CFP Exam Study Plan (12 Weeks)
A 12-week schedule for the 170-question CFP® exam, ordered by CFP Board domain weight. Plan on roughly 10–15 hours a week; add weeks if you are new to tax or estate planning. Register early: CFP Board recommends registering well ahead of each testing window.
Weeks 1–2 — Professional conduct and general principles (23%)
Start with the rules that frame every case question.
- Read the Code of Ethics and Standards of Conduct; know when the fiduciary duty applies and the seven-step planning process.
- Time value of money: PV/FV, annuities, uneven cash flows, education funding, debt management.
- Take a 25-question untimed set from the practice test and log every miss by domain.
Weeks 3–4 — Risk management and insurance (11%)
Life, disability, long-term care, health, property and liability insurance.
- Needs analysis (human life value, needs approach), policy types and riders, disability definitions.
- Business uses of insurance: buy-sell agreements, key person coverage.
Weeks 5–6 — Investment planning (17%)
Risk and return, portfolio theory, and investment vehicles.
- Standard deviation, beta, correlation, Sharpe/Treynor/Jensen measures, CAPM.
- Bond duration and convexity, asset allocation, and tax-efficient investing.
Weeks 7–8 — Tax planning (14%)
Use the current year's figures and note the year in every flashcard.
- Filing status, deductions, credits, AMT, basis, capital gains, passive activity rules, entity taxation.
- Drill calculation questions until you can do them without notes.
Weeks 9–10 — Retirement savings and income (18%) and estate planning (10%)
The largest domain plus the one most candidates find hardest.
- Qualified plans, IRAs, distribution rules and RMDs, Social Security claiming, retirement income strategies.
- Wills, trusts, titling, gift and estate tax, the marital deduction, and incapacity planning.
Week 11 — Psychology of financial planning (7%) and full-length practice
Client behavior, communication and behavioral finance biases.
- Take two long timed sets back to back to rehearse the two 3-hour sections.
- Review every explanation, including the ones you got right.
Week 12 — Review and test-day logistics
Re-drill your weakest two domains and re-read the cheat sheet daily.
- Confirm your Prometric appointment, ID requirements and testing window at cfp.net.
- Taper study the day before; sleep matters more than one more set.
Official sources
CFP®, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ and CFP® (with plaque design) are certification marks owned by Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc. OpenExamHub is independent and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by CFP Board. Exam facts checked at cfp.net in October 2026.