This CFP cheat sheet compresses all eight CFP Board domains into a printable rundown of the facts and figures that show up most often on exam day. It's a premium cheat sheet built by Capital Prep — the one premium prep we trust — and it's yours free. Pair it with the rest of your free CFP toolkit: the practice test, study guide, and flashcards.

CFP exam at a glance

• Questions: 170 multiple-choice across 8 domains (stand-alone items plus case-study sets)
• Format: Two 3-hour sessions in one day — about 6 hours, with a scheduled 40-minute break
• Scoring: Criterion-referenced pass/fail — no fixed percentage cutoff
• Recent pass rate: Roughly 65% first-time (March 2026 administration: 67%)
• Cost: About $925 standard registration ($825 early, $1,025 late — verify at CFP.net)
• Administered by: CFP Board, delivered at Prometric test centers three times a year (March, July, November)

What’s on the CFP cheat sheet

• Retirement Savings & Income Planning (18%) — the largest domain — 2026 plan limits, IRAs, RMDs at 73, NUA, and Social Security taxation.
• Investment Planning (17%) — risk types, Sharpe vs. Treynor, duration, and portfolio theory.
• General Principles of Financial Planning (15%) — time value of money, the core ratios, and education funding.
• Tax Planning (14%) — the tax formula, basis rules, the wash-sale window, and 2026 figures.
• Risk Management & Insurance (11%) — pure vs. speculative risk, FIFO vs. LIFO, and benefit taxation.
• Estate Planning (10%) — the 2026 exclusions, marital deduction, portability, trusts, and titling.
• Professional Conduct & Regulation (8%) — the fiduciary duty, the 7-step process, and the fee-only trap.
• Psychology of Financial Planning (7%) — money scripts, behavioral finance, and client communication.

How to use it in your final week

• Front-load the heavy four — Retirement (18%), Investment (17%), General Principles (15%), and Tax (14%) are 64% of the exam, so review those sections of the sheet first and most.
• Read a domain from the sheet, then immediately drill that same domain in the practice test so the fact and its application lock in together.
• Reserve the ethics block — fiduciary duty, the 7-step process, and the fee-only trap — for a final morning-of pass, since those twists get folded into every other domain's questions.
• Pace against the real clock: 170 questions across two 3-hour sessions is roughly 2 minutes each, so pair every review pass with a short timed set.

The cheat sheet is your review layer — your CFP practice test drives the exam-readiness ring at the top of this page. Download it, review, then take a full practice exam (or drill with the study guide and flashcards) to see where you stand.

CFP cheat sheet FAQ

References

1. 1.Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards (CFP Board). “About the CFP Exam.” CFP.net, 2026. ↑
2. 2.Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards (CFP Board). “CFP Exam: What You'll Be Tested On.” CFP.net, 2026. ↑
3. 3.Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards (CFP Board). “Scoring and Results / Exam Statistics.” CFP.net, 2026. ↑
4. 4.Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards (CFP Board). “Certification Process — The 4 E's.” CFP.net, 2026. ↑

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