CFA Requirements: How To Become A CFA Charterholder

To become a CFA charterholder, you must:
(1) Pass all 3 CFA exams (Level 1, 2, and 3)
(2) Accumulate 4,000 hours of qualified work experience over at least 36 months
(3) Provide 2-3 professional references
(4) Sign the Ethics pledge and apply for CFA Institute membership.

Total timeline: 2-4 years minimum.
Total cost: $3,500-$9,000 depending on exam attempts and materials.

The work experience must involve evaluating or applying financial, economic, and/or statistical data in investment decision-making. You can start accumulating work hours before, during, or after passing the exams.
Complete CFA Charterholder Requirements

The path to CFA charterholder status is straightforward but demanding. Most candidates focus on passing the three exams (the hard part), but there are several administrative requirements that trip people up if you don’t plan ahead.

This guide covers the complete process from registration to receiving your charter, including the common mistakes that delay candidates by months. We’ll also address the work experience requirement in detail – it’s the #1 source of confusion and application rejections.

Let’s start with the big picture, then dive into each requirement.

Contents

By the way…
What makes each level difficult?
1) The Ethics Pledge
2) Relevant Work Experience Requirements
What exactly counts as "relevant work experience"?
3) 2 or 3 Professional References Required
Who makes a good reference?
4) CFA Institute membership and local societies
How long does the CFA membership application take?
Keeping your CFA charter

By the way…

Did you know that we also offer a free mock exam for every CFA level? Full answers and analysis included – all for free.

You can get your mock exams here: Level 1, Level 2 and Level 3.

CFA requirements: a summary infographic

To blast off with a quick summary, this infographic sums up all the bases you need to cover to earn the CFA charter, plus key facts and figures.

cfa requirements to be a CFA charterholder

Common mistakes CFA candidates make

Before diving into the details, here are the most common mistakes candidates make when pursuing the charter:

1. Waiting to document work experience

Many candidates wait until after passing Level 3 to think about work experience
Problem: You’ve forgotten details, lost contacts with supervisors who left
Solution: Start documenting your investment-related work NOW – keep a running log

2. Thinking ANY finance job counts

Not all finance work qualifies as “investment decision-making process”
Problem: Corporate finance, back-office operations, basic accounting often don’t qualify
Solution: Read the work experience guidelines carefully – focus on roles involving analysis, portfolio management, or investment research

3. Not joining local CFA society during studies

You can join as an affiliate member while studying
Problem: Miss networking opportunities, career support, practice materials from society
Solution: Join early – the connections help your career throughout the process

4. Underestimating timeline and costs

Many assume “2 years, $3,000 total”
Problem: Most take 4 years, spend $5,000-7,000 (failed attempts, materials, membership)
Solution: Budget realistically – plan for $6,000-8,000 and 3-4 years

5. Forgetting to maintain membership after charter

Charter requires active CFA Institute membership ($275/year)
Solution: Set up annual payment reminder – losing charter after all that work would be devastating
Problem: If membership expires, you lose the right to use the designation

The 3 levels of CFA Program

The biggest-pain-in-the-ass part of earning the CFA charter is obvious – passing all 3 exams. Each level consists of 2 sessions, with an optional 30 minute break in between.

Level 1: The first computer-based exam of the series is held 4x a year in Feb, May, Aug and Nov. Candidates can take it at most twice a year, given the ‘6 month rule’. This is generally regarded a relatively easy introduction to the CFA course. If you’ve taken Economics in college, a lot of this material may look familiar. However at 1.5 minutes a question, answering speed will be a key factor.

Level 2: The second exam is held thrice a year (May, Aug and Nov). This is generally regarded as the hardest among the 3 exams. Although Level 2 only has half the number of questions compared to Level 1, the item-set format allows much more in-depth questions to be set. The breadth of the topics and sheer amount of material to cover is also a massive challenge.

Level 3: Beware the essay question format in the first session – if you are not familiar with how to answer or study for the essay format, this level will be a heck of a challenge. The second session is identical to Level 2 format-wise – multiple choice item sets.

What makes each level difficult?

Level 1: The breadth challenge

180 questions across 10 topics
1.5 minutes per question (speed is critical)
Difficulty: Foundation building – not easy, but manageable with 300 hours
Common failure reason: Underestimating it, poor time management

Level 2: The depth challenge

Vignette format (case studies with 4-6 questions each)
Must synthesize multiple concepts within each case
Difficulty: Widely considered the hardest level (lowest pass rates historically)
Common failure reason: Not enough practice questions, weak in derivatives/FRA

Level 3: The application challenge

Essay questions (constructed response) + vignettes
Must articulate answers clearly, show your work
Difficulty: Different skillset than Levels 1-2 (writing under pressure)
Common failure reason: Poor essay writing, not practicing written responses

Pass all three levels and you’re ~60% of the way to the charter. The other 40%? Work experience and membership.

