‘How to get a CFA exam refund’ has never really been a frequently asked question, but then the pandemic happened.
This has triggered a few changes in the CFA refund policy since then.
In this article, we’ll go through the refund options available to candidates – which can be different depending on individual circumstances.
How to get a CFA refund immediately after registering
If you get buyers remorse immediately after initially registering for the CFA exams, don’t worry – CFA Institute does allow refunds:
- But we do mean ‘immediately’ – refunds will only be available within 14 days of payment of your exam registration fees (through 11:59 PM Eastern Time on the 14th day).
- To clarify, an initial registration here excludes a registration made to reschedule an exam sitting that was either deferred by the candidate or postponed by CFA Institute.
So, if you wish to cancel CFA exam and request for a refund, you should be able to do this by logging into your CFA Institute candidate account and search for the option under ‘Manage Your Exam’.
If you fulfil these conditions, you’re entitled a full refund of your enrollment fee, registration fee, and any other sales tax payable. Some additional terms apply to all refund requests:
- FX differences apply. Due to fluctuating exchange rates, CFA Institute cannot guarantee the exact amount paid to CFA Institute will be the amount returned in currency other than US currency.
- After 14 days, no refunds in any circumstances. After the refund 14-day period has ended, enrollment and registration fees are non-refundable, even in the event of a medical condition or other extreme circumstance. Ouch.
- Print curriculum refunds not included. Payments for print curriculum orders are nonrefundable once the order has been placed. This one I get – CFA Institute ain’t Amazon, they are unlikely to have the logistical capacity to process print curriculum returns.
Are there any other options other than a refund?
If for any reason you’re not going to be attending the CFA exam you registered for, and if you don’t want or don’t qualify for a refund, there are two other options:
Deferral to the next available exam
Deferrals to the next available exam are now available in two flavors: a paid one and an emergency one.
A paid deferral costs $449, which can be purchased up to 24 hours before your actual exam day. This allows you to defer your exam in the next 12 months, subject to the usual registration deadlines. Only 1 paid deferral is allowed for each exam registration.
As for emergency deferral, you can request this up to 3 days following the close of an exam window, with proof or documentation. From 2025, emergency deferrals incur a $100 fee as well. For more details, check out our CFA deferral policy summary.
Withdrawal from the CFA exam
CFA Institute also offers a withdrawal option for all 3 levels of the CFA exam.
A CFA Institute refund or a deferral would be preferable in every scenario, since with a withdrawal you don’t get your money back, nor do you get to postpone your exam.
A withdrawal option is available until 5 days before the start of your exam window (not exam date itself!).
A withdrawal would therefore only make sense, in our opinion, if you plan to postpone your CFA exam-taking beyond 12 months, since deferrals (paid or emergency) are valid for up to 1 year.
Phew, hope the above clarifies the issue and lay out your options if you are exploring CFA refund options.
Meanwhile, here are some related articles which may be of interest:
My test centre didn’t allow me to take the exam due to some difference in surname though I had another valid identity card there after letting me wait for hours they said you cannot give the exam.
I emailed the cfa will they do anything or reschedule for the next coming date
Prometrics had recently rescheduled my exam to a different location, but on the same date.But I cannot write exam in the new location as I can manage my other programmes and manage my time only if I can write exam in the initial location.also the present company which I am working had a strict leave policy, because of which I cant reschedule my exam to another date in the august month.
I contacted prometrics to again to reschedule my exam to initial location. But they said the location is closed due to some local problems. so under such situations , am I eligible for emergency deferral or can I postpone my exam towards next exam window at free cost?
I have enrolled for the Feb 2022 exam on 26 October 2021 but now don’t want to give the exam and cancel it. Will I would be eligible for the refund for whole amount if I write a mail within 14 days of registration ?
Yes you will, if you did confirm your cancellation before the 14 days were up.
Hello, my name is Michele. I was impacte twice my exam on Jun and dec 20. At the time I chose to postponed (I thought in august it would be so much better) , but as you know pandemic is still going on in Perú and vacciantion is running too slow. I am trying to ask cfa to refund for many times. I do not feel safe to take the exam. My exam is next week. Please see all my e-mails. I think CFA should respect the candidate’s will. It is a meter of mental anf phisical health. We are facing an extemilly situation so being flexible is demande. I am not vaccinated and do not want to pay the risk in assisting for the exam.
