CFA® Exam Misconduct and Rules Violations

Misconduct includes, but is not limited to:

• Cheating or attempting to cheat, including looking at another candidate’s monitor or desk, including their exam questions, answers, or written work and concealing or attempting to conceal exam-related information or materials; receiving assistance on the exam or providing assistance to another candidate; accessing, possessing, or using information related to the Candidate Body of Knowledge, including study materials, during the exam or while on unscheduled breaks;
• Communicating with fellow candidates or other persons during the exam;
• Failing to follow the directions of testing personnel before, during, and after the exam;
• Failing to act with integrity and respect when dealing with testing personnel or other candidates before, during, and after the exam;
• Failing to silence all electronic devices prior to entering the test center, including turning off all alerts, alarms, and ringtones;
• Accessing, possessing or using prohibited items including unapproved calculators, mobile phones, listening devices, cameras, headsets, wearable technology such as fitness tracking devices, smart watches, or any other remote communication or photograph device, cigarettes or e-cigarettes, during the exam or on unscheduled breaks;
• Failing to clear your calculator memory before the exam and when instructed to;
• Creating a disturbance before, during, or after the exam;
• Leaving the test center (facility where check-in, security, and testing occurs) or entering other areas of the building on unscheduled breaks;
• Removing exam information and notes from the testing room;
• Using your desk, hand, or any other surface, other than what is provided to you by the test center, as scratch paper;
• Disclosing, verbally or in writing, the content of the exam, in whole or in part;
• Requesting others to disclose to you the content of the exam, in whole or in part;
• Using unauthorized distributions of exam questions, with or without answers, in preparation for the exam;
• Asking for or using unauthorized CFA exam preparatory materials that you know or have a reasonable basis to know have violated CFA Institute copyright;
• Copying, reselling, distributing or misusing any CFA exam offer code(s) or any other CFA exam discount;
• Violating any testing policy on the CFA Institute website;
• Violating the Test Center Regulations applicable to your test center;
• Misrepresenting or falsifying information related to the CFA Program, including in any enrollment or registration application or requests for refunds, deferrals, or scholarships;
   
• Falsifying your identity or impersonating another individual to obtain or attempt to obtain registration or to gain access to the exam;
• Creating multiple CFA Institute accounts to obtain or attempt to obtain registration while suspended, prohibited or failing to meet professional conduct admission criteria;
• Obtain or attempting to obtain your exam results prior to CFA Institute’s official published results release;
• Altering exam results issued by CFA Institute and/or misrepresenting pass/fail result;
• Failing to comply with any CFA Institute testing policy, exam rule, and/or CFA Institute governing documents including the Bylaws, Code of Ethics, Standards of Professional Conduct, and Rules of Procedure, as amended from time to time, including the Test Center Regulations, as applicable; and
• Engaging in any other conduct that could be considered by CFA Institute, in its sole discretion, to compromise or attempt to compromise the reputation, integrity, validity, security, or confidentiality of the CFA exam or CFA Institute.

All candidates are “covered persons” under CFA Institute Bylaws (PDF) and the Rules of Procedure: Exam-Related Conduct (PDF). Therefore, any proceeding/investigation of a candidate’s alleged misconduct is considered a professional conduct matter.

We want you to succeed in the CFA Program, so please read our policies carefully.