For more tips on how to approach and effectively prepare for each CFA level, check out these guides for each Level:

How To Prepare & Pass CFA Exams in 18 Months: Level 1, Level 2 and Level 3 guides
The 10 Commandments For Each CFA Exam: Level 1, Level 2 and Level 3 guides

How long will CFA exams take, and how much will it cost me?

The time and monetary cost of your CFA qualification depends a lot on several factors:

When you register for the exams (early or standard registrations)
How much you spend on 3rd party materials (see our reviews here)
How many attempts you need to pass all 3 exams

With all these variations, you can expect your CFA qualification to cost you about $3,570 to $8,970 in total. The minimum amount time needed to finish all 3 exams is just under 2 years (from registering for Level 1 to receiving your Level 3 results) but on average candidates take 4 years to complete the program.

Yay, I’ve passed CFA Level 3. How do I get my CFA charter?

Besides the exams, there are also several other requirements to earn the right to use the CFA charter, some much more easily achieved than others.

1) The Ethics Pledge

A straightforward but crucial part of being a CFA charterholder. The CFA Institute takes its members’ understanding and upholding of the CFA Code of Ethics & Standards of Professional Conduct very seriously, as illustrated by the exams’ emphasis on Ethics & Professional Standards. The pledge is thus a quick but important step in the registration process.

2) Relevant Work Experience Requirements

This is the other main barrier your CFA charterholdership after the exams themselves.

CFA Institute has updated its work experience requirements for CFA charterholders recently. CFA Institute now requires at least 4,000 hours of “relevant work experience”, completed in a minimum of 36 months.

What exactly counts as “relevant work experience”?

CFA Institute defines qualifying work experience as:

Core requirement: Participation in the investment decision-making process or producing work product that informs or adds value to that process.

Examples that typically QUALIFY:

Portfolio management (equity, fixed income, alternatives)
Equity research or credit analysis
Investment risk management
Financial advisor/wealth management roles
Corporate finance roles involving valuation and M&A analysis
Performance measurement and attribution analysis

Examples that typically DON’T qualify:

Back-office operations (trade settlement, accounting)
Retail banking or general banking operations
Teaching finance (unless actively managing investments on the side)
Sales roles without analytical component
Administrative or support roles

The grey area: Roles that partially qualify

Corporate FP&A: Budgeting doesn’t count, but capital allocation decisions might
Audit: Financial statement audit doesn’t count, but investment due diligence does
Consulting: Strategy consulting doesn’t count, M&A valuation work does

How to document it:
When submitting work experience, describe your role with specificity:

This example is too vague: “Analyzed financial statements”
This example is better and more specific: “Performed discounted cash flow analysis on 15+ companies to evaluate investment attractiveness for $50M equity portfolio”

Timeline flexibility:
You can accumulate these hours:

Before starting CFA exams
While taking exams
After passing all three exams
Or any combination

Most candidates accumulate work experience alongside their exam progress, which means by the time you pass Level 3, you’re usually already qualified (or close).

Full detailed guide with examples: CFA Work Experience Requirements

3) 2 or 3 Professional References Required

You will also need references for your CFA Institute membership application. You’ll need:

2 professional sponsors if one of them is a current & regular member of the local CFA society you’re applying to, or
3 professional sponsors, if none of them is a current & regular member of the local CFA society you’re applying to.

Professional references from supervisors are preferred, although you can select other individuals who can describe and attest to your responsibilities in the investment decision-making process.

References will be asked to comment on your work experience and professional character. And obviously you cannot serve as a reference for your own application.

Note that although many candidates usually apply for memberships after passing the exams, there is no reason why you can’t do these first, e.g. if you wished to be an affiliate member of the CFA Institute, or get your work experience pre-approved.

Who makes a good reference?

