Personal Financial Planning

Certified Financial Planner Exam

The CFP® Certification Examination is designed to assess your ability to apply financial planning knowledge to real-life financial planning situations. By passing this exam, you demonstrate to the public that you are at the appropriate level of competency required to practice financial planning.

Important: You can now for the CFP® Certification Examination prior to completing the Education coursework requirement. CFP Board, however, must receive verification of your coursework completion by the Education Verification Deadline. If verification is not received by that deadline, you will be de-registered, your seat will become available to other candidates, and you will be charged a $100 postponement fee.

The coursework requirement can be met in several ways, including completing a .

Benefits of Personal Financial Planning Major

Students from the USF program will get $200 off one time (only for first time exam takers)
of registration (even if you apply for the early bird price if you apply for the exam 6 months
after you receive your degree)

  • Regular price $725
  • Early bird $625
  • With discount $425

Steps to Use the Discount

  1. Create CFP account
  2. USF uploads verification
  3. Student calls customer support 800-487-1497 for discount code.

Note: you will need to submit your transcript up to 5 years of passing the exam so you may
want to do that now but it is not needed for you to take the exam

CFP Exam Dates and Deadlines

The CFP® Exam is offered in a computer-based format during an 8-day testing window. The exam is administered on one day during two 3-hour testing sessions, separated by a scheduled 40-minute break. A 7-hour appointment is scheduled to allow time for check-in, and security procedures.

Candidates select their test day (Tuesday-Tuesday) and test site location from among Prometric’s network of testing sites. The CFP® exam is administered in more than 265 dedicated professional testing locations across the U.S.

Note: The July 2018 CFP® exam is the final exam that will test on the current tax laws. Starting with November 2018, the CFP® exam will reflect the 2018 federal tax law changes.

Exam Window Registration Open Education Verification Deadline Registration Deadline
Mar. (12-19), 2019 Nov. 15, 2018 Feb, 12, 2019 Feb. 26, 2019
Jul. (9-16), 2019 Mar. 21, 2019 Jun. 11, 2019 Jun. 25, 2019
Nov. (5-12), 2019 July 17, 2019 Oct. 9, 2019 Oct. 22, 2019

Scholarships Opportunities Available

  1. Center for Financial Planning Scholarship Programs
    Link :
  2. XYPN CFP® Exam Scholarship (5 Awarded per Cycle):
    Link:
    • XYPN members who have met CFP® Board’s education coursework requirement and
      plan to take the CFP® Exam for the first time under XYPN membership may apply.
    • Those who are reimbursed by their employer for 50% (or more) of the cost of
      their CFP® education are ineligible.
    • Those who received another CFP®-related scholarships within the past 24 months are
      ineligible.
    • Those who are already registered for the exam are ineligible as registration must be
      completed using the scholarship award voucher.
    • Recipients will be randomly chosen by XYPN.
    • *Candidates may reschedule their Prometric appointment within the testing window as
      late as five days prior to their scheduled appointment, subject to seat availability and
      rescheduling fees.

  3. NAPFA CFP Scholarship Application
    NAPFA Genesis provides multiple scholarships throughout the year for individuals
    pursuing the CFP® Certification. These are available for those who do not currently receive
    financial assistance for the cost of the exam. Genesis members can apply to receive a
    scholarship, and if selected, upon passing the exam will receive a reimbursement for the
    NAPFA discounted exam fee, which is $395. For the discount code, please
    contact: membership@napfa.org

    In order to apply for a CFP® Scholarship, you must be a NAPFA Genesis member. If you
    are not yet a NAPFA member, please click the Become a Member button in the top of left
    of the menu to find out more. Applications will be received at any time, but will only be
    reviewed for the upcoming CFP exam. There is a place on the application to state which
    exam you will be taking. All scholarship recipients will be responsible for initially covering
    the cost of the exam, and upon passing, will let Genesis know to receive reimbursement.
    (Link for more information about how to become NAPFA Genesis Member:

Kaplan Review Package

Kaplan Review Package Premium Review
Onsite, Live Online, or OnDemand* Class Instruction Y
Review Class Guide Y
Course Overview Y
10-Week Study Planner Checklist Y
Pre-Study Assessment Exam with Recall & Review Qbank Y
eLibrary (Exam Prep Videos) Y
Online Mock Exam & Mock Exam Video Y
Review Books 1-7 Y
Analyze and Apply Qbank & Performance Tracker Y
Instructor Email Access via ±õ²Ô²õ³Ù°ù³Ü³¦³Ù´Ç°ù³¢¾±²Ô°ìâ„¢ Y
Webinars Y
High 5 Video Series: Exam Application & Approaches Y
Pass Protectionâ„¢ Y
Retail Price: $1,348
Retail Price $1,388
Negotiated Kaplan Discount * ($249)
Gift (Kaplan or USF ) ($449)
Final Student Cost $690

Notes:

  • When USF has 15 students enrolled in this preparation program we will receive another $200 Kaplan discount bringing the student cost down to $450.
  • Students are recommended to spend 20-25 hours per week of non-interrupted study time. 8 weeks leading up to the live classes and 2 weeks following.
  • Kaplan’s live review covers approximately 30 hours in person and will be held in June with University of Tampa. This is in addition to the student readings, online videos, online activities, etc.
  • The materials for testing on 2018 tax numbers uses July 18’, November 18’, and March 19’ materials.
  • The materials for testing on 2019 tax numbers uses July 19’, November 19’, and March 20’ materials.
  • Unless the CFP Board notifies of other changes (similar to the July 2018 exam which tested on 2017).