CFP Board resets timeline for 40-hour CE requirement

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Certified financial planners will have until Oct. 1, 2027, before a new requirement to complete 40 hours of continuing education every two years takes effect. The CFP Board initially planned to implement the change in the first quarter of 2027 but revised the timeline last month. 

The current CE requirement is 30 hours. Under the revised rules, CFP mark holders can count up to five hours of eligible practice management CE toward the new total; unchanged is the requirement for two hours of ethics CE. 

EARN CE CREDIT: Financial Planning's continuing education quiz archive

Financial Planning, a longtime CE sponsor, publishes a 10-question CE quiz every month. Subscribers can earn one hour of CE credit toward maintaining designations for each quiz they successfully complete. FP's quiz archive currently holds 21 active quizzes; this resets to 12 at year-end.

Because the two-year renewal cycle is tied to CFP professionals' birthday month, the new CE requirements will take effect gradually starting next Oct. 1, with each monthly cohort transitioning to the new requirements at the start of its two-year certification cycle.

The CFP Board's revised requirements for continuing education are among seven updates that were approved by the organization's board of directors and announced in January. 

READ MORE: Financial Planning's September CE quiz now live for subscribers

"This has been a thoughtful, deliberate, rigorous and deeply engaged two-year journey to reach this important update to our competency standards," said CFP Board CEO K. Dane Snowden in a January 2026 webinar about the changes. 

One of the revised standards — allowing certified investment management analysts an accelerated route to earning the CFP designation — was implemented earlier this year. The CFP Board plans to implement the rest, including tweaks to pro bono service and what qualifies as professional experience for aspiring CFPs, by the end of 2027. The CFP Board had also looked into dropping its bachelor's degree requirement; the idea is being evaluated by a working group. 

Other CE-related rule updates will also take effect on Oct. 1, 2027, including allowing CFPs to carry over up to 10 hours of eligible general CE credits. The new rules will also authorize the CFP Board to "designate mandatory CE topics when warranted," according to its Sept. 30 informational letter to CE sponsors.