Best options (in order of preference):

Direct supervisor in investment-related role – ideal, as they can directly attest to your work
Senior colleague who worked closely with you – if supervisor unavailable (left company, etc.)
Client or stakeholder who observed your investment work – for consultants/advisors
Academic advisor or professor – only if you have limited work experience

What references need to do:

Comment on your character and professionalism
Attest to your role in the investment decision-making process
Verify the hours/timeline you’ve claimed

How to ask for references:

Give them 2-3 weeks notice minimum
Provide context about what CFA Institute will ask them
Send them your work experience summary so they can align their comments
Follow up politely if they haven’t responded after a week

CFA Institute requirement specifics:

If one reference is an active member of your local CFA society, you’ll only need 2 total references
If none are active CFA members, you’ll need 3 total references
Your references must be willing to complete CFA Institute’s online form

4) CFA Institute membership and local societies

There is some confusion on membership types in the CFA Institute and its relevant regional CFA societies, and rightly so – available information can be fairly difficult to find, confusing, and sometimes omit crucial information.

The CFA Institute is the body responsible for maintaining and executing the CFA charter, CFA exams and curriculum. All membership applications require two sponsors to recommend you, one of which is a Regular Member of the CFA Institute, and the other your current supervisor. Memberships can be viewed in as 3 main types:

Affiliate Membership – no exams or work experience required
Regular Membership – pass your CFA Level 1 exam, acquire at least 4,000 hours of work experience over a minimum of 36 months and you can qualify as a Regular Member
Regular Membership as a Charterholder – pass all 3 exams in addition to the Regular Member requirements to receive your charter

CFA societies are a local version of the CFA Institute – they are a separate body but exist to maintain a network of CFA charterholders and others involved in the investment profession. Applying to a local CFA society is a requirement for applying for your CFA Institute membership.

CFA societies often organize seminars, industry talks, social events and act as a career and industry network for your local region, so most of your networking benefits from the CFA program stem from being active in your local society. You can find a local society near you through the CFA Institute directory.

How long does the CFA membership application take?

CFA Institute’s regular membership applications’ review process takes up to 10 business days. Your application would also reviewed by the local society you applied to, which may take up to 1 month.

Once all application reviews are completed, you will receive an email letting you know your application review is complete.

Keeping your CFA charter

How to display CFA status on resume CV LinkedIn Business Cards

To maintain your charter after you earn it, you will need to continue to be a member of the CFA Institute with a $275 annual fee.

Should your membership expire you will no longer have the right to use your designation. If you forget to pay your membership fees one year and your membership expires, don’t worry, you can reactivate your membership at any time.

Note that although it is required to maintain membership with the CFA Institute, this requirement does not apply to your local society. After your first year if you wish you can choose to let your local membership expire and continue to be a member of just the CFA Institute to maintain your charter.

CFA charterholder requirements: Your questions answered

Can I start accumulating work experience before passing the exams?

Yes! You can accumulate qualified work experience before, during, or after taking the CFA exams. Many candidates have already met the 4,000-hour requirement by the time they pass Level 3.

The key is ensuring your work qualifies under CFA Institute’s definition: participation in the investment decision-making process. If you’re working in portfolio management, equity research, financial advisory, or similar roles, your hours likely count.

Pro tip: Document your work experience as you go, even if you haven’t started the exams yet. When you eventually apply for the charter, you’ll have everything organized.

How long does it really take to become a CFA charterholder?

Absolute minimum: 18-24 months from registration to charter
– Pass Level 1 (earliest): Month 1
– Pass Level 2 (earliest): Month 7 (must wait 6 months)
– Pass Level 3 (earliest): Month 13 (another 6 months)
– Apply for membership: Month 14-18
– Work experience: Can overlap with exams

Realistic timeline for most candidates: 3-4 years
– Most people fail at least one level (adds 6-12 months)
– Many take breaks between levels
– Work experience accumulation happens alongside exams

Factors that extend timeline:
– Failed exam attempts (most common – 50-60% fail at each sitting)
– Taking time off between levels (burnout, life events, work demands)
– Starting exams before accumulating work experience
– Gaps in work experience documentation

Do I need a finance degree to get the CFA charter?

No, you don’t need a finance degree for the CFA charter. In fact, you don’t need ANY degree for the final charter – as long as you meet the work experience pathway requirements throughout the exam progression.