Unfortunately from what we hear from candidates CFA Institute have not been terribly sympathetic towards situations like yourself. You could try calling them up and speaking to them directly – some candidates have had some luck over the phone. Good luck, and let us know how it goes!
Hey i am twice impacted candidate due to this COVID and i have rescheduled my exam for 31st aug but now because of some covid symptoms i might not be able to attend the exam on 31st aug. what shall i do? Will i be able to get refund? Please help me out
Get yourself tested. If your test is positive within 60 days of the CFA exam, you can get your exam delayed.
HI Zee, I am CFA level 2 candidate, my exam was postponed multiple time from June 2020 to Dec 2020 to May 2021 and now it is in Nov 2021, It is not convenient for me to appear for the exam in Nov 2021. I had to register for the exam in order comply with the registration deadline date. I can see the option which says you may cancel the registration by 3rd August and get a full refund. My question is since I am a postponed candidate I had paid Zero fees while registering for Nov 2021 exam but I had paid full amount for the exam in 2020 so will I get a zero refund or will I get my full amount. Please revert, None of the CFA help line numbers or email are working, I have tried multiple times but with no luck, YOur earliest reply would help, thank you very much, best wishes, S Agarwal
Hi Sunita
If you’ve always been postponed by CFA Institute, you should be fully entitled to your refund. However I understand your concern. If you’re not getting any confirmation from CFA Institute by the 3rd Aug deadline and you’re sure you won’t be attending Nov’21, I would proceed with the cancellation and screenshot everything and keep as much evidence of your entitlement to a refund as you can.
It’ll take a while to process your refund in any case, so it’ll be a long road to getting your money back. ☹️
Hi Zee Tan. What is the procedure for exam deferral if there is a death in the family? Who do I email and what docs do they need? How soon should I expect a reply?
My condolences. Write to info@cfainstitute.org explaining your situation. I am not certain what documentation they will need (if any) but I’m assuming a death certificate. If you’re pressed for time, you can then chase up via phone, but always make sure you get the email sent so that you can prove that you’ve already notified them.
Time to get a reply really varies – we’ve heard of candidates getting their issue resolved in a few days, but others having to wait for more than a month. Hope yours gets resolved fast!
Hey, I am a twice impacted candidate and have applied for the refund. However, so far, I have just received an acknowledgement email from the institute about my request and I cannot find any forms to fill regarding my bank details. Do they automatically refund to the accoutn with which I paid originally? Because that bank account has been closed now. Also what happens incase they don’t accept my refund request, do I still get an option to defer the exam at no cost?
I’m not sure about the case of your closed bank account. If I had to guess, I would say the transfer would be rejected and CFA Institute would be in touch when that happens, but best to check with them at info@cfainstitute.org. If they don’t accept your refund request they should allow you to defer the exam.
Hi, I’m trying to reschedule my exam from August to November. But unfortunately there is no possible way i could make this change.
Due to covid positive i’m not well prepared for it as lost that pace. I even mailed cfa but no response. Can you help me Please?
There won’t be a way to reschedule your exam to November unless you test positive within 60 days of your exam. I would suggest testing yourself for Covid again within 60 days and if you test positive, you can request that your exam be postponed by contacting CFA Institute via email and/or phone. I’m not sure if you would get Nov’21 as a choice though, it might have to be Feb’22.
Good luck, and let us know how it turns out!
Hi
I have recently tested positive for covid 19. And my exam is scheduled on July 22. I have written mails to CFA but haven’t received any reply from them yet. I don’t know what to do. I might test negative before the exam, but I don’t think I would be in a condition to travel and give my exam, hence I have requested for deferral. If they don’t reply before the exam, should I go and attempt it anyway. I don’t want to loose the entire fee and not even attempt the exam.
As long as you test positive for Covid-19 within 60 days of exam day you should be eligible to postpone your exam. When did you email CFA Institute?
I have mailed them almost a week back. I have received an auto generated mail from them, informing that they have received my mail. But haven’t received any other reply. Should I follow back or wait.
Most readers have reported a turnaround time of about a month, so it might be similar for you. Follow-up if it helps your anxiety!
