Frequently Asked Questions

Please visit our website at www.Fincert.org. Under the ‘Apply’ tab, click more info. The program is great for those who have been working for a while, or for someone just starting out. You don’t have to have prior financial counseling experience to begin or excel at our course. CPFC is our most popular and widely recognized certification program.

The CPFC was designed for credit counselors working with clients in a one-on-one setting. CEPF is for those working with consumers in a group or community setting. The materials are almost identical except for sections dealing with communications and legislation.

You can use it for counseling or education in the area of personal finance. The material is broad and allows students with almost any background to start a career in financial literacy.

We are nationally recognized and are a lower cost option. An individual doesn’t have to have experience in finance or counseling to begin, so it’s great for professionals and volunteers just starting out. Our certifications are self-study courses that allow students to learn at their own pace with easy-to-read materials. 

Submit an Enrollment Application online at Fincert.org. Wait for email confirmation of application approval. You’ll receive either electronic or physical study materials (depending on course). After 2 weeks you’ll start to receive emails with directions to take the exam. Between 30 days and 1 year after enrollment, take the online remote proctored exam. The exam does not have to be scheduled in advance and you will receive results a day or two after completion.

All study materials, practice exam (depending on the certification chosen), final exam, certification, and certificate.

The current certification fee is not broken down; it is a flat fee that covers the registration, materials, examination, and certification.

We offer 10% off for groups of 10 or more. Discounted payments can not be made online at this time so please email us for more information. Student discount? No. Military discount? No. Also, we are not an institution of higher education as defined by the requirements of the GI Bill, so we are unable to accept that as payment. 

 2 years. Your certification will expire on the last day of the twenty-fourth (24th) month following the Certification Period Start Date (the date you passed the exam).  

We are not a membership-based organization and do not share any information about those certified through Fincert. We have created a Facebook group for those who would like to connect with others certified. Still new but growing. 

You can become certified. We are happy to ship directly to other countries; we would simply request you pay the additional cost of shipping.

 You can enroll at any time with the completion of the Certification Enrollment Application.

Fincert’s certification programs are all self-study so there are no live or scheduled classes. Study materials are available online 2 business days after approval for the CPFC, or about a week after for other programs that require shipment of a physical manual.

Yes, if the original applicant has not attempted the exam. Transfer can only be initiated by whoever paid for the original application.  They need to email certifications@financiallit.org with the name of original applicant and name of new enrollee. The new enrollee needs to submit his/her own enrollment application and will begin a fresh 1-year period to study/test. If the original application is less than 90 days old, the fee is $25. If it is older than 90 days, the fee is $50. Transfer fees are paid over the phone at this time.

Applicants may not request an examination less than 30 days after the date their application is approved.  Applicants must complete their examinations within one year from the date their application was accepted by Fincert.org.

Most enrollees are ready to take the exam within 2-3 months of enrolling. There is a 30-day minimum study period and the exam must be taken within a year of enrollment.

 The CPFC exam is composed of 125 Multiple choice and true or false questions. The entire book or course content is covered, including code of ethics, legislation and terms. There are no problems to solve/calculations to be made. Please read everything and take your time. 

70%

About 24-48 business hours. We can confirm that an exam was processed successfully as soon as it was completed, but we are unable to provide any official results until the proctor report is received. We will email you as soon as we have their results. 

Applicants who do not pass their examination may retake the examination no less than 15 days from the previous examination date. Applicants may take an examination a maximum of three times unless said maximum is waived in writing by the Governing Body.  There is a fee to retake the exam.

Choose whether you will be renewing by CEU or Exam. If by CEU, complete all CEU courses, approved by Fincert and then submit your online Application to Renew by CEU. If by exam, submit your online Application to Renew by Exam and then complete the exam by your expiration date.

If you are within 90 days, you can request an extension online, which is found under our ‘Payments’ tab on our website, Fincert.org. Extensions are limited to two, therefore if your certification has expired more than 6 months (180 days), you will need to start over.

Yes. We have a small selection of webinars for sale and always have an ethics course available to ensure that minimum requirement is met.

Yes, by submitting a CEU Approval Request Form. If you need to request approval for a lot of courses, send the names of the courses in an email to rgordon@financiallit.org so we can help you determine if they are worth submitting. We might also be able to batch the approval requests for you if you are using one provider. 

You need to complete 16 hours, which must include a minimum of 2 in Ethics. On Fincert.org, click on the ‘Policies’ tab, then CEU Policies.  For courses you can take, see our CEU Pre-approved list under our ‘Maintain’ tab for ideas and ask about our own webinars. You may also submit external courses for CEU approval.

While many of the courses completed to meet the renewal requirements for other designations are likely to be approved by Fincert, they still need to go through the approval process. First, check the pre-approved list found under our ‘Maintain’ tab to see if the courses taken are on there. If they are, they are good to report on the renewal application. If they are not on our list, you will need to submit a CEU approval request form also located on the same page.

Physical/display certificates are only sent for new certifications and can take 4-6 weeks. The certificate does not have an expiration date, so it remains valid through the renewal. Additionally, it is important to remember that the certification letter is the official certifying document to provide to any regulators or employers.