If you’re targeting the March 2027 CFP® exam, you have about 19 weeks. That’s enough time to cover every domain, take three full practice exams, and still have a life, if you start now and follow a plan.
This is the plan we’d hand a candidate starting on Monday, November 2, 2026. It assumes about 13 hours a week, roughly 250 hours in total. That’s in line with the 225–275 hours most candidates report needing, and it leaves room for the holidays.
Before you start: three decisions
- Register early. The testing window runs March 16–23, 2027, and the education verification deadline is February 23, 2027. Prometric seats near the end of a window go fast. See our [CFP® Exam Dates and Registration Guide] for the full schedule.
- Pick one set of materials and stick with it. Jumping between providers costs time and creates gaps. Choose a study guide, a question bank and full-length practice exams that work together.
- Block your calendar now. A plan that lives in your head loses to every late meeting. Put your study sessions in your calendar like client appointments.
Study time follows the exam weights
The CFP® exam has 170 questions across eight domains, and they aren’t equally weighted. Retirement, Investment, General Principles and Tax make up 64% of the exam, so they get the most weeks. See our [CFP® Exam Breakdown] for the full list.
| Domain | Exam weight | Weeks in this plan |
|---|---|---|
| Retirement Savings and Income Planning | 18% | 2 |
| Investment Planning | 17% | 2 |
| General Principles of Financial Planning | 15% | 2 |
| Tax Planning | 14% | 2 |
| Risk Management and Insurance Planning | 11% | 2 |
| Estate Planning | 10% | 1 |
| Professional Conduct and Regulation | 8% | 1 |
| Psychology of Financial Planning | 7% | 1 |
The week-by-week plan
| Week | Dates | Focus | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nov 2–8 | Orientation: skim the study guide, take a 50-question mixed baseline set | 10 |
| 2–3 | Nov 9–22 | General Principles: time value of money, cash flow, debt, education funding | 26 |
| 4 | Nov 23–29 | Professional Conduct and Regulation (lighter week for Thanksgiving) | 10 |
| 5 | Nov 30–Dec 6 | Psychology of Financial Planning | 12 |
| 6–7 | Dec 7–20 | Risk Management and Insurance Planning | 26 |
| 8 | Dec 21–27 | Holiday flex week: review flagged questions only | 6 |
| 9–10 | Dec 28–Jan 10 | Investment Planning | 28 |
| 11–12 | Jan 11–24 | Tax Planning | 28 |
| 13–14 | Jan 25–Feb 7 | Retirement Savings and Income Planning | 28 |
| 15 | Feb 8–14 | Estate Planning | 14 |
| 16 | Feb 15–21 | Practice Exam 1, timed, then a full review of every rationale | 16 |
| 17 | Feb 22–28 | Weakest two domains, then Practice Exam 2 | 16 |
| 18 | Mar 1–7 | Case-study drills, then Practice Exam 3 | 16 |
| 19 | Mar 8–14 | Final review: formulas, flagged questions, rest before test day | 12 |
Total: about 248 hours.
What a content week looks like
Each domain week follows the same loop: learn, test, review.
- Monday–Thursday (2 hours each): Read one study guide section, then do 15–20 question bank questions on that topic only.
- Saturday (3–4 hours): A mixed set of 40–50 questions covering everything you’ve studied so far, so earlier domains don’t fade.
- Sunday (1 hour, optional): Review only the questions you got wrong or guessed on. Write one sentence on why the right answer is right.
Read every rationale, including the ones for questions you got right. A lucky guess is a weak spot that hasn’t shown up yet.
The last four weeks matter most
Weeks 16 to 19 turn knowledge into exam performance. Take each practice exam under real conditions: two sessions of about three hours, one break, no notes, the same calculator you’ll bring on test day.
After each exam, sort your misses by domain. If one domain is more than 10 points below your average, it gets the next week’s review time. Don’t spend your final weeks rereading material you already know.
If you fall behind
You probably will at some point. Don’t try to make up every missed hour. Instead:
- Use the holiday flex week (Week 8) as your first catch-up.
- Shorten the Estate and Psychology weeks before you shorten the big four domains.
- Never skip the practice exams in Weeks 16–18. They are the best predictor of exam-day readiness.
Build this plan with PlannerPrep
Every PlannerPrep membership includes the study guide, a 500-question bank you can filter by topic, and three full-length practice exams that mirror the real exam’s 170-question format. Silver ($197) gives you one year of access and Gold ($297) gives you two. [View membership plans] or [try our free sample questions] first.
Exam dates and registration deadlines are set by CFP Board and can change. Confirm them at cfp.net before you register.