PassProfessor’s CFA Level I practice program — 3,000 original three-choice questions built to CFA Institute’s 2027 Level I topic weights. Levels II and III are separate programs in the PassProfessor catalog — enrollment for each opens as the catalog expands. Use this guide to plan your path through the Program.
Level I practice is open now: see the CFA Level I program for the bank, the drills, and full-length timed practice exams.
The CFA Program, in one paragraph
The CFA Program is CFA Institute’s three-exam path to the Chartered Financial Analyst® charter, taken in strict sequence. Level I — “learn and describe” — is 180 standalone multiple-choice questions in two 135-minute sessions. Level II — “analyze and evaluate” — is 88 multiple-choice questions grouped into 22 vignette-based item sets in two 132-minute sessions. Level III — “integrate and apply” — combines 11 item sets with 11 constructed-response (essay) sets in two 132-minute sessions, and includes a choice of three specialized pathways. Each level is passed by scoring at or above a Minimum Passing Score (MPS) that CFA Institute sets for the administration — there is no published percentage pass mark. Every level also requires completing a Practical Skills Module before your result is released. Passing all three exams is necessary but not sufficient for the charter: you also need 4,000 hours of qualifying work experience and CFA Institute membership.
Who can take the CFA exams?
You enroll in the CFA Program once, before Level I, and the levels then unlock in sequence. CFA Institute’s enrollment criteria give you three ways to qualify for Level I — you need exactly one of them, plus the standing requirements that apply to every candidate.
Qualify for Level I by meeting ONE of these:
- A bachelor’s degree. Completion of a bachelor’s program (or an equivalent program), with the degree received from the college or university. The degree does not have to be in finance or any particular field.
- Undergraduate status. You may enroll as a student if the Level I exam window you select falls 23 months or less before your graduation month. The clock then tightens as you progress: to sit Level II you must be within 11 months of graduation, and by Level III you must have completed the degree or accrued 4,000 hours of professional work experience.
- Professional work experience. A combination of 4,000 hours of work experience and/or higher education, acquired over a minimum of three sequential years and completed by the date you register for Level I. Education and work dates cannot overlap, and CFA Institute credits 1,000 hours for each year of higher education in the combination. The work does not need to be investment-related; paid internships and articleships count, and qualifying experience is professional-level work applying higher-level judgment and business skills. CFA Institute may ask for proof, and being unable to provide it can cancel a registration and void results — candidates using this route should be honest with themselves about whether the experience has prepared them for the curriculum’s volume and depth, as CFA Institute itself cautions.
Every candidate, on every route, must also:
- Hold a valid international travel passport. This is absolute in CFA Institute’s wording: without a passport, you will not be able to sit for your exam. It is both your registration credential and your test-day ID.
- Be prepared to take the exams in English. The exams are offered only in English and require English proficiency for reading comprehension and for formulating answers to complex financial scenarios.
- Be in a country where CFA Institute can operate. CFA Institute publishes an OFAC policy listing sanctioned countries where it cannot work; check it before registering if that could apply to you.
- Meet CFA Institute’s professional conduct admission criteria as part of enrollment.
Progression rules. Level II requires having passed Level I and still meeting the enrollment requirements; Level III requires having passed Level II. There is no skipping, no substituting another credential, and no time limit stated in the policies summarized here for finishing the sequence — but retake limits (below) apply at each level.
From passed exams to the charter. Passing Level III does not by itself make you a CFA charterholder. You must also complete 4,000 hours of qualifying work experience over a minimum of 36 months — experience directly involved with the investment decision-making process, or producing a work product that informs or adds value to that process; it may be completed before, during, or after the exams — and become a regular member of CFA Institute, supplying professional references (two references if one is an active regular member of the local society you are applying to; otherwise three). Only then may you use the CFA designation.
The exams, piece by piece
All three exams are computer-based, taken at a test center in two sessions on one day, with a software tutorial before the first session, an optional break between sessions, and a short survey at the end. What changes across the levels is the question format — and what that format asks of you.
Level I — learn and describe
Level I tests knowledge of the key terms, concepts, and formulas that form the foundation of the investment industry.
