Exam registration and scheduling
Everything you need to know to register and schedule your CFA® exam.
Exam schedule
CFA exams are administered on a quarterly basis each year. Level I exams will be offered each quarter, Level II exams will be offered 3 times, and Level III exams will be offered twice.
The exams will typically be offered in the following cadence (please refer to the Exam Calendar for specific deadlines by level):
Month |
Level I |
Level II |
Level III |
|---|---|---|---|
Feb |
Yes |
Yes |
|
May |
Yes |
Yes |
|
August |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
November |
Yes |
Yes |
Candidates are permitted to take the exam a maximum of two times per calendar year (when applicable), but not in consecutive windows or windows that are less than six months apart. There is a maximum of six attempts per exam level.
Registration
Registering for your CFA exam is a two-step process.
- Step 1: Register for your CFA exam.
- Step 2: After you complete the registration process and your payment is processed, you will see the “schedule your exam” option in your CFA Program tile. This will take you to the Prometric scheduling tool where you will be presented with available testing centers with dates and times. Appointments are available on a first-come, first-served basis and not all test centers will have weekend appointments. You must complete this step by the scheduling deadline. If you do not receive a confirmed date and time, you are not yet successfully scheduled for an exam.
Learn more about our planned test center locations.
Changing your test center
After registering, you must schedule your exam appointment by the deadline. If you need to reschedule your exam appointment in your exam window, log into your CFA Institute account and click the "Manage your Exam" link. Test centers have limited seating and requests are processed based on availability.
There is a USD 250 fee to reschedule your exam appointment within your exam window.
Testing accommodations
If you need testing accommodations, be sure to submit your request by the deadline for your exam administration window. Even if you are a returning CFA candidate who has been granted accommodations in the past, you must submit a request form each time you register.
Read more about our testing accommodations process and pre-approved items allowed into the testing room for your comfort.
After registration
- Review the CFA Program Quick Start Guides: Level I; Level II; Level III.
- Bookmark the Candidate Success Center. This page includes everything you need to know to prepare for your exam and be successful on your professional journey.
- Log into the CFA Institute Learning Ecosystem; download the CFA Institute Learning mobile app.
Registration
Registering for your CFA exam is a two-step process.
- Step 1: Enroll in the CFA exam through the CFA website.
- Step 2: After you complete the registration process and your payment is processed, you will see the “schedule your exam” option in your CFA Program tile. This will take you to the Prometric scheduling tool where you will be presented with available testing centers with dates and times. You must complete this step by the scheduling deadline. If you do not receive a confirmed date and time, you are not yet successfully scheduled for an exam.
Prometric: Once you have chosen your exam date and test center location, Prometric will send you an appointment confirmation email, keep you apprised of any pertinent scheduling changes and tell you of location-specific situations. Use this link to confirm your appointment details.
If you are concerned about a change or cancellation message you received from Prometric, please contact Prometric directly.
CFA Institute: CFA Institute will provide you with a series of emails containing basic information about the exam, the resources we will make available to you, and how to use these resources. As the exam grows closer, CFA Institute will send reminders about mock exams, general exam policies and other considerations.
Contact CFA Institute if:
- You are having difficulty accessing your account or need to change your personal information
- If you have not yet scheduled your exam and have general questions
- If you are having trouble connecting to your study resources.
Scheduling and seating
At this time, we cannot provide a way for candidates to see if there is availability in a desired location prior to registration. We recognize this is not ideal but are working closely with our exam delivery vendors to secure enough seats for registered candidates.
During the scheduling process, you will be able to search by address, city, or zip code.
Here are a few tips for selecting your exam location and time:
- To ensure that you get your preferred test center, schedule your exam appointment promptly. Seats are available on a first-come, first -served basis.
- Some cities show as full, but we do continue to add capacity where we can, so if you are firm on your choice, keep checking back; however, do not miss the deadline for scheduling.
- For optimal results, be sure to search by city and country. You may find areas with extra capacity within a reasonable travel distance outside of your chosen city.
- Do not search by “country” alone, as it may provide you with no results.
- Don’t limit your date range search to just a few days. Select the entire exam window. You may have to be flexible when selecting which day to test. We will not be able to accommodate everyone on their preferred date.
- When you do choose your appointment, plan to stick with it. We know it is tempting to change, but this makes it difficult for other candidates to find seats.
If you need to reschedule your exam appointment in your exam window, you will be charged a non-refundable USD 250 fee and any applicable taxes. You may not use this change to move to a new testing window.
Some locations may temporarily reach maximum capacity before registration closes. We will work with our computer-based vendors at Prometric and British Council to evaluate the need for additional appointments in certain locations around the globe. However, there may be some locations where additional appointments will not be added or additional weekend appointments will not be added.
No, if you need to reschedule your exam appointment within your testing window you will be charged a non-refundable fee of USD250. This policy does not apply to a change of testing windows, from August to November, for example. A deferral is required to move your exam to a future testing window. Please review the CFA Program Deferral Policy for complete information.
Rescheduling, deferrals and cancellations
For general rescheduling before the deadline for your exam window, visit the link on your candidate tile.
Exam reschedules are not common, but do occur for a number of reasons, including pandemic restrictions, weather events and local situations. Whenever possible you will be rescheduled into the same location and exam window for a different date. If there are no open appointments at that location, you will be rescheduled within a 50-mile radius of your originally selected center. Prometric will send you an appointment confirmation email with your new exam details.
If there is no test center within a 50-mile radius, your appointment will be cancelled, and you will need to contact CFA Institute for more options. You may be eligible for a deferral to another exam window. Contact CFA Institute for more information.
Sometimes it may be necessary to reschedule your appointment for a date that is sooner than your original appointment. We realize this may be inconvenient.
If your rescheduled appointment does not work with your schedule, you can contact Prometric for assistance with rescheduling.
In the event your exam is cancelled, you will first hear from Prometric via email. This email will come from donotreply@prometric.com. Please label this address as a safe sender so that this email does not go to your junk folder.
CFA Institute will contact you within 5-7 business days of the cancellation to provide you with additional information and your options.
If it is necessary to cancel your exam, CFA Institute will provide you with information on the available testing windows within 5-7 business days of your cancellation. You will have until the registration deadline for each of these testing windows to reregister. See all the deadlines here.
For registered candidates who cannot sit for their exam and want to move to a new exam window, please review the CFA Program Deferral Policy for complete information.