About the CFA Exams

 

The CFA Program includes a series of three sequential exams that are offered in test centers around the world. These three exams: Level I, Level II, and Level III, must be passed as one of the requirements for earning a CFA charter.

 

Candidates may register for only one exam at a time, and must wait to receive their exam results before registering for the next exam. Candidates who fail an exam are encouraged to re-take the exam.

 

• Level I is composed of multiple-choice questions and is offered in June and December. Read about the question formatting conventions used on the Level I exam.

 

• Level II is composed of item-set questions and is offered in June only. Read about the question formatting conventions used on the Level II exam.

 

• Level III is composed of item-set and essay questions and is offered in June only. Read about the item-set and essay question formatting conventions used on the Level III exam.

 

Learn about exam results.

 

View a typical exam day schedule.

 

Format Change for 2009 CFA Exams

CFA Institute is committed to maintaining and improving the standards and consistency of the CFA exams. Research and our own experience indicate that the fourth answer option on multiple choice and item set exams is unnecessary to assess a candidate’s knowledge and skills. Three answer choices are sufficient and effective in discriminating between those candidates that possess the knowledge and skills and those that do not. As a result, we are changing the format of the multiple-choice and item set questions on CFA exams from four answer options to three.

 

This change will be effective on the 2009 CFA exams. Read the exam question format change FAQs.