As you probably know, multiple costs go into taking all three levels of the chartered financial analyst (CFA) exam. The most obvious cost of the exam is the fees that you have to pay to register for the CFA exam. However, before this part of the process, you have to enroll in the CFA program and the fee for CFA program enrollment is $450.
You are required to pay this fee when you register for the very first Level 1 CFA exam that you plan to take. You can think of this as your application fee if you wish since you can't apply for the CFA exam without paying this fee. Despite this, there is much more that goes into the chartered financial analyst exam cost.
Registering Early Is The Way to Go
There are a lot of things to know about the cost of CFA exams, but the exam registration fee is one of the most significant costs associated with the entire process. It is also worth noting that the exam registration fee can vary a great deal depending on when you register. Early registration is the cheapest choice since it will cost you $650 to register for the CFA exam if you register early. In this context, early registration means you register before the early registration deadline, which is typically 8-9 months prior to the exam. You should also keep in mind that you have to pay an exam registration fee for each CFA exam that you take.
How Much Is The Standard Exam Registration Fee?
As previously stated, early registration is the cheapest option when it comes to the exam registration fee. However, you can also go through standard registration if you are unable to register early before the early registration deadline. The standard CFA exam registration fee is $930. The deadline for standard registration is between three and four months before the exam. As you can see, this is much more than the early registration fee, which is why registering early is a good idea.
Do Everything You Can to Avoid Late Registration
The early exam registration fee is the cheapest type of this CFA exam cost and the standard exam registration fee is almost $300 more expensive than that. However, late registration is easily the worst option when it comes to affordability. This is because the CFA late exam registration fee is $1,380. That is why you have probably seen many sources advising you to avoid late registration.
Are There Any Other CFA Exam Fees?
There are some other CFA exam fees that are not quite as obvious and well-known. One of these lesser-known fees is the fee to retake the CFA exam. Of course, you will have to pay this fee if you do not pass the CFA exam. This fee can become quite expensive if you fail the CFA exam multiple times. Travel fees are another fee you might not have considered.
After all, the CFA exam is only offered in a total of 170 cities in June and 70 cities in the month of December. If you live near one of these cities, your travel expenses won't be too high. However, if you don't, you'll have to take the cost of gas, accommodation, and plane tickets into consideration.