CFA Exams Canceled in Ukraine & Russia
CFA Institute will not be administering CFA exams in Russia until further notice.
All CFA exam appointments in these cities must be canceled:
Last Update: March 2023
- Kyiv, Ukraine (full closing)
- Moscow, Russia (full closing)
- St. Petersburg, Russia (full closing)
Where Was the Feb 2022 CFA Exam Canceled?
Just like previous exams, the Feb 2022 CFA exam got canceled in some places due to COVID-19 restrictions:
Last Update: Feb, 14
- China (full closing in Beijing)
- Hong Kong SAR (full closing)
IMPORTANT! If you do not hear that your exam has been impacted, you should assume it will take place as scheduled. If your exam is impacted, you will receive notification via email from CFA Institute and/or Prometric.
Need to Reschedule Your CFA Exam Prep?
Full & Partial Closings before Nov 2021 CFA Exams
This is the (regularly updated) list of the areas where the Nov 2021 CFA exam has been cancelled, either partially or entirely:
Last Update: Nov, 22
- China (full closing in Beijing)
- New Zealand (partial closing in Auckland)
- China (partial closing in Chengdu & Harbin)
IMPORTANT! If you do not hear that your exam has been impacted, you should assume it will take place as scheduled. If your exam is impacted, you will receive notification via email from CFA Institute and/or Prometric.
August 2021 CFA Exam Cancellations
Here's the list of the areas where the Aug 2021 CFA exam has been cancelled, either partially or entirely:
Last Update: Sept, 2
- Australia (full closing in Melbourne)
- Botswana (full closing in Gaborone)
- Brunei (full closing)
- Chile (full closing in Santiago)
- China (full closing in Nanjing & Zhejiang Education/Hangzhou)
- China (partial closing/reduced capacity in Beijing, Chengdu, Dalian, Guangzhou, Hangzhou, Jinan, Shanghai, Wuhan)
- Argentina (partial closing/reduced capacity in Buenos Aires)
- Australia (partial closing/reduced capacity in Sydney)
- Germany (partial closing/reduced capacity in Hamburg)
- Indonesia (partial closing/reduced capacity in Jakarta)
- New Zealand (partial closing/reduced capacity in Aukland & Wellington)
- Ontario (partial closing/reduced capacity in London)
- Sri Lanka (partial closing/reduced capacity)
- Taiwan (partial closing/reduced capacity in Taipei)
- Thailand (partial closing/reduced capacity in Bangkok)
- Vietnam (partial closing/reduced capacity in Hanoi & Ho Chi Minh)
IMPORTANT! If you do not hear that your exam has been impacted, you should assume it will take place as scheduled. If your exam is impacted, you will receive notification via email from CFA Institute and/or Prometric.
July 2021 Level 1 CFA Exam Cancelled. Where?
Here's the list of the areas where the July 2021 CFA exam has been cancelled, either partially or entirely:
Last Update: July, 22
- Indonesia (full closing in Jakarta)
- Namibia (full closing in Windhoek)
- Thailand (full closing in Bangkok)
- South Africa (full closing in Cape Town and Johannesburg)
- Zimbabwe (full closing in Harare)
- Vietnam (full closing in Ho Chi Minh and Hanoi)
- Bangladesh (partial closing/reduced capacity in Dhaka)
- Chile (partial closing/reduced capacity in Santiago)
- Malta (partial closing/reduced capacity)
- Taiwan (partial closing/reduced capacity in Taipei)
- Turkey (partial closing/reduced capacity in Ankara)
IMPORTANT! If you do not hear that your exam has been impacted, you should assume it will take place as scheduled. If your exam is impacted, you will receive notification via email from CFA Institute and/or Prometric.
May 2021 CFA Exam Cancellations
May 2021 CFA exam has been cancelled in some test locations, including India. Below are the newest limitations regarding testing feasibility in the cities where CFA exams are supposed to be held.
