Can we sit two consecutive windows?

Question

Hi everyone,
I’m really looking for some help here about whether I should sit the lvl3 in November 21
I unfortunately failed in May 21 and I haven’t been able to do much studying for the Nov exam (lost my job, appartment and girlfriend)

According to this page, we cannot sit two consecutive windows. Does that mean that if I fail November 21 I wont be able to sit for the May 2022 exam? Or by windows that mean each quarter?

https://www.cfainstitute.org/en/about/governance/policies/cfa-exam-eligibility-policy

That’s strange because I could registered for November 21 after failing May 21.

Can someone please confirm? Please help a broken down man. I’ll be forever grateful.
Thank you so so so so much.
I tried to get in touch with the CFAI directly but it’s nearly impossible to get them.

Sophie Macon · Answer

Hi @raiku777, sorry to hear about your personal situation.

CFA Institute's wording is not very clear, so I don't blame you for the confusion!

So to clear up that confusion:

Yes, you can register for Nov21 after failing May21 exam. This is correct.
 	If you failed Nov21 exams, you can register for May22 attempt.

We believe CFA Institute's wording isn't particularly clear as it only applies for Level 1 candidates, where there are 4 attempts per year. So they cannot re-attempt exams in the consecutive windows (3 months away), but instead every 6 months (hence the max of 2 attempts a year). This doesn't apply for L2 and L3 candidates where there are just 2 exam windows a year anyway, spaced about 6 months apart.

Hope that helps. We have written a CFA journey planner article which may help clarify the issue as well.