A CFP (CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER) professional is someone certified by CFP Board to give comprehensive financial planning advice: retirement, investments, taxes, insurance, education savings, and estate planning, tied together into one plan. To earn the mark, a candidate needs a bachelor’s degree, approved coursework, a passing score on a 170-question exam, 6,000 hours of planning experience (or 4,000 as an apprentice), and a commitment to act as a fiduciary when giving financial advice. Hiring one typically costs a median of $300 an hour, $3,000 for a one-time plan, $4,500 a year for ongoing planning, or about 1% of managed assets. Before you hire, confirm the certification on CFP Board’s lookup tool.
What does CFP mean?
CFP is short for CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER, a set of marks owned by the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, usually called CFP Board. It is a professional certification, not a government license. CFP Board sets the requirements, certifies the people who meet them, and can sanction or revoke the marks of those who break its rules.
That matters because “financial planner” and “financial advisor” are not protected titles. Anyone can use them. The CFP marks are protected, so they tell you that a person has met a defined standard of education, testing, experience, and conduct.
There were 107,529 CFP professionals in the U.S. at the end of 2025, according to CFP Board.
What are the requirements to become a CFP?
CFP Board calls them the four Es.
| Requirement | What it involves |
|---|---|
| Education | Bachelor’s + CFP coursework (12 to 18 months) |
| Exam | 170 questions, 6 hours, 3 times a year |
| Experience | 6,000 hours (4,000 as apprentice) |
| Ethics | Background check + fiduciary standard |
The exam screens people out. The July 2026 sitting had a 66% pass rate across 3,621 candidates, CFP Board reported. Candidates can finish the degree within five years after passing the exam, and the experience can come before or after it.
Certification has to be maintained. CFP professionals complete 30 hours of continuing education every two years, including a two-hour ethics course. That rises to 40 hours for renewal cycles starting in or after the first quarter of 2027, per CFP Board. CFP Board is also reviewing whether to keep the bachelor’s degree requirement and has said no final decision is expected in 2026.
What does a CFP professional do?
A CFP professional works through a defined planning process: learning your circumstances and goals, analyzing where your current course leads, developing recommendations, presenting them, helping implement them, and monitoring progress as your life changes. In practice that often means answering questions like these:
- When can I retire, and how much do I need to save each year to get there?
- How much house can we afford without squeezing everything else?
- Should I exercise these stock options, and how much company stock should I keep?
- Do we have the right life and disability insurance?
- How should we save for our children’s education?
- Are our wills, beneficiaries, and account titles set up to do what we want?
Tax planning is part of the curriculum, so a good planner will flag the tax side of each decision. But the CFP mark does not authorize someone to represent you before the IRS. That right belongs to CPAs, enrolled agents, and attorneys. If your decisions turn on detailed tax math, you may want a CPA as well. CFP vs CPA covers when you need one, the other, or both.
The certification also does not, by itself, permit someone to manage your investments for a fee or sell you securities. Those activities require separate state or SEC registration, or FINRA licensing for brokers. Many CFP professionals hold those registrations; some deliberately do not and only give planning advice.
Is a CFP a fiduciary?
Yes, when giving financial advice. CFP Board’s Code of Ethics and Standards of Conduct says that “at all times when providing Financial Advice to a Client, a CFP professional must act as a fiduciary.” That duty has three parts:
- Loyalty: put your interests ahead of their own and their firm’s, and disclose and manage conflicts of interest.
- Care: act with the care, skill, prudence, and diligence a prudent professional would use given your goals and circumstances.
- Following your instructions: comply with your reasonable and lawful directions.
Three limits are worth knowing. First, the duty comes from CFP Board’s standards, and CFP Board enforces it through its disciplinary process. Separate legal duties apply depending on how the person is registered: investment advisers owe a fiduciary duty under federal or state law, and brokers have their own conduct rules. Second, a fiduciary can still have conflicts, such as being paid more when more money stays under management. The duty requires those conflicts to be disclosed and managed, not eliminated. Third, the duty applies to financial advice. Ask which services in your agreement are advice and which are not.
How do CFP professionals charge?
The credential does not set the price. CFP professionals use the same fee models as other advisors.
| Fee model | Typical price | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| AUM | About 1%/yr | Investment management included |
| Retainer | Median $4,500/yr | Ongoing advice, set price |
| Hourly | Median $300/hr | A narrow question |
| Project plan | Median $3,000 | A plan you carry out |
| Commissions | Built into product | Ask for every payment in writing |
Under CFP Board’s rules, a CFP professional may call themselves fee-only only if neither they, their firm, nor related parties receive sales-related compensation such as commissions. Fee-only says where the money comes from, not how much it is. A fee-only planner can still charge 1% of assets. Fee-only vs fee-based explains the labels, and how much a financial advisor costs compares the models in dollars. If you want a price that does not grow with your portfolio, see flat-fee financial advisors.
Tax preparation is usually not included. Ask whether the fee covers your return, or only advice about taxes.
How to find a CFP professional
Start with the decision you need help with, then look for planners who do that work often. A planner who mostly serves retirees may not be the right fit for a founder with pre-IPO stock.
- Let’s Make a Plan is CFP Board’s own search for finding CFP professionals.
- Professional associations such as NAPFA list fee-only planners.
- Referrals from a CPA or attorney you trust are useful, but still verify the person.
- Employer benefits sometimes include access to planners. Ask whether they can sell you products.
How to verify a CFP professional
Take ten minutes before the first meeting.
- Search CFP Board’s Verify tool. It shows whether the person is currently certified, whether they held the mark in the past, any public discipline from CFP Board, and certain bankruptcy disclosures since July 2012.
- Search FINRA BrokerCheck. It covers brokers and many investment adviser representatives, with employment history, licenses, customer complaints, and regulatory actions.
- Search the SEC’s Investment Adviser Public Disclosure site. For an advisory firm, read Form ADV Part 2A, which describes fees, services, and conflicts, and the firm’s relationship summary, Form CRS.
- Compare what you find with what you were told. The fees, services, and roles in the disclosures should match the sales conversation and the agreement.
A missing record is not always a red flag. A planner who gives only hourly advice and never manages money may not appear on BrokerCheck. A CFP Board record with discipline, or a mismatch between what you were told and what the filings say, deserves a direct question.
Questions to ask a CFP before you hire
- What will I pay this year, in dollars? Include planning fees, investment fees, fund expenses, and any commissions.
- How are you and your firm paid besides my fee? Ask about commissions, referral payments, and affiliated products.
- Are you acting as a fiduciary for everything you do for me? Get the answer in writing, with the agreement that applies.
- What is included? Ask about meetings, tax planning, tax preparation, estate document review, and insurance analysis.
- Who does the work? Find out whether you will work with the CFP professional or with associates.
- How do you work with my CPA? Ask who projects the tax on a decision and who files the return.
- What happens if I leave? Check cancellation terms, refunds, and whether you keep your plan.
Where Nino fits
Nino’s Advisor plans include a CFP, Levi Larsen, who builds your financial plan, working alongside CPAs who handle tax planning and prepare your federal and state returns. Plans are flat annual fees rather than a percentage of assets: Essential is $3,600 a year for one person, Plus is $4,800 and adds joint and multi-state filing, and Premier is $12,000 and adds business and international filing. Final pricing can vary with complexity. Nino’s AI software, without the service team, is $20, $100, or $200 a month. See Nino services for details.