Here’s how the requirements actually work:

For Level 1 registration (initial enrollment):
You need ONE of these:
– Bachelor’s degree (any field), OR
– Within 23 months of bachelor’s graduation, OR
– 4,000 hours of work experience (over 36 months), OR
– Combination of work experience + higher education totaling 4,000 hours (over 36 months)

For Level 2 registration:
You need ONE of these:
– Within 11 months of bachelor’s graduation, OR
– Already have a bachelor’s degree, OR
– 4,000 hours of work experience/education combination (achieved by Level 1 registration date)

For Level 3 registration:
You need ONE of these:
– Completed bachelor’s degree, OR
– 4,000 hours of professional work experience (achieved by Level 1 registration date)

For the final CFA charter:
– Pass all 3 exams
– 4,000 hours of investment-related work experience (over 36 months)
– Professional references
– CFA Institute membership

What this means:
If you enter via the 4,000-hour work experience pathway for Level 1, you can complete the entire program and earn the charter without ever getting a bachelor’s degree. The work experience used for exam eligibility can be the SAME work experience used for the charter (as long as it’s investment-related).

Important clarification: The work experience for exam eligibility can be ANY professional work (doesn’t have to be investment-related). The work experience for the charter itself MUST be investment-related.

How much does the CFA charter actually cost in total?

Quick answer:
– Minimum: ~$3,820 (early registration, no retakes, no prep materials)
– Realistic: $7,000-9,500 (includes prep materials, 1 retake)
– Maximum: $12,000+ (multiple retakes, premium materials)

Basic cost breakdown (passing first try, early registration):
Level 1: $1,140
Level 2: $1,140
Level 3: $1,240
First year membership: $299
Calculator: $35-75
Total: ~$3,860

What most candidates actually spend:
Add $2,400-3,600 for third-party prep materials across all levels, plus $1,500-2,500 for one retake. This brings the realistic total to $7,000-9,500.

Ongoing costs:
Annual CFA Institute membership: $299/year (required to maintain charter)

For detailed cost breakdown by component, registration deadlines, and money-saving tips, see: Complete CFA Exam Cost Guide

What if I fail an exam? Can I still get the charter?

Yes. Most charterholders failed at least one exam (pass rates are 40-50% per level).

What happens when you fail:
– You get a detailed score report showing weak areas
– You can retake after 6 months
– You keep your progress (don’t restart from Level 1)
– Cost: $1,140-1,590 per retake

Attempt limits:
Maximum 6 attempts per level. If you fail a level 6 times, you cannot continue the CFA program.

Timeline impact:
Each failure adds 6-12 months to your journey.

What to do:
Take a few days to process, review your score report, adjust your study strategy (don’t just “study harder” – study smarter), then retake when ready.

Full guide: What to Do After Failing CFA

Can I lose my CFA charter after I get it?

Yes, though it’s uncommon. You can lose your charter in two ways:

1. Stop paying membership dues
– Charter requires active CFA Institute membership ($275/year)
– If you stop paying, membership lapses
– You lose the right to use “CFA” designation

Good news: You can reactivate anytime by paying back dues – charter (and your hard work) isn’t permanently lost.

2. Ethics violations
CFA Institute takes Code of Ethics seriously
Violations include: insider trading, fraud, misrepresentation, serious legal/regulatory issues
If found guilty by Professional Conduct Program, charter can be revoked
This is rare and reserved for serious professional misconduct

Maintaining your charter:
– Pay annual dues ($275) – set up recurring payment
– Follow Code of Ethics and Standards of Professional Conduct
– Report any serious legal or regulatory issues

That’s basically it – not a heavy burden once you have it, only perhaps a financial one.

What happens if my work experience doesn’t get approved?

If CFA Institute rejects your work experience submission, they’ll tell you why and give you a chance to resubmit.

Common rejection reasons:
– Work description too vague (didn’t clearly show investment decision-making involvement)
– Insufficient hours (claimed less than 4,000 or timeline less than 36 months)
– Role doesn’t qualify (back-office, administrative, non-investment work)
– Missing documentation or unclear employment dates

What to do:
– Read the feedback carefully – they’ll explain what’s missing
– Revise your work experience description with more specific details
– Add additional roles if you need more qualifying hours
– Provide supplementary documentation if requested

If you genuinely don’t have qualifying experience:
– You’ll need to accumulate more investment-related work before reapplying. This could mean:
– Switching to a role with more investment analysis responsibilities
– Taking on projects with investment decision-making components
– Moving to a different team/department within your firm

Timeline impact:
– Resubmissions typically add 2-4 weeks to your application process. Not a huge delay, but plan accordingly.

Full guide with approval examples: CFA Work Experience Requirements

Hope this summarizes the key steps on how to get your CFA charter becoming a CFA charterholder, best of luck for your exams!

