According to ThinkAdvisor, the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards announced planned updates to its Competency Standards that will raise continuing education requirements, expand the list of recognized credentials, and clarify how CFP professionals demonstrate competency to practice independently.
The CFP Board said its board will increase continuing education requirements for CFP certificants and formally recognize the Certified Investment Management Analyst (CIMA) designation as an approved academic degree and professional credential. ThinkAdvisor reports that the updates also emphasize that competency does not rest on passing the CFP exam alone.
Effective in the second quarter of 2026, the CFP Board will revise its certification language to reinforce that professional competency flows from completing all four certification requirements: education, examination, experience, and ethics. Under the revised standard, CFP professionals demonstrate their ability to practice independently only by satisfying all four "E's," not solely by passing the exam.
Beginning in the first quarter of 2027, the CFP Board will raise the minimum continuing education requirement to 40 hours every two years. That total will include 38 hours of general continuing education and two hours of CFP Board Ethics CE. The board will also allow CFP certificants to carry over up to 10 excess CE hours into their next two-year cycle. Currently, CFP professionals must complete 30 hours of CE every two years, including two hours of Ethics CE.
According to ThinkAdvisor, the CFP Board said the increase responds to rapid changes in financial planning, including developments in technology, behavioral finance, and the regulatory environment. The organization emphasized that the higher requirement will apply uniformly to all certificants while preserving the existing CE structure.
ThinkAdvisor adds that the board also announced changes to its experience requirements. Starting in the first quarter of 2027, candidates may count up to 500 hours of qualified pro bono financial planning toward the 6,000-hour experience requirement under the Standard Pathway. Candidates must complete qualifying pro bono work through an approved organization. The CFP Board said the change will expand access to financial planning services in underserved communities while reinforcing hands-on, competency-based experience.
In addition, beginning in 2027, the CFP Board will reserve the authority to designate mandatory CE topics when significant changes in laws, tax codes, or regulations affect the financial planning profession, as determined by its board of directors, as reported by ThinkAdvisor.
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