CFA® Exam Dates & Scheduling for 2025

Staying informed about updates from the CFA Institute (CFAI), including exam dates and locations, is essential for planning an effective study schedule for the CFA exam. Awareness of registration dates is also beneficial, as fees vary depending on when you register: early registration offers a discounted price, while late registration incurs a higher fee.
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CFA Exam Schedule 2025

The CFA exam will be administered four times for Level 1, three times for Level 2, and twice for Level 3. The CFAI implemented this schedule change to expedite the release of Level 3 results, which typically take longer than the other two levels.

How to Schedule, Defer, and Reschedule Your CFA Exam?

To sit for the CFA exam, you must meet the following criteria:

  1. Have a bachelor’s degree or be in the final year of pursuing one
  2. Have 4 years of related work experience
  3. Have at least 4 years of education and work experience

You are ready to schedule your exam once you’ve completed the following CFA Exam requirements.

Scheduling the Exam

Scheduling the CFA Exam involves registering and paying, then booking your exam through the CFA Institute dashboard.

Prometric, which handles scheduling and administration of the CFA Exam at testing centers, allows you to choose your test center, date, and time. Once scheduled, you’ll receive a confirmation email from Prometric. If you don’t receive one, your appointment isn’t set — contact them right away. While Prometric manages scheduling, the CFAI website remains the most reliable source for current exam updates.
All testing center locations and seats for the CFA exam are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Adjusting the date range in your search can show you additional testing dates that may work for you.

If you are still looking for a Prometric testing center in your preferred area, check again, as seats are frequently added. Use both the city and country filters when searching for testing locations.

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All Your CFA Questions Answered in 1 Place – Download Your Guide, offering a comprehensive guide to address all CFA-related questions.

Rescheduling the Exam

If you need to reschedule your CFA exam, ensure you do so before your exam window deadline. Rescheduling costs $250 and must be done through your Prometric Scheduler. If Prometric reschedules your exam, you will be assigned a new date within the exact location and exam window. If no seats are available at the original location, you will be rescheduled within a 50-mile radius of your initial center.

Deferring the Exam Date

Candidates may defer their CFA exam on a case-by-case basis. Deferment considerations include the following events affecting the candidate or an immediate family member:

  • Life-threatening illness during the exam window
  • Death of an immediate family member
  • Military service (candidate only) during the exam window
  • Pregnancy (candidate only)
  • Natural disasters in the candidate's area

You must provide documentation to support your request for a free emergency deferral. A deferral approval and processing time can take up to 6 weeks. Once your account is updated, the CFAI will notify you via email, allowing you to register for your next exam.

Candidates experiencing a life-threatening illness/medical issue are eligible for reduced registration fee deferrals. This option lowers your next registration fee to $399. If your situation does not fit within these parameters, you may withdraw your exam registration.

Canceling the exam

The CFAI allows candidates to withdraw or cancel their exam registration until 5 days before the beginning of their exam window. If you withdraw or cancel your exam, you will not receive a refund for the enrollment and registration fees, and these fees will not be deferred or transferred to another CFA Exam.

Furthermore, if you do not withdraw your registration 5 days before the exam window starts, you cannot re-register for the next exam until the current exam results are released.

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How to Prepare for Exam Day

The computer-based CFA Exams are administered at more than 400 Prometric testing centers worldwide. After registering for an examination level, you will be given seating options for the various test centers. Following the seat assignment, you will be notified about lunch, parking, and other details to help plan your day effectively.

Consider arriving 45 minutes early to avoid any delays in the registration procedure.

Items Permitted

  1. Glasses
  2. Face mask
  3. CFAI-approved calculators
  4. A valid international travel passport
  5. Calculator cases and keystroke cards

You will receive scratch paper, a whiteboard, or an erasable writing tablet during the examination. Personal items may be inspected as part of the check-in procedure. Certain vital medical items may be permitted in the testing room, but only with prior authorization.

Items Not Permitted

  1. Food or drinks
  2. Calculator manuals
  3. Wallet/money purse
  4. Weapons of any kind
  5. Any desk clock or timer, including wristwatches
  6. Study materials, including notes, papers, textbooks, or study guides
  7. Baggage of any kind, including transparent bags, backpacks, handbags, tote bags, briefcases, luggage, carrying cases, passport covers, or eyeglass cases
  8. Jewelry (other than wedding or engagement rings), ornate hair clips, headbands, combs, barrettes, tie clips, or cufflinks
  9. Mobile phones, cameras, headsets, computers, tablets, wearable technology (such as fitness tracking devices), smartwatches, or any Bluetooth-enabled or remote communication or photographic devices
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Frequently Asked Questions

Exam results are expected to be available 8–10 weeks after an exam window for Level 1 and Level 2, and approximately 10 weeks for Level 3.

Yes, you can. If you need to change your testing location, log into your CFA Institute account and click the “Manage Your Exam” link. You must make the changes by the rescheduling deadline and pay a rescheduling fee of $250.

Prometric will first notify you via email if your exam is canceled. Because the emails will be sent from donotreply@prometric.com, add this email address to your safe sender list so that this message does not end up in your spam folder. CFAI will contact you within 15 days of the cancellation to let you know your next steps.

Read more about the CFA Exam

CFA Exam Registration and Cost

Learn what it takes to register for the CFA Exam, from eligibility rules to key deadlines, and what you’ll pay at every step.

About the CFA Exam

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CFA Requirements

Explore the qualifications you must meet before taking the CFA Exam and set yourself up for a smooth application process.

CFA Pass Rates and Scores

Understand how the CFA Exam is scored, what past pass rates reveal, and how to interpret your exam performance.

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