Regular pathway
CFP certification course in India
Three specialist exams, then the final. Taught personally by the founder.
Exams
3 specialist plus 1 final
Eligibility
Class 12 pass, age 18+
Typical duration
One year
Exam windows
Monthly
Awarded by
FPSB India
Three specialist certifications, then the CFP charter. IIFC is an authorised education provider.
Who can join
The regular pathway is open to anyone aged 18 or over who has completed Class 12 or an equivalent qualification. No prior finance experience is required and no degree is needed to start.
In practice, batches are a mix. Finance graduates who need a credential that gets past the first screening round. Working professionals in banking, insurance or mutual funds moving from selling products into giving advice. Career changers entering financial services from another industry.
If you already hold a postgraduate finance qualification and three or more years of relevant industry experience, you may qualify for the fast track pathway instead, which exempts you from the three specialist exams. We check that against FPSB India criteria on your call, before you commit to anything.
The route to your CFP charter
Seven steps, in this order. FPSB India gives you three years from enrolment to complete the whole thing, and most regular pathway candidates finish inside one.
Register with FPSB India
Step one
Create your FPSB account and buy the e-books for the first specialist module. We help with the registration paperwork.
Clear the three specialist exams
Steps two to four
Investment Planning, then Retirement and Tax Planning, then Risk and Estate Planning. Each is a separate FPSB certification in its own right.
Buy your specialist certification
Step five
Required before you can purchase the Integrated Financial Planning course material.
Complete the Psychology in Financial Planning course
Step six
A mandatory self-paced module on the FPSB learning portal. No separate exam, but it must be finished before you sit the final.
Clear the Integrated Financial Planning exam
Step seven
The final paper, three hours across two sections, plus a financial plan assessment.
Submit your work experience certificate
Step eight
Either one year supervised by a practising CFP professional, or three years in the financial services industry.
Receive your CFP charter
Awarded by FPSB
Recognised across 29 territories worldwide.
What each exam covers
Four FPSB certification exams in total. Three specialist papers, then the integrated final that awards the CFP charter.
CFP certification structure, FPSB India
Stage Certification and what it covers
Format
FPSB Investment Planning Specialist
Personal financial management, investment planning and asset management, and the regulatory environment, law and compliance.
75 questions, 2 hours
FPSB Retirement and Tax Planning Specialist
Retirement planning, plus tax planning and optimisation.
FPSB Risk and Estate Planning Specialist
Risk management and insurance planning, plus estate planning.
FPSB Integrated Financial Planning
Financial planning principles, process and skills, then integrated financial planning. Passing this awards the CFP charter.
Psychology in Financial Planning
Mandatory, self-paced, no exam
A newer FPSB knowledge module covering the behavioural side of advising: client biases, money beliefs, counselling technique and how a client's history shapes their decisions. Self-study through the FPSB learning portal, with no standalone exam. On the regular pathway it must be completed after all three specialist exams and before you register for the final.
How the exams work
All four are computer based and can be sat from home or at a test centre. Knowing the mechanics removes most of the anxiety, so we cover them properly in class.
75 questions in two hours
Multiple choice, for each of the three specialist exams. The final is three hours across two sections.
No negative marking
A wrong answer costs you nothing beyond the mark, so there is no reason to leave a question blank.
Financial calculators permitted
Data must be cleared before you start. Spreadsheet software is available on screen during the exam.
Sit from home or at a centre
Online proctored through the Mettle platform, or in person at DEXIT test centres across India.
Monthly exam windows
Specialist exams run in the third week of every month, so a missed attempt costs weeks rather than a year.
Three years to finish
FPSB India allows three years from enrolment to complete all education and exams. Most of our regular pathway students finish well inside one.
What IIFC gives you
Coaching, materials and support across all four exams. FPSB registration, e-books and examination charges are paid to FPSB India separately.
Live classes with Harminder Garg, CFP
He teaches every batch personally rather than handing classes to rotating faculty. That is the part larger institutes cannot match.
Session recordings
A missed class is not a missed module. Every session is recorded and stays available to you.
Coaching for all four exams
All three specialist papers plus the integrated final, taught in the order FPSB examines them.
Mock papers in the exam format
75 questions, two hours, no negative marking. The real thing should hold no surprises.
Registration and scheduling help
FPSB paperwork, exam booking and window planning, so you are not working it out alone.
Discount coupons worth Rs 16,250
Included rather than added on afterwards.
Harminder Garg, CFP
Your instructor, every class
Cleared the CFP challenge status exam in A grade in 2007, then worked as manager of knowledge management at FPSB India, the body that sets the standard he now teaches to. Before that, branch manager at ICICI Bank. He takes every batch himself.
Rs 1 to 1.5 lakh
IIFC coaching fee, including discount coupons worth Rs 16,250
There are two separate costs in CFP certification and it helps to see them apart. The first is coaching, which you pay to IIFC. The second is FPSB India’s own charges for registration, e-books, each exam attempt, the specialist certification, the psychology course and the final assessment bundle. Those are set by FPSB and paid to FPSB.
We give you both figures on your call so you can budget for the whole thing rather than being surprised later. Typical earnings for CFP professionals in India run between Rs 8 and Rs 15 lakh a year within three years of certifying.
Where it takes you
India has 3,534 certified financial planners. FPSB wants 10,000 by 2027-28.
FPSB India, December 2025
That is a gap of roughly 6,500 people in under three years, while banks and wealth firms are already hiring advisers faster than the certified pool is growing. India is now among the fastest growing markets for CFP professionals worldwide.
IIFC alumni hold senior positions at HDFC Bank, IDFC FIRST Bank, SBI MF, Franklin Templeton, Nippon AMC, Axis Bank, ICICI Securities and Centrum Wealth. More than 700 professionals have been coached here and 416 or more have certified.
Roughly 40% of new CFP certifications in India come through this classroom.
Amit Sharma
Sr. VP, HDFC Bank
Bhaskar Singh
Partner, IDFC FIRST
G B Singh
RH, SBI MF
Ravinder Saxena
VP, Franklin Templeton
Anupam Lal
Inv. Specialist, Axis
Satyam Anand
VP, ICICI Securities
FPSB India
Best Education Provider 2024-25
FPSB India
Best CFP Educator 2024-25
FPSB India
Best CFP Coach 2023-24
Speak to a mentor about the next batch
One call answers the lot: whether you qualify for the faster route, the coaching fee, what FPSB charges on top, the batch dates and what the week looks like. No cost, and no obligation to enrol.