Was anyone able to connect to cfa india number 000-800-100-4025. I have tried calling them multiple times, they never connect me to an agent. Also I have mailed to info@cfainstitute.org to state my issue. Is there any other source to report my issue.
You really do have to try multiple times and hold on for ages. Here’s a recent experience shared on our forum.
I just want to share my experience of getting refund from CFA Institute. I enrolled in November 2021 level 1 CFA exam in April and after 5 days I wanted to cancel my admission and get my money back so I wrote a mail to them about refund because they have a policy to give full refund if you request within 14 days of payment so they took around 25 days to reply my mail due to high traffic of enquiries and after 2 – 3 days of that they initiated the refund and it took 15 days to credit into my account.
So the bottom line is if you are in 14 days refund policy just write a mail to them and give proper bank details to them they are very reputed so they cooperate well and reply you within a month and after that it may take 20 days to reflect into your bank account.
Thanks for sharing your experience – this will be very helpful for future candidates!
I also requested a refund within two weeks through emails. I am waiting to get their response. Hopefully, I could get my refund back soon.
Hello. Does CFA allow you to change your test centre from one country to another?
Yes, as long as there’s availability in your chosen country and location.
Does the twice-impacted period need to be consecutive attempts?
My June 20 exam got cancelled, however in August I deferred my Dec 20 exam to the May 21 exam. Now my May 21 exam is cancelled by CFA Institute.
It’s not clear. On one hand, you have been postponed for the same exam by CFA Institute twice. On the other hand, their terms state that after you defer “you will forfeit your right to request a refund” so that might mean the ‘twice-impacted’ counter resets again.
I’d wait for a bit and see what refunds policy CFA Institute announces (if at all). So far they’ve not officially mentioned refunds for the May 2021 exam postponements and cancellations.
If I have taken CFA Level 1 exam before, can I get full refund for my second exam within 14 days?
Hi Miranda, based on our understanding of CFA Institute’s refund policy, if you’re registering for a new exam in 2021 (whether it is L1, L2 or L3), you can request for a full refund of your enrollment fees (if applicable) and registration fees within 14 days of payment.
So assuming you’re talking about a new L2 registration, you should be able to request for a full refund within 14 days of payment of the registration fees. Do contact CFA Institute right away if this is the case.
Hi,
I was originally enrolled for June 2020 exam, then postponed to December 2020 due to Covid, that in turn postponed to May 2021 also due to Covid. Being twice impacted by Covid, can i have access to refund or it is need that also May 2021 exam will be postponed?
Thank you
Hi Laura, when you were twice postponed in Dec20, you should have received an email that directed you to request for a refund after the Dec20 exams. Now that that window to apply for Dec20 refund has passed, you will have to experience another postponement of May21 before you’re eligible again.
Hi Sophie,
I was postponed in June 20 and my new date on May 21 has been postponed again.. but within the same month on May 21. Would such type of postponement allow me to be eligible for a refund?
Best
CW
My exam was postponed in June 2020 and again in December 2020. I never intended to request a refund (I know window was December 7 to 21). Now when I am registering for August 2021 exam I don’t see any credit in my account and it requires to pay fee of USD 1000 up until final payment window.
Any idea?
Hi Muhammad, as you never rescheduled your exam, you have to contact CFA Institute directly to check on this, as it is likely their system didn’t update your account.
Quite a few readers experienced this and it was sorted out once they reached out to CFAI.
Hi Muhammad, as you never rescheduled your exam, you have to contact CFA Institute directly to check on this, as it is likely their system didn’t update your account.
Quite a few readers experienced this and it was sorted out once they reached out to CFAI.
Hi, I’m trying to withdraw from CFA level 1 exam in July and register again for August
I have been trying to figure out how to withdraw but I didn’t manage to find anything on this at CFAI website.
Pls help
Hi Ghaida, fret not. We have just covered CFA Institute’s rescheduling policy this week.
Basically, the deadline to withdraw is latest 5 days before the beginning of your July exam window. If you withdraw past the deadline, you cannot re-register in time for August. Note that withdrawing means forfeiting your fees and repaying them again for August registration. Hope this helps!
are these just the exam fees, not the candidacy enrolment fees?