- 180 multiple-choice questions, each a stem (a question, statement, and/or table) with three answer choices (A, B, or C).
- Two sessions of 135 minutes, 90 questions each. Session times are approximate; CFA Institute advises allowing about 90 seconds per question.
- Questions are free-standing — each stands alone, with no case or vignette to read first.
- All questions are equally weighted, and there is no penalty for an incorrect answer. Answer everything.
- Item style is disciplined: stems use qualifiers such as most likely, least likely, and best described, and the exam does not use “all of the above,” “none of the above,” or combined options such as “A and B only.”
Level II — analyze and evaluate
Level II tests how you analyze situations and produce solutions using what you have accumulated — and the format changes completely.
- 22 item sets, each a vignette followed by 4 multiple-choice questions — 88 questions in total.
- Two sessions of 132 minutes, 11 item sets each. Total testing time is 4 hours 24 minutes.
- 20 item sets are scored; 2 are being trialed and do not count. You cannot identify the trialed sets.
- Each set is worth 12 points and begins by naming its topic and total point value (for example, “TOPIC: QUANTITATIVE METHODS — TOTAL POINT VALUE OF THIS QUESTION SET IS 12 POINTS”).
- Questions are not free-standing: every item must be answered from the vignette. Topics are placed randomly — any topic can appear in either session, or both.
- There is no penalty for guessing — answer every item.
Level III — integrate and apply
Level III tests how you integrate concepts and apply knowledge to real-world portfolio scenarios. It is the only level where you write.
– 22 sets in total: 11 item sets and 11 constructed-response (essay) sets, each worth 12 points. – Two sessions of 132 minutes (4 hours 24 minutes total). Each session mixes the formats — either 6 item sets and 5 essay sets, or 5 item sets and 6 essay sets. – 20 sets are scored; 2 are trialed — one item set and one essay set. – Item sets work as at Level II: a vignette plus 4 multiple-choice questions, each worth 3 points (44 items across the exam). – Essay sets present a vignette and ask for written responses in a text box. Command words are bolded in the stem — calculate, determine, justify, explain, discuss — and they define what a complete answer contains. Each essay set has a variable number of items worth a variable number of points; points per item are not disclosed. Practical rules from CFA Institute’s format description: – If a question requests more than one response (“Explain, with two reasons…”), only the requested number of responses is evaluated, in the order you present them. Separate each explanation into its own paragraph, as the on-screen note directs. – For calculation responses, a correct numerical value typed in the box on its own receives full credit; showing your steps (typed or via the math editor) gives you the chance of partial credit if the final value is wrong. – An essay set may occasionally include a multiple-choice-style item, which may have more or fewer than three choices. – All answers are written in English and based on the vignette — nothing at Level III is free-standing either.
The Practical Skills Module at every level
Alongside each exam sits a second requirement that catches candidates out because it is easy to postpone: the Practical Skills Module (PSM).
- You must complete at least one PSM at each level in order to receive your exam result. Each module combines videos, multiple-choice questions, guided practice, and case studies, and takes 10–20 hours.
- You may begin any time after registration — before, during, or after your exam study. There is no graded pass mark.
- The deadline that matters is results release: if your PSM is not complete by the day results are released, your exam result is voided and you are given no pass or fail.
- You cannot repeat the same module at a later level — a module used at Level I must be a different one at Level II. If you fail a level and retake it, you do not need another PSM for that same level.
- The 2026 menu, per CFA Institute: Level I — Financial Modeling; Python Programming Fundamentals. Level II — Python Programming Fundamentals; Python, Data Science, and AI; Analyst Skills. Level III — Portfolio Development and Construction, plus one pathway-specific module: Practical Macro (Portfolio Management pathway), Due Diligence (Private Markets pathway), or Managing Private Wealth Clients (Private Wealth pathway). CFA Institute publishes a different menu for 2027 — check the PSM page for your window’s options.
Topic weights, level by level
CFA Institute publishes topic weights as ranges. A range is not vagueness — it is the Institute telling you the topic’s share of your particular exam will fall somewhere inside it. Plan to the range: a topic at 10–15% deserves roughly two to three times the hours of a topic at 5–10%.
