CFA Deferral

Postponing an individual exam is referred to as a deferral and is only allowed in specific circumstances. You should submit a deferral request to the CFA Institute before or within ten US business days after the exam window. The CFA Institute reviews your deferral request, and they decide on a case-to-case basis.

Deferral Policy:

Candidates requesting a deferral for the August/Sept 2025/2026 exam must complete this form. The deferral request form for November 2025/2026 candidates will be available on 23 September 2025/2026. All deferrals are processed through this form. The CFA Institute contact center no longer accepts or processes deferral requests by phone or email.

Candidates will be granted a deferral for any of the reasons below. We will provide a deferral that can be used for any exam at your level within the next 12 months, as long as the registration window is open.

Please note: The CFA Program curriculum for 2025/2026 has been updated, and all candidates who sit for exams in 2025/2026 will be tested on the updated curriculum. If you register for a 2025/2026 exam, you will have access to both the 2020 and 2025/2026 curriculum content in the CFA Learning Ecosystem to help you see what has changed. We will provide additional information on the Candidate Resources page in the coming weeks to guide you through the curriculum changes.

Please allow up to 5 weeks for us to complete processing of these requests.

At this time, deferrals are granted for the following reasons:

  • You or your immediate family member (parent, grandparent, sibling, spouse/domestic partner, or child) are suffering from a life-threatening illness, including COVID-19;
  • A member of your immediate family (parent, grandparent, sibling, spouse/domestic partner, or child) has recently died;
  • You have been ordered to mandatory military service in the testing window;
  • You are pregnant;
  • A natural disaster has impacted your local area;
  • You are unable to travel to the test center due to a pandemic-related travel restriction in your area due to your government, employer, or university;
  • Your exam has been rescheduled by Prometric and after contacting Prometric, you are unable to find a new acceptable appointment date;
  • In the 14-days prior to your exam appointment:
  • You have been exposed to someone diagnosed with COVID-19
  • You have been experiencing flu-like symptoms

If you do not qualify under one of these reasons, then you are not eligible for a deferral. 

As a reminder, candidates are bound by the Code of Ethics at all times throughout their candidacy.

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