ChFC® Program Requirements

Requirements to earn the Chartered Financial Consultant® (ChFC®) designation, the following are required:

• Complete ChFC® coursework within five years from the date of initial enrollment (or five years from the date of January 1, 2006, if previously enrolled in the ChFC® program).
• Pass the exams for all required and elective courses. You must achieve a minimum score of 70% to pass.
• Meet the experience requirements: Three years of business experience immediately preceding the date of use of the designation are required. An undergraduate or graduate degree from an accredited educational institution qualifies as one year of business experience.
• Take the Professional Ethics Pledge.
• When you achieve your ChFC® designation, you must earn your recertification every two years.

ChFC® Exam Information

InformationChFC® exams are administered electronically at nationwide testing centers throughout the year by The American College via the Pearson VUE testing center network.

The exam consists of 100 objective questions based on the curriculum and is two hours in length. Typically, there are three types of questions included in the ChFC exam—straight-answer, multiple-option, and all-except questions.

Your results will be provided immediately upon exam completion.

ChFC® Curriculum

You will need to pass nine examinations, one for each of the following seven required courses and two elective courses, to earn the ChFC designation:

Required Courses

300: Financial Planning: Process and Environment

Provides an in-depth understanding of the role and responsibilities of a financial planner and provides students with analytical skills to assist their customers in their financial decision-making process. An emphasis is placed on the time value of money, ethics, and the analysis of the regulatory, economic, and legal challenges that a financial planner will face in the future.

311: Fundamentals of Insurance Planning

Focuses on a financial planner's role in planning for clients' insurance needs. Key topics in this course include insurance and the management of risk; life insurance; group and individual medical expense insurance; and property, liability, and homeowners insurance.

321: Income Taxation

Gives a detailed overview of the federal income tax system and takes a closer look at gross income; exclusions; deductions; credits; taxation of corporations, partnerships, and partners; and taxation of annuities, life insurance, capital gains and losses, and corporate distributions.

326: Planning for Retirement Needs

Provides a comprehensive look at the important issues in retirement planning. This course concentrates on retirement planning for individuals, businesses, and the business owner. Other retirement planning topics covered include IRAs, qualified and nonqualified plans, matching retirement plans with client interest, senior needs planning, and Social Security.

328: Investments

This course is significant to all financial planners because it outlines the fundamentals of investments. It provides an in-depth look into the securities markets, futures markets, risk and return measures, portfolio performance evaluation, and debt instruments. After completing this course, students will have an enhanced understanding of stocks, bonds, options, derivatives, and combination securities.

330: Fundamentals of Estate Planning

Provides an overview of gift and estate tax principles and strategies. Specific topics discussed include lifetime gifts and transfers at death, the federal gift tax, the gift and estate tax marital deductions, buy-sell agreements, and calculating the federal estate tax. After completing this course, students will gain a better understanding of the estate planning process and specific strategies used to develop client-specific estate plans.

332: Financial Planning Applications

Focuses on providing students with experience in preparing financial plans; asks students to pull their knowledge base from the core courses in the ChFC® curriculum to analyze case studies and develop appropriate recommendations for individual and business clients in the areas of estate planning, business planning, retirement planning, insurance, and investments.

Elective Courses (Two are required)

322: The Financial System In the Economy

Highlights the role that the global financial system plays in the financial services industry. Topics in this course include the different financial markets, principal institutions in the markets, interest rates, central banking, and financial assets and transactions in the financial system.

324: Estate Planning Applications

Covers the legal concepts in life insurance, including such topics as the life insurance contract, waiver and estoppel, the incontestable clause, policy provisions, premiums, and life insurance beneficiaries. After completing this course, students will understand the legal duties and rights of insurers and policyowners and the ways that insurers and insureds resolve disputes.

352: Financial Decisions for Retirement

Covers critical topics, including Social Security, tax-advantaged retirement plans, nonqualified plans and IRAs, investing before and after retirement, annuities, pension distributions, and calculating retirement needs. After completing this course, students will be well-versed in today's growing retirement planning marketplace.

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