Since the introduction of computer-based testing (CBT) by CFA Institute in 2021, there has been a few minor tweaks, changes and improvements in the candidate experience.
Here’s one epic summary of all the new CFA computer based testing process in one place, covering how things will work for Level 1, 2 (split screen for vignettes) and 3 (no more equation editors!), with detailed FAQs which we recommend you look through.
Let’s do this!
| Dec20 CFA Level 1,2,3 Exams (Last paper-based exam) | Current CFA exams | |
|---|---|---|
| Exam Day | 1 exam day / time offered | An exam window (of up to 10 days) that you can choose |
| Frequency | Previously, paper-based exams are offered once a year for Level 2 and Level 3, but twice a year for Level 1 | Current CFA exam cycles: – 4x a year for Level 1 (Feb, May, Aug and Nov). – 3x a year for Level 2 (May, Aug and Nov). – 2x a year for Level 3 (Feb and Aug) See our CFA exam dates guide for the latest schedule and key deadlines. |
| Exam Format | 240 multiple choice questions, split into 2 equal sessions: – Morning: 120 questions in 3 hours; – Afternoon: 120 questions in 3 hours. | All 3 levels have 25% reduction in questions and testing time. Instead of 6 hours total test time, it is reduced to 4 hours and 30 minutes. For exact details on exam format and times for all 3 levels, refer to our CFA exam overview article. |
| Test Locations | Proctored exam in 87 locations globally | Proctored exam in 400+ locations globally |
| If passed, when is the earliest I can take the next Level? | Paper-based exam schedule indirectly ensures there is a minimum 6 months gap between exams. | Even with more test frequency per level, there is still a requirement for 6 months minimum gap between exams. Please use our free CFA Journey Planner tool to check for your optimal CFA registration exam window. |
| Exam results availability | Within 60 days of taking the exam | Results are not instantaneous, but expected to be faster than paper-based format. See our CFA results day estimates here. |
Have a question that’s not covered? Let us know in the comments and we will try to help, or get a response from CFA Institute!
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1. Not able to highlight the vignette though questions can be highlighted as per tuturial.
2. Vignette were covering the question caused back and forth open and close the Vignette in my subjective exam (morning session).
It was very hard to write something if vignette need to for writing.
1. The lack of highlighting in vignettes is something that CFA Institute and Prometric are aware of and working on, although I'm not sure when a fix would be implemented.
2. Split-screen is available but only for large-enough screens, so in your case it's likely that your test centre's computer screens weren't large enough for the split-screen feature to kick in. I agree it's a terrible UI if you don't have split-screen ☹️
I appeared for Level 2 and even for Level 2 (i.e for even for objective type questions) it caused lot of inconvenience.
Hi Zee Tan,
Non-availability of Split-screen is a big issue. In India, at our center, split screen was not available and moving from vignette to question back and forth was problematic as your thought chain breaks and every time you have to scroll down. If at some centres students are getting split screen whereas at other centres they are not getting split screen, then certainly it would give unfair advantage to students to whom split screen was available (in terms of time and convenience). Any idea as to how CFA institute is going to maintain parity among students ??? is there any way whereby CFA institute can compensate (in terms of marks) to those students to whom split screen was not available ??
I think you should write about this...
Yes, this is a known issue, and it's unclear if CFA Institute is planning, or has the capability to do anything about it, since the lack of split-screen is due to certain monitor resolutions, which means Prometric has to solve it.
It's possible that CFA Institute could evolve their exam platform so that split-screen works with all monitors, but I wouldn't hold my breath for that... 🙁
Split screen is not always the case. We got given tiny screens and the questions were overlayed by the vignette. You had to click back and forth. Clearly, there are two different exam experiences.
Yes - the split-screens do 'break' if your monitor's aspect ratio is too narrow. However I would have expected that to be Prometric and CFA Institute's collective responsibility to ensure that doesn't happen. 😠
Hi, I had a similar question on the CBT timer. I completed 100% of the responses, but let the timer run out instead of hitting finish exam. Will my responses be saved and submitted automatically?
Yes it will. Prometric has verbally confirmed this to candidates, but you can also contact Prometric to get your own confirmation - and peace of mind! Majority of candidates would probably have similar scenarios so it would be chaos if questions were not submitted automatically.
Hi, on one session of my tests I just let time run out without clicking 'finish test' buttom. Will my answers be submitted? Thank you!
Yes it will. Prometric has verbally confirmed this to candidates, but you can also contact Prometric to get your own confirmation - and peace of mind.
If I fail the May exam, can I take the November exam? I ask that because November is six months away from May, and in CFA website it reads:
"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 six months or less apart. "
Yes you can.
If I finish part 1 of the CFA Level 1 exam early (let's say after 90 minutes instead of 135), does that extend my break? Or do I still only get 30 minutes?
The correct answer is that you only get 30 minutes. Your break is not extended if you finish the first part early.
Aw man, sorry but we didn't know for sure. Thanks for letting us (and future candidates) know!
I'm pretty sure you get an extended break if that happens.
Using the Prometric simulator for Level 3, when there is a case study on the left side of the page, is there anyway to highlight relevant parts? I know there is a highlight feature that let's you highlight or strikethrough parts of the question on the right side of the page, but that is not particularly helpful. Any chance CFA or Prometric can add this feature so that we can actually mark up the case study while reading it (like we all would if we were using paper).
Thanks!
There is a discussion thread about this in the forum here. I think candidates are trying to contact CFA Institute to try and convince them to add this in as a future feature. On our end, I will send this feedback to our contacts at CFA Institute and see if this will be added in!
Thanks Zee!
I failed my Cfa level 1 exam (Feb, 2021 cbt based). Do I still need to pay registration fee for another attempt?
Hi Gauri, I'm sorry to hear that. Yes you would need to pay the registration fee for each attempt.
I have registered for May 2021 CBT i would like to defer the same. Can you advise how will i be able to defer and how much would be the cost for the same
Hi Sachin, CFA Institute doesn't currently allow changes between exam windows (e.g. May21 to Nov21), except in exceptional circumstances. I just wrote about their rescheduling policy this week, check that out and hope it helps :)