Meanwhile, here are other related articles that may be of interest:

15 thoughts on “CFA Requirements: How to Become A CFA Charterholder”

Vcco

09 Feb 2025 at 5:06 pm

Hi all,

L1 enrollment requirements are bachelor’s OR 4,000 hours of professional work experience.
L2, I notice the enrollment requirements drop the “OR work experience” section and only has a Bachelor / Bachelor within 11 months.

Link – https://www.cfainstitute.org/discover/cfa-exam-august-early-bird-registration#level-ii-cfa-exam-key-facts

For context I do NOT have a bachelor, but I DO have a diploma in Finance (2 years), and I have well over the 4,000 hours of professional experience which should qualify.

Will I need to get my bachelors before signing up for L2? Or will the 4,000 work hours allow me to continue without a Bachelors?

Any feedback helps
- Sophie Macon
  
  10 Feb 2025 at 2:39 pm
  
  Hi Vcco, I’ll answer this here as well as per the other thread.
  
  Fundamentally having a CFA charter requires a Bachelor’s degree. L1’s requirements allows candidates in first year of university to enroll as they could meet the ‘within 23 months of graduation’ criteria. If you look at L3’s requirements, you will need to have passed Level 2 and have a Bachelor’s degree by then.
  
  So to sign up for Level 2, you will need to be within 11 months of achieving a Bachelor’s degree. Work experience alone wouldn’t work for L2 registration. Hope this helps!
Shubham

17 Feb 2024 at 8:15 pm

I have 2.5 years of tech consulting experience and 2 years of Investment banking experience with Investment Banking working hours >4000. Can I apply for charter?
Ankush Balani

30 Aug 2023 at 12:24 pm

Can a CFA charterholder refer more than 1 candidate?
I got an error that a particular emailid had already been used for referring someone else in the past.

Also, I understand 3 references who aren’t CFA is also fine and should work, right? Preference is only for current supervisor
Aibek

15 Apr 2023 at 9:49 am

Hi there,

I come from a country A but currently work in country B. I was also passing Level II and III in the country A. Can I choose CFA Association in country A or the ‘local’ means I need to choose the country I currently reside in, i.e. country B?

regards,
Aibek
- Sophie Macon
  
  17 Apr 2023 at 8:59 pm
  
  Hi Aibek, you should aim for country B’s CFA association as you’re working/practicing/residing there.
  - Aibek
    
    18 Apr 2023 at 5:22 am
    
    Hi Sophie
    
    I also concluded that and chose country B in my application. Thanks for confirming it was the right thing!
    
    Regards,
    Aibek
    - Aibek
      
      18 Apr 2023 at 7:30 am
      
      …
Hamid Khan

25 Jul 2022 at 1:23 pm

Is there any exemption criteria for the CFA membership based on other professional qualifications.
- Sophie Macon
  
  25 Jul 2022 at 1:42 pm
  
  Hi Hamid, we have an article on CFA exemptions you can refer to. In essence, there is no shortcut for CFA exams, but having the CFA charter does provide exemptions to various other professional qualifications, e.g. CAIA, PRM etc.
Lala1

19 Aug 2021 at 5:18 am

I thought anyone who knows you professionally could be your reference, no? And that if none of the references are CFA charterholders, then you need to have 3 references. I’m confused why it says “All membership applications require two sponsors to recommend you, one of which is a Regular Member of the CFA Institute, and the other your current supervisor”?
- Zee Tan
  
  19 Aug 2021 at 11:07 am
  
  They prefer it that one of them is your direct supervisor, which makes a lot of sense. Quoting CFA Institute:
  
  How Many References Should You Provide?
  2 professional references, if one is an active regular member of the local society to which you are applying, OR
  
  3 professional references, if none of them is an active regular member of the local society to which you are applying.
  
  Who Should Be a Reference?
  
  While we prefer references from your supervisor(s), you may select other individuals who can describe and attest to your responsibilities in the investment decision-making process (as defined in our work experience guidelines).
  
  References will be asked to comment on your work experience and professional character. You will send instructions to your references as part of your application; more information is provided during the application process.
  
  You cannot serve as a reference for your own application.
  - Lala1
    
    19 Aug 2021 at 1:59 pm
    
    Got it, thanks for confirming!
Don

07 Jul 2021 at 3:05 am

I have completed CFA Level 1, II and III and required number of hours of work experience and hope to apply for the Charter. Do I need to submit my application to the local CFA society, before forwarding to the CFA Institute?
- Zee Tan
  
  08 Jul 2021 at 12:44 pm
  
  I believe CFA society membership will be completed together with your application for Regular Membership with CFA Institute.

CFA Requirements: How to Become A CFA Charterholder