Level I — 2026 curriculum (current sittings)
| Topic | Exam weight |
|---|---|
| Ethical and Professional Standards | 15–20% |
| Quantitative Methods | 6–9% |
| Economics | 6–9% |
| Financial Statement Analysis | 11–14% |
| Corporate Issuers | 6–9% |
| Equity Investments | 11–14% |
| Fixed Income | 11–14% |
| Derivatives | 5–8% |
| Alternative Investments | 7–10% |
| Portfolio Management | 8–12% |
Level I — 2027 curriculum (published by CFA Institute; applies to 2027 exam windows)
| Topic | Exam weight |
|---|---|
| Ethical and Professional Standards | 10–15% |
| Quantitative Methods | 11–14% |
| Economics | 6–9% |
| Financial Statement Analysis | 11–14% |
| Corporate Finance | 6–9% |
| Equities | 11–14% |
| Fixed Income | 11–14% |
| Derivatives and Risk Management | 6–9% |
| Alternative Investments | 6–9% |
| Portfolio Construction | 8–12% |
Note what changed: several topics are renamed (Corporate Issuers becomes Corporate Finance; Equity Investments becomes Equities; Portfolio Management becomes Portfolio Construction), and two ranges move materially — Ethics comes down from the exam’s largest block to 10–15%, while Quantitative Methods rises to 11–14%. If your window falls in 2027, study to the second table, not the first.
Level II — as CFA Institute publishes them
| Topic | Exam weight |
|---|---|
| Quantitative Methods | 5–10% |
| Economics | 5–10% |
| Financial Statement Analysis | 10–15% |
| Corporate Finance | 5–10% |
| Equities | 10–15% |
| Fixed Income | 10–15% |
| Derivatives and Risk Management | 5–10% |
| Alternative Investments | 5–10% |
| Portfolio Construction | 10–15% |
| Ethical and Professional Standards | 10–15% |
Five topics sit at 10–15% at Level II — Financial Statement Analysis, Equities, Fixed Income, Portfolio Construction, and Ethics — and because every question arrives inside a vignette, a topic’s weight is delivered in whole item sets: one heavy topic can be four questions riding on a single case you either read well or did not.
Level III — core topics plus your pathway
| Topic | Exam weight |
|---|---|
| Asset Allocation | 15–20% |
| Portfolio Construction | 15–20% |
| Performance Measurement | 5–10% |
| Derivatives and Risk Management | 10–15% |
| Ethical and Professional Standards | 10–15% |
| Pathways (Portfolio Management or Private Markets or Private Wealth) | 30–35% |
The Level III pathways. For Levels I and II, every candidate studies the same curriculum and sits the same exam. At Level III you choose one of three specialized pathways — Portfolio Management, Private Markets, or Private Wealth — which accounts for 30–35% of the exam (CFA Institute describes the pathway as about 30% of the course, with the remaining ~70% common to all candidates). The Portfolio Management pathway deepens index-based and active equity strategies, liability-driven and credit fixed-income strategies, and trade execution. Private Markets covers private equity strategies and valuation, debt financing structures, distressed situations, and private real estate and infrastructure. Private Wealth covers adviser business models, ultra-high-net-worth client profiling, goals-based and tax-aware planning, risk mitigation, and wealth transfer. You also complete a pathway-specific Practical Skills Module. The pathway choice does not change the charter you earn — it changes the third of the exam you sit.
The passing standard, explained
You pass a CFA exam by scoring at or above the Minimum Passing Score (MPS) for that level. Everything else candidates repeat about the pass mark needs correcting:
- The MPS is set per administration, by CFA Institute’s Board of Governors. Per CFA Institute’s results page, when there is a significant curriculum or population change, the Board sets the MPS for each level after that administration. When there is no significant change, the MPS is maintained from administration to administration via equating — a statistical carry-over that lets results be compared as if they came from the same version of the exam, so the difficulty of your particular form is taken into account.
- CFA Institute does not publish the MPS in advance, and does not publish it as a percentage. There is therefore no official figure — not 70%, not any other number — that CFA Institute promises will pass. Third-party estimates of the MPS exist, but they are estimates built from candidate-reported data, and CFA Institute does not endorse them. Treat any source that states a definitive CFA pass percentage as unreliable on that point.