Hi Will, it depends on your circumstances. The policy is that all fees paid with your original registration will be refunded.
So if you are a first time L1 candidate, this includes enrollment fees too. Otherwise (i.e. if you’re a second time L1, or L2 or L3 candidate), the refund will be just registration fee if you’re twice postponed.
Which department do I need to contact to request a refund? Please help :((
I already sent 3 emails to info@cfainstitute.org
Hi Nhan Dinh, which exam are you requesting a refund for? Dec20’s deadline has passed, and if it is Feb21 exams, you need to wait until they announced the exact procedure in about 2 weeks time.
oh, thank you so much. I applied for Aug21 exams.
CFA Institute stipulates that “a full refund of your enrollment and registration fees is available within fourteen (14) days of payment”. I made the payment on Feb.7th. I sent email to info@cfainstitute.org to request a refund on Feb. 16th. From the 16th to now, every day I sent email to this email address but no reply 🙁
You should be fine then, since you’re within the rules. Do keep records of your email requests to cancel and may be worth informing your bank/credit card company of this as well. May need to wait for a week or so to see if CFAI customer service team can get back to you since they are swamped.
Thank you very much for your information, it’s really helpful.
Have you a nice week ahead! 🙂
Did you got your refund if yes, then how long time it has taken to get your full amount refunded.
Hi,
I deferred my February exam to August. But after completing registration process, I cancelled the exam instead of scheduling a date. It also said that 14 day window period is there for refund after opting to cancel the exam. Can anyone please help with this? Do I qualify for a refund or I’ll be completely withdraw from the exam?
Hi Vaidehi, best to reach out to CFA Institute on this as I’m not sure whether you actually deferred or cancelled your exam?
Because if you deferred your Feb 2021 exam, you won’t be eligible for a refund. See more details in our latest post on Feb21 deferrals FAQ.
Hey Vaidehi, I did the same too. I deferred my February exam to November, after completing the registration process, I also canceled the exam instead of scheduling a date. I sent an email to CFA institution. no replies yet.
Have you figured out that you would get a refund or not?
Hi Jenny,
Did you get the refund?
Hi,
Did you got any update on this from CFA institute?
Hi Vaidehi,
Did you get any reply or refund?
hi any update on your refund?
Hi Vaidehi. Did you get any reply or refund? I meet the same problem.
Hi Vaidehi,
Did you get the refund? Please follow up as I will be going through the same.
What if my initial enrolment was for Dec20 exams and now i have opted for a deferment to feb exam? Will I be eligible for a refund if Feb exam gets cancelled?
Hi Mukul, it’s a good question as the current refund policy is not clear on that.
We have reached out directly to CFA Institute and they said: “As of today, nothing has changed for February and therefore we cannot answer your question.”
So, we interpret this to mean that they have yet to make a decision on this front, and will probably announce something soon in a few weeks. Hope this helps, for now!
I registered for June 20 which was cancelled due to Covid. Later registered for Dec 20 which was again cancelled. Later I decided to register for Nov-21. However, due to extreme Covid inpact in April May 21 wave, I could not actually think about the studies and focussed on my health.
Now when I am trying to register for May22 exam, they are asking me to pay the fee again. Is this not unethical? Any options that I can explore? Please suggest
Sorry to hear you’re having a hard time. I don’t quite get the full picture here. Did you withdraw from the Nov’21 exam then?
Hi Mukul, CFA Institute just announced a new policy in your favor:
TWICE IMPACTED CANDIDATES: Any February 2021 candidate whose exam appointment is cancelled due to COVID will be entitled to a refund if this is the second time their exam was postponed. You will be contacted with more information after the February testing window is completed
CFA Institute Vivek Varyani, Thank you for your CFA® Program Access Scholarship application submission. Unfortunately, your scholarship application was not selected for award. We encourage you to continue to pursue your CFA® Program goals and to support you in your efforts, we would like to offer you the early exam registration fee for your next exam registration. Your pricing discount will be available to redeem approximately three weeks from the date of receipt of this email and will expire on 30 June 2021. To receive this pricing, you must register during this time period. Please refer to the exam fees and important dates webpages for detailed information. Good luck in your pursuit of the CFA designation. Please contact us if you have any questions or concerns. Best regards, CFA Institute Global Scholarships Administration