Contact CFP Board at 800-487-1497 or education@CFPBoard.org for more information about the registration process.

Registration with CFP Board must be renewed periodically by submitting a Registered Program Renewal Application. Renewal applications should be submitted to CFP Board at least two months prior to registration expiration to allow sufficient time for processing and review.

• Read the latest edition of the quarterly Program Directors' newsletter, CFP Board Update.
• CFP Board is committed to supporting Registered Programs with marketing and retention. Several updated resources designed to augment your program’s marketing efforts are now available on CFP Board’s Web site. Learn more.
• CFP Board's 2008 Program Directors' Conference was held at the historic Mayflower Hotel in Washington, DC on August 7-9, 2008. Read more about this year's conference.
• CFP Board collaborated with the Academy of Financial Services to develop a Model Curriculum for personal financial planning. The Model Curriculum was recently revised to match CFP Board's current 89 topic list. Review the updated Model Curriculum course syllabi and detailed outlines. CFP Board appreciates the individuals who participated on the committee that assisted in the update. The committee was chaired by Dr. Somnath Basu of California Lutheran University and included Dr. Grace Allen, Western Carolina University, Dr. Raja Bouzouita, Central Missouri State University, Dr. Jonathan Fox, Ohio State University, Dr. John Grable, CFP®, Kansas State University, and Dr. Sharon DeVaney, Purdue University.
• CFP Board has historically offered a reduced fee to lead faculty in CFP Board-Registered Programs who wish to take the CFP® Certification Examination. This reduced fee is now available to all Registered Program individuals who are considered faculty by the institution at the time the exam application is sent to CFP Board. Read more about reduced exam fees for Registered Program faculty.
• CFP Board has formed a new advisory group, the Council on Education, to establish and enforce educational standards for enhancing the knowledge, skills and abilities of current and potential CFP® certificants. Council members will develop and clarify all educational policies related to the CFP® Certification process, ranging from Registered Programs, Model Curriculum, Continuing Education Sponsors, Continuing Education Requirements, Review Course Providers, and the implementation of an education program Peer Review Process. Read more in the May 2008 edition of the quarterly Program Directors' newsletter, CFP Board Update.
• In early 2006, CFP Board assembled a high-level Education Task Force to review CFP Board’s current educational goals, standards and practices, compare them to those of other certification bodies and to models of best practice, and decide whether to recommend any changes to CFP Board’s current operations. In August 2006, the Task Force presented a Report of findings and recommendations. Read more about the Education Task Force and its Report.
• At its August 2007 business meeting, CFP Board’s Board of Directors approved a modification to the bachelor’s degree requirement for initial CFP® certification, which became effective early in 2007. The modified requirement expands the range of institutions at which applicants for CFP® certification may obtain qualified bachelor’s degrees. CFP Board will now accept bachelor’s degrees from all colleges and universities accredited by an accreditation body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. As originally introduced, the bachelor’s degree requirement stated that an applicant for CFP® certification must hold a bachelor’s degree (or higher) from a regionally-accredited U.S. college or university. Read more.
• CFP Board’s Candidate Fitness Standards took effect January 1, 2007. These standards were developed to help individuals determine if their past conduct might prohibit them from attaining CFP® certification. They identify specific conduct that will always bar an individual from attaining certification, and they identify other conduct as being presumed to bar an individual from attaining certification. If an individual’s history includes matters presumed to bar certification, the individual may choose to petition for reconsideration, and the Disciplinary and Ethics Commission will then review the matters on a case-by-case basis. CFP Board encourages candidates to review the Candidate Fitness Standards prior to committing themselves to taking the CFP® Certification Examination so they can determine whether their background might prohibit or delay them from attaining CFP® certification.
• The Job Analysis Update of 2004 resulted in a revised education and examination topic list to be tested over beginning in November 2006. Download the new 89-topic list.
• To assist programs with the transition to the 89 topic list, two mappings are available – the old 101 topic list to the current 89 topic list and vice versa. Download the topic list mapping guide (old topics to new topics). Download the topic list mapping guide (new topics to old topics).
• CFP Board has implemented a paperless CFP® Certification Examination registration process. Paperless exam registration enables applicants for CFP® certification to register online for the CFP® Certification Examination on CFP Board’s Web site without having to submit a paper application and paper evidence that they have fulfilled the CFP® certification education requirement through a CFP Board-Registered Program. Read more about paperless exam registration.

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