CFA 2026: February Result Date (OUT), Registration, Syllabus, Eligibility, Pass Rate

Chartered Financial Analyst program is a professional course offered by US based CFA Institute. The programme aims to grant CFA charter to investment and financial professionals to help them further their career goals. CFA is a graduate level programme divided into three levels of the exam, i.e. I, II and III. CFA exam will be conducted in CBT test mode. CFA programme covers many financial aspects, including investment management, financial analysis, stocks, bonds, and derivatives. CFA exam pattern and level of complexity differ with each level.

CFA exam will be conducted at CFA Institute global test centre and is administered by Prometric and British Council. CFA results for Level I and II are made available within 60 days of CFA exam date and within 90 days for Level III candidates. Candidates are required to clear all three levels of exam in their sequence. CFA exams are offered in English only. A candidate who completes it is declared as a ‘CFA charter holder'. There are over 1.2 lakh CFA members across 35 countries in the world. 

Take a look at the table below to know the important details of the CFA exam 2026.

Features	Details
Exam Name	Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA)
Conducting Body	CFA Institute
Exam Level	National Level Exam
Exam Frequency	Twice a year
Exam Mode	Online
Exam Duration	135 minutes each for session 1 and session 2
Language	English
Exam Purpose	To grant ‘CFA charter’ to investment and financial professionals
Course Offered	CFA Program
Exam Helpdesk No.	+000-800-100-4025
Exam Website	www.cfainstitute.org/

CFA registration includes enrolling for CFA exam online and completing the application fee payment. The second part of CFA program registration is scheduling the exam. Students can choose their test centre and CFA exam date according to their preference and availability. The students have to schedule their exams before the scheduling deadline. The application process for each level is announced 6 months in advance. They can register and then prepare for qualifying exam in the next 6 months and finally appear for it. 

CFA application form 2026 is available online on the website of the CFA Institute and is to be submitted along with the registration fee before the last day. 

Also Read:

• CFA exam: Cost, curriculum and difficulty level
• When is the CFA exam 2026?

Changes in CFA Exam 2026

The following are the major changes in the CFA program made recently by the CFA Institute:

Changes in CFA Program Pricing

The table below depicts the new pricing changes made by the CFA Institute to the CFA program:

Levels	CFA program fee 2025	CFA program fee 2026
CFA One-Time Enrollment Fee	USD 350	USD 0
CFA Level 1 Early Bird Registration Fee	USD 990	USD 1,140
CFA Level 1 Registration Fee (Standard)	USD 1,290	USD 1,490
CFA Level 2 Early Bird Registration Fee	USD 990	USD 1,140
CFA Level 2 Registration Fee (Standard)	USD 1,290	USD 1,490
CFA Level 3 Early Bird Registration Fee	USD 1,090	USD 1,240
CFA Level 3 Registration Fee (Standard)	USD 1,390	USD 1,590

Changes in the CFA Curriculum

Major changes have been made this year in the CFA exam. The CFA curriculum for Level I has completely changed. The Level I CFA syllabus has changed to smaller lessons. There have also been some minor changes in the Level II curriculums as well.

Specialised pathways have been introduced in the Level 3 curriculum for the year 2025. Candidates can choose a specialised pathway along with a core pathway for appearing for the Level 3 CFA exam. 

Also Read: CFA Level 3 Specialised Pathways

Practical Skills Module (PSM)

Candidates who have appeared for the CFA exam have to complete a Practical Skills Module (PSM) to obtain their CFA result cum scorecard. It is mandatory for the students to complete at least one PSM. As for now, the PSM is mandatory for the Level 1 and Level 2 candidates. from the year 2025 onwards, PSM will be mandatory for Level 3 candidates as well. 

Also Read: CFA Level 1 Preparation Tips

CFA Testing Location 

Few new CFA testing location have been added which will be operational from November 2025 session. Check the list below:

• Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
• Rabat, Morocco
• Maputo, Mozambique
• Mbabane, Swaziland
• Gurugram, Haryana, India
• Nashik, Maharashtra, India
• Manipal, Karnataka, India

CFA exam eligibility requirements are:

• An international passport
• Graduation degree or final year of graduation
• Work experience of 4000 work hours over 36 months
• Students should meet Professional Conduct Admission Criteria

There is no age limit to appear for the CFA exam. Students can apply for the exam if they meet the above criteria. 

CFA Exam Format Overview

Here is the overview of the level wise CFA exam pattern:

CFA Level 1: CFA Level 1 exam is conducted in two sessions, each 135 minutes long. It consists of 180 MCQs in two sessions. Questions are based on the topic weightage given in the CFA Level 1 Exam syllabus, with a very slight difference.

CFA Level 2: There are 22 item set questions, divided in two sessions. The morning and evening sessions have 11 item set questions each. The duration of the exam is 2 hours and 12 minutes for each session. Each set will have 44 MCQs. 

CFA Level 3: The level III exam will also have item set questions which will be comprised of vignettes. The CFA level 3 exam will also have constructed responses or essay sets. The exam will be conducted in two sessions and the total duration of the exam will also be 4 hours and 24 minutes.

Also Read:

What to expect from CFA Level 1 exam

What to expect from CFA Level 2 exam

CFA level 1 syllabus consists of concepts of academic disciplines of Finance and Investment. The Level II CFA syllabus is built on basic knowledge of the subjects that the students studied in Level I. The CFA Level II syllabus delves deeper into the analysis and application of tools and concepts of investments. CFA Level III is the last step in the ladder of the CFA programme. The CFA Level III syllabus focuses on synthesising and applying the knowledge gained in Level I and Level II of the CFA program. The CFA curriculum is designed in a way that as the candidates move from one level to another they gain in-depth knowledge of the financial and investment world. 

Major changes were recently made to the CFA exam syllabus. The CFA curriculum for Level I has changed majorly. The Level I curriculum has changed to smaller lessons. There have also been some minor changes in the Level II and Level III curriculums.

Also Read:

• How hard are the CFA exams: A comprehensive study
• CFA preparation tips and tricks
• How to clear all levels of CFA in first attempt?

CFA admit card is released online by CFA Institute and is emailed to registered students. Those who registered for CFA exam will be notified on their registered email ID about release of CFA admit card. To download CFA admission ticket, they must log in to portal using their login details. Students should have a valid, unexpired international travel passport to be able to appear in exam along with the admit card. Follow process mentioned below to know how to download CFA admit card:

• Go to the website of CFA Institute
• Login using the login details, email ID and password
• Read the terms and conditions
• CFA 2026 exam admit card can be downloaded

Details on CFA Admit Card 2026

Following details appear on CFA exam admit card 2026:

• CFA Institute ID number
• Last four characters of passport number
• Name of the student
• Passport expiration date
• Name, date, and location of the test center