Here's the list of the areas where the May 2021 CFA exam has been cancelled, either partially or entirely:
Last Update: May, 20
- Argentina (partial closings in Buenos Aires)
- Brazil (Rio De Janeiro + partial closings in Curitiba)
- Chile (partial closings in Santiago)
- Colombia (Cali)
- Germany (Hamburg)
- India (all cities)
- Malaysia (partial closings)
- Mauritius (partial closings)
- Nepal (Kathmandu)
- Nova Scotia (Halifax)
- Ontario
- Pakistan (partial closings)
- Peru (partial closings in Lima)
- Singapore (partial closings in Agilitics)
- Sri Lanka (partial closings in Colombo)
- Taiwan (Taipei)
- Trinidad and Tobago (partial closings)
- Turkey (partial closings in Ankara)
- US (reduced capacity at centers in: Atlanta, Georgia; College Station, Texas; La Crosse, Wisconsin; Los Angeles, California; McAlester, Oklahoma; Mountlake Terrace, Washington; Portland, Oregon; San Jose, California; Santa Maria, California; partial closings in Scottsbluff, Nebraska)
- Vietnam (partial closings)
If your May 2021 CFA exam is postponed, you can defer your exam (free of charge) to Nov 2021 CFA exam. You should be contacted by CFA Institute with more details. Unfortunately, the August exams are mostly unavailable. If the August exam is still available in your area, you will be informed about it in the communication you'll receive from CFA Institute.
February 2021 CFA Exam Cancelled in Some Locations
February 2021 CFA exam gets cancelled in areas still severely affected by COVID-19. If your Feb exam is cancelled (and cannot be rescheduled), you’ll be able to defer at no charge to some later 2021 CFA exam date, excluding the May window which reached its capacity.
Check your inbox regularly! If your CFA exam appointment is cancelled, you should receive a cancellation email with additional instructions.
Here's the list of the Feb 2021 CFA exam test centers currently experiencing some appointment cancellations:
Last Update: February, 12
- Harare, Zimbabwe
- Lima, Peru – site 3061
- Panama City, Panama – ITSE Panama, site 4335
- Peterborough, UK – ONLINE EXAMS, site 4311 (appointments scheduled from 16 to 28 Feb)
- Santiago, Chile – site 3059
- Shanghai, China – 2 test centers: Shanghai Science & Tech Management School and Shanghai University (candidates will be rescheduled into another test centers within the Feb window)
- select cities, Canada (capacity related restrictions, await a cancellation email if you're affected)
- select cities, USA (capacity related restrictions, await a cancellation email if you're affected)
NOTE In the upcoming weeks, the list may get extended. However, for now many test centers are expected to administer their exams as planned. Also – pay attention to which test center is closed, not just to the city name!
Free Deferral Available to All Feb Candidates!
A free-of-charge postponement of the Feb 2021 level 1 CFA exam is available to all candidates, even if their Feb exam is not cancelled and regardless of whether they scheduled their exam or failed to do so.
So, if you are concerned about health and safety issues and you'd rather take your exam at a later date – from 2 February (9am ET) to 10 February (11:59pm ET) – you can defer your Feb exam to July, August or November 2021 level 1 window. Unfortunately, the May level 1 exam window is no longer available. It reached its seating capacity in many locations already around the early registration deadline, which was 3 November 2020. And now – that is on 2 February – the May level 1 registration was suddenly closed (we wrote the other day that many test centers can be expected to be already full and unavailable).
Online Proctored Testing for Cancelled Feb Candidates
Online CFA exam testing is a limited option but some cancelled February candidates will be able to take their online proctored exam at home. If the option is available in your area, you'll be contacted by CFA Institute. There are certain computer and systems requirements you need to meet, e.g. you must have secure non-wifi internet connection and a webcam because live remote proctors will monitor your exam. [READ MORE]
Refunds Post Feb 2021 CFA Exam
If your CFA exam has been postponed twice – and you won’t defer anymore – you'll be entitled to a refund. Be patient, though. First, it'll be checked if your exam can be re-scheduled for you within your exam window. If not, you'll be able to proceed with your refund. However, the refund itself may take some time and first you need to wait for specific information regarding the refund request procedure. Details will