, credentialing experts and former CFP Board leaders (many of whom hold CFP® marks), and informed by extensive public input from more than 2,500 individuals and organizations. “The response was incredible, robust and meaningful,” said Roth. “You can feel the passion that is being conveyed by all of the commentors — they’ve voiced a wide variety of perspectives.”

After reviewing initial recommendations from the Commission and a public comment period focused on nine proposals, the Board of Directors approved seven changes spanning education pathways, experience standards and continuing education (CE). These updates are designed to better align the Competency Standards with real-world financial planning practice, strengthen CFP® certification and ensure the CFP® marks remain the standard in financial planning. “This work reflects both best practice of reviewing [the Competency Standards] over time, but really emerged within the context of our strategic discussions about the future of the profession and the need for a comprehensive, holistic review that we hadn’t done in a while,” said Seay of the extensive review process. “Often times that public feedback mirrors the real debate that happens in the board room.”

The approved changes will be implemented on a phased basis starting in Q2 2026 through Q2 2027. A recording of the webinar is available here, and CFP Board will continue to update its Competency Standards FAQ page to address questions from stakeholders.

What Is Changing?

1. CIMA® Added to the Accelerated Path (Effective Q2 2026)
   Certified Investment Management Analyst® (CIMA®) certificants will now qualify for the Accelerated Path. CIMA® holders must still complete the Capstone Course and hold a bachelor’s degree. Other credentials that qualify for the Accelerated Path include Certified Public Accountant (CPA), Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA®), Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC®), Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU®), Licensed Attorney, Doctor of Business Administration, or Economics, and CFP Certification from Outside the U.S. [from the Financial Planning Standards Board Ltd. (FPSB) affiliate located in your territory or residence] to be certified.
2. Experience Requirements (Effective Q1 2027)
   Candidates pursuing CFP® certification must demonstrate experience in at least three of the seven steps of financial planning, not just one. This aims to produce more well rounded, practice ready new certificants. Experience logged before the Q1 2027 effective date will continue to be evaluated under the current standard.
3. Qualified Pro Bono Work Meets the Standard Pathway Experience Requirement (Effective Q1 2027)
   This update formally codifies when and how pro bono financial planning experience may count toward the Experience Requirement and places a cap of 500 hours allowed.
4. Clarification of Independent Practice Competency (Effective Q2 2026)
   This clarification reinforces that passing the CFP® exam alone does not qualify someone to practice independently as a CFP® professional. Only completing all four E’s — education, exam, experience and ethics — does.
5. CE Requirement Increasing from 30 to 40 Hours (Effective Q1 2027)
   Every two year cycle will now require:
   
     • 38 hours of general CE
     • 2 hours of Ethics CE (unchanged from previous standard)
   
   Up to 5 hours of general CE may be in practice management. The increased CE requirement will apply beginning with a CFP® professional’s first full-year renewal cycle after the Q1 2027 effective date; no retroactive changes apply. CFP Board is launching a broader review of continuing education quality in 2026.
6. CE Carryover Introduced (Effective Q1 2027)
   Up to 10 excess general CE hours may be applied to the next renewal cycle. Ethics CE cannot be carried over.
7. Required CE for High-Impact Topics (Q1 2027)
   CFP Board may require CE on high impact, time sensitive topics, such as major tax law changes or regulatory shifts. CFP Board anticipates using this authority sparingly.

Looking Ahead

During the public comment period, CFP Board received a number of thoughtful comments raising broader questions about the bachelor’s degree requirement. Based on that input, CFP Board is convening an Academic Pathways and Standards Working Group in 2026 to conduct further analysis and consider whether the requirement should be maintained or modified.

To learn more about the review process and the approved updates to the Competency Standards, watch the full webinar recording.

“CFP Board’s job isn’t just to set the standards,” Snowden said. “It’s to help the profession meet them successfully.” As these updates are implemented, CFP Board will continue to provide clear guidance, transition resources and ongoing communication with CFP® certificants, candidates for certification and other stakeholders to ensure a smooth transition and adoption of the new Competency Standards.