- Your result is “pass” or “fail,” plus a scale score. CFA Institute reports your overall scale score alongside the MPS so you can see how you performed against it, with topic-level performance information at Levels I and II. Candidates who pass Level III do not receive detailed results. Detailed scores and your responses themselves are CFA Institute’s measurement records and are not released.
- Results take weeks, and the PSM gates them. Per CFA Institute’s exam information page, Level I and II results arrive within 5–7 weeks of taking the exam and completing your PSM, Level III results within 6–8 weeks (Level III involves a grading event in which hundreds of charterholders grade the essays); CFA Institute notifies candidates within 5–9 weeks after the exam window closes. No complete PSM, no result — see the PSM section above.
- For calibration only: CFA Institute publishes 10-year average pass rates of 41% for Level I, 45% for Level II, and 52% for Level III. Averages describe the candidate pool, not your odds — but they explain why the Program’s own reported study norm (over 300 hours per level, next section) is what it is.
Fees and registration, step by step
CFA Institute’s fees changed materially for exams from February 2026 onward, and older guides still quote the old structure. The current structure, per CFA Institute’s pricing announcement and dates-and-fees page, is a per-exam registration fee with two rates — and no enrollment fee.
| Payment | Amount (USD) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Program enrollment fee | None — eliminated | The former one-time USD 350 enrollment fee was eliminated effective April 29, 2025, for exams seated February 2026 and beyond |
| Level I registration — early | 1,140 | Per attempt |
| Level I registration — standard | 1,490 | Per attempt |
| Level II registration — early | 1,140 | Per attempt |
| Level II registration — standard | 1,490 | Per attempt |
| Level III registration — early | 1,240 | Per attempt |
| Level III registration — standard | 1,590 | Per attempt |
| Rescheduling within your window | 250 | Via Prometric, subject to appointment availability |
| All three levels, first-attempt total | 3,520 – 4,570 | CFA Institute’s own range, depending on early vs. standard registration at each level |
All fees are paid in US dollars. CFA Institute accepts Visa, MasterCard, and American Express, as well as Alipay, and offline payment can be made via invoice. The early/standard gap is USD 350 at every level — registering early at all three levels is worth USD 1,050 across the Program, which makes the early deadline a study-planning deadline as much as a financial one.
The sequence, in order:
- Confirm you qualify. Check yourself against the enrollment criteria above — degree, the 23-month student window, or the 4,000-hour work/education route — and make sure you hold (or can obtain) a valid international travel passport.
- Create your CFA Institute account and enroll. Enrollment and your first Level I registration happen through CFA Institute’s website. Enroll once; later levels register against the same account.
- Choose your exam window and register — early if you can. CFA Program exams take place in windows usually in February, May, August, and November; which levels are offered varies by window. Use CFA Institute’s dates and fees tool for your level’s windows, deadlines, and the fee that applies — then schedule your specific appointment promptly, because CFA Institute recommends scheduling early to secure your preferred test center and date, and availability is first-come, first-served.
- Start your Practical Skills Module. Registration unlocks the PSM menu for your level. Starting early removes the one non-exam task that can void your result.
- Study in the Learning Ecosystem. Registration includes access to CFA Institute’s Learning Ecosystem — the digital curriculum, practice questions, and mock exams — with a print curriculum available for purchase after registration, and an optional practice pack with additional questions and mocks.
- Sit the exam, then watch for results. Results arrive on the timelines above once your PSM is complete. If you pass, register for the next level when ready; if you do not, the retake rules below govern your next attempt.
Missed appointments are expensive. If you miss your exam and want to reschedule within the same window, you contact Prometric, and if an appointment is available you pay the USD 250 rescheduling fee. If you do not reschedule, or no appointment is available, the exam fee is forfeited — CFA Institute states the fees are nonrefundable, non-deferrable, and non-transferable for missed appointments.
Retakes and score validity
- Six attempts maximum per level. You may attempt each level of the CFA exam a maximum of six times, per CFA Institute’s Exam Eligibility Policy as summarized on its policies page.
- Two attempts per calendar year, maximum. You may retake a level at most twice in a calendar year (where windows allow), and not in consecutive windows or in windows that are six months or less apart. In practice, a failed attempt means at least a six-month wait before the same level can be sat again — build that delay into any timeline you show an employer.
- Each attempt is a new registration at the then-current fee. The fee table above applies per attempt; a retake costs the same early or standard registration as a first attempt.
- Your PSM carries within the level. A completed PSM satisfies the requirement for that level’s retakes; you complete a new (and different) module only when you advance to the next level.
- Results access. Exam results remain available for approximately one year after the test date; after that, you can generate a verification letter from your CFA Institute account profile confirming a pass or fail result (the topic performance summary is not included in the letter).
Test day
- Arrive 30 minutes early. CFA Institute recommends arriving at least 30 minutes before your scheduled appointment — late arrival can mean you are not admitted. Plan your route in advance, and familiarize yourself with the test-center hardware and software beforehand, as CFA Institute advises.
- Bring your passport — it is the ID. A valid international travel passport is required. No passport, no exam.
- Bring an approved calculator — only two models are authorized. The Texas Instruments BA II Plus or the Hewlett Packard 12C. CFA Institute’s candidate tips repeat the same advice at every level: know your calculator’s features before exam day, because fluency with it is free time on every calculation item.
- Water is allowed in a clear bottle with no labels, images, or writing. Dress in layers — there is no dress code, and room temperatures vary.
- During the exam: proctors come to workstations to assist if needed; CFA Institute notes the exams are designed to allow adequate time despite minor disruptions. At Levels II and III, treat every set as scored — the trialed sets are indistinguishable. At Level I, there is no penalty for a wrong answer, so no question should be left blank when time expires.
- After the exam: there is no score on the day. Your pass/fail result and scale score arrive weeks later (see the passing-standard section), provided your PSM is complete.
How to study for these exams
CFA Institute’s own reported norm is the starting point: successful candidates report spending over 300 hours on average preparing for each level. A plan built on the structure above:
- Allocate hours by the published weight ranges. Ethics is the single largest block at Level I (15–20% in 2026) and holds 10–15% at both later levels — it is never a topic to skim. At Level II, five topics sit at 10–15%; at Level III, your pathway alone is 30–35%. Let the ranges set your calendar, then adjust for your own diagnostic results.
- Confirm your curriculum year before you study anything. The 2026 and 2027 Level I weights differ in both names and ranges. Materials, mocks, and topic plans built for the wrong year misallocate your scarcest resource — hours.
- At Level I, train pace as a skill. 180 questions at roughly 90 seconds each is a speed test layered on a knowledge test. Calculator fluency and a habit of answering every question (there is no guessing penalty) are worth measurable points.
- At Level II, study in vignettes, not flashcards alone. Knowledge at Level II is only usable inside a case. Practice extracting the two or three data points a question actually needs from a page of case text, and expect any topic in either session.
- At Level III, write answers, don’t just recognize them. Half the exam is constructed response. Practice producing short answers that obey the command word, give exactly the number of responses requested, in the order requested, and put a bare correct number down for calculations before adding working. Graders evaluate what is on the page, in order — nothing else.
- Do the PSM early. Ten to twenty hours is small next to 300+ study hours, but it is the only task whose absence voids a result outright. Finish it before results season is anywhere near.
- Review why every answer is right or wrong — including for questions you got right. The same discipline applies here as in any serious practice program: a right answer reached by a wrong route is a future wrong answer. (PassProfessor’s Level I program is built on the 2027 weights in this guide; the CFA Level I program page shows the bank, the topic drills, and full-length timed practice exams.)
Frequently asked questions
How many questions are on the CFA Level I exam? 180 multiple-choice questions, each with three answer choices, divided into two sessions of 90 questions and 135 minutes each. Questions are free-standing, equally weighted, and there is no penalty for an incorrect answer. CFA Institute advises allowing about 90 seconds per question.
How is the Level II exam different from Level I? Level II replaces free-standing questions with 22 item sets — a vignette followed by four multiple-choice questions each, 88 questions in total, across two 132-minute sessions. Twenty sets are scored and two are trialed. Every answer must come from the vignette, and the level’s focus shifts from describing concepts to analyzing situations and producing solutions.
What is a constructed-response question on Level III? It is an essay-format question: a vignette followed by prompts you answer in writing, in a text box. Half of Level III — 11 of its 22 sets — is constructed response. Command words in the stem are bolded and define the expected answer; a correct number alone earns full credit on a calculation item, while justify and explain prompts require the reasoning, in the number of parts requested.
What are the Level III pathways? Three specializations you choose between at Level III: Portfolio Management, Private Markets, and Private Wealth. The pathway is 30–35% of the exam; the rest is a common core all candidates take. Each pathway also has a corresponding Practical Skills Module. The choice does not change the charter awarded.
What score do I need to pass a CFA exam? A score at or above the Minimum Passing Score (MPS) for that level’s administration. CFA Institute’s Board of Governors sets the MPS, or carries it across administrations by equating when nothing significant has changed. CFA Institute does not publish the MPS in advance and does not state it as a percentage — there is no official pass percentage, and claims of one are third-party estimates.
Do I need a bachelor’s degree to take the CFA exams? Not necessarily. You can qualify with a bachelor’s degree, or as an undergraduate whose chosen Level I window is 23 months or less before your graduation month, or with 4,000 hours of professional work experience and/or higher education accumulated over at least three sequential years. All candidates need a valid international travel passport and must take the exams in English.
What is the Practical Skills Module requirement? At each level you must complete one Practical Skills Module — a 10–20 hour online module of videos, guided practice, and case studies — in order to receive your exam result. You may start it any time after registering, it is not graded, and the same module cannot be used at two levels. If it is incomplete when results are released, your result is voided.
How much does the CFA Program cost in total? CFA Institute puts the exam fees for completing all three levels at USD 3,520 to 4,570, first attempt at every level, depending on whether you register early or at the standard rate. Per level, Levels I and II cost USD 1,140 early or USD 1,490 standard, and Level III costs USD 1,240 early or USD 1,590 standard, for exams from February 2026 onward. There is no enrollment fee — CFA Institute eliminated the former USD 350 charge for those exams. Fees are current as published by CFA Institute as of October 2026; confirm your window’s fee in CFA Institute’s dates and fees tool.
How long does it take to get CFA exam results? Level I and II results are typically available within 5–7 weeks of taking the exam and completing your Practical Skills Module; Level III results within 6–8 weeks, because the essay sets are graded by charterholders. CFA Institute notifies candidates within 5–9 weeks after the exam window closes. Level III candidates who pass do not receive detailed results.
How many times can I retake a CFA exam? Up to six attempts per level in total, and no more than two attempts in a calendar year — never in consecutive windows, and never in windows six months or less apart. Each attempt requires a new registration at the current fee. Your completed Practical Skills Module for that level does not need to be repeated.
What calculator can I use on the CFA exams? Only two models are authorized: the Texas Instruments BA II Plus and the Hewlett Packard 12C. Bring one of those, your valid international travel passport, and — optionally — a clear, unlabeled water bottle. Arrive at least 30 minutes before your appointment.
Does passing the three exams make me a CFA charterholder? Not yet. You must also complete 4,000 hours of qualifying work experience over a minimum of 36 months — work directly involved in the investment decision-making process, or producing a work product that informs or adds value to it — and become a regular member of CFA Institute with professional references (two if one is an active regular member of your local society, otherwise three). Only then are you awarded the charter and may use the CFA designation.
When are CFA exams offered? CFA Program exams take place in testing windows usually in February, May, August, and November, and the levels offered vary by window. Exact dates, deadlines, and fees for your level and window are in CFA Institute’s dates and fees tool on cfainstitute.org — check it before you register, because deadlines determine whether you pay the early or the standard fee.
Disclaimer
PassProfessor is an independent exam-preparation provider. CFA® and Chartered Financial Analyst® are registered trademarks owned by CFA Institute. PassProfessor is not affiliated with, sponsored by, or endorsed by CFA Institute, and PassProfessor is not a CFA Institute Prep Provider. This guide is general information about the CFA Program exams, current as of October 2026; CFA Institute’s official publications govern if anything here differs from them.