CFP Board

What CFP Board does

CFP Board (Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc.) is a non-profit standards-setting and certification body headquartered in Washington, DC, founded in 1985. It owns and administers the CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER (CFP®) credential in the United States, operating a four-component certification process covering Education, Exam, Experience, and Ethics, and enforcing a Code of Ethics and Standards of Conduct backed by public disciplinary actions. The organization serves approximately 109,000 certified financial planning professionals, more than 10,000 financial services firms that employ them, and indirectly serves consumers seeking financial planning guidance.

Its core product portfolio centers on the CFP® certification (a $250 application fee plus a $575 annual certification fee) and a surrounding ecosystem including the 14,000+ continuing-education programs delivered by 1,200+ CE sponsors, a Career Center job board, the 228,000+ member Candidate Forum, a Mentor Program, practice exams, a $3.4M-plus scholarship program, the Financial Planning Review academic journal, the annual Connections Conference, the Let's Make a Plan consumer website, the CFP Pro Store, and a Salary Calculator. Underlying technology includes a digital certification management platform with online account dashboards, remote proctoring delivered through Prometric, CE reporting systems, and the CFP Certification Tracker; testing and CE delivery rather than proprietary AI are the core technical capabilities.

Revenue is generated almost entirely from the individual certificant base through annual certification fees and application fees, supplemented by CE provider fees (capped at roughly $1.25 per credit hour), conference and store revenue, and advertising on Let'sMakeAPlan.org. The go-to-market motion combines direct-to-employer engagement by a Corporate Growth team, channel partnerships with CE sponsors and registered university programs, and community-led growth through conferences, mentorship programs, and pro bono activity. As a non-profit, CFP Board reinvests revenue into standards enforcement, public awareness, and pipeline-building initiatives such as scholarships and diversity programs.

Name

CFP Board

Legal name

Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc.

Website

https://cfp.net

Company type

Private

Founded year

1985

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

CFP Board is a non-profit standards-setting and certification body headquartered in Washington, DC that owns and administers the CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER (CFP®) credential, enforcing education, exam, experience, and ethics requirements for over 109,000 U.S. financial planning professionals.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Professional Certification Services

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Financial Services & Insurance (FINRA, CFP, IAR, Insurance CE) (EDAAALAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Finance, Accounting & Risk (CFA/CPA/FRM) Certifications (EDAAANAD), Accounting & Finance Certification Prep (CPA, CMA, CFA, FRM) (EDANAIAD)

Keywords

• Professional certification
• Financial planning standards
• Continuing education
• Certification management
• Workforce development

Headquarters

HQ city

Washington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Certification Fees: CFP Board charges an application fee of $250 and an annual certification fee of $575 for CFP professionals to maintain their credential. Initial certification fees are prorated based on the certification cycle.
2. CE Provider Fees: CFP Board charges CE providers fees to bill certificants up to $1.25 per credit hour for CE programs, creating significant revenue from the continuing education ecosystem with estimated $2 million in implementation costs across providers.
3. Advertising Campaign Funding: Annual certification fee increase to $575 partially funds public awareness advertising campaigns promoting CFP certification.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

CFP Board sets and administers the standards for the CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER (CFP®) certification, enforcing the four "E" requirements (Education, Examination, Experience, Ethics). It accredits financial planning degree programs at colleges and universities, approves continuing education (CE) sponsors, maintains the Code of Ethics and Standards of Conduct (including the fiduciary duty owed to clients), and operates the public-facing professional directory used by consumers to find CFP professionals.

Product overview

CFP Board offers the Certified Financial Planner (CFP®) certification as its primary product—a rigorous professional certification for financial planners that requires passing the CFP® exam, completing education coursework through registered programs, meeting experience requirements, and adhering to ethics standards. The organization provides a suite of supporting products and services including the Career Center (job board for financial planning professionals), Candidate Forum (online community for certification candidates), Mentor Program (matching candidates with CFP® professionals), Practice Exam (170-question exam preparation tool), various scholarship programs for exam and coursework funding, Continuing Education (CE) programs for certified professionals, the Financial Planning Review academic journal, the annual Connections Conference, a consumer-facing 'Let's Make a Plan' website, the CFP Pro Store for merchandise, and a Salary Calculator tool.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Financial Planning Review (FPR): Peer-reviewed academic journal published by Wiley and housed in the CFP Board Center for Financial Planning, launched in 2018, indexed in Scopus and Scimago since 2022, ranked B-rank in Australian Business Deans Council Journal Quality List.

Products and services

• CFP® Certification Program

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered minor, flagship and core.

• CitiminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 12 May 2026CFP Board hired Desi Wyatt, former Director of Field Readiness & Strategy for Citi's U.S. Consumer Wealth business, as Managing Director of Corporate Growth to lead workforce development.
• Amplified Planning (Externship Program)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 April 2026Amplified Planning's 2026 Externship virtual eight-week training program expects 2,000+ participants; program addresses profession's talent gap and develops next generation of certified financial planners with technology partners Nitrogen and Holistiplan.
• Charles Schwab FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 11 December 2025CFP Board and Charles Schwab Foundation expanded partnership to develop the financial planning workforce through scholarships, educational programs, and conference sponsorship to increase qualified CFP professionals and enhance industry diversity.
• Schwab Advisor ServicescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 11 December 2025Partnership renewal with Schwab Advisor Services to support workforce development initiatives, scholarships, and diversity programs for financial planning profession.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Market position

Competitive moat7 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/cfpboard
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/CFPBoardOfStandards
• Facebookfacebook.com/CFPLetsMakeAPlan
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cfp-board
• Instagraminstagram.com/cfpboard
• TikToktiktok.com/@cfpboard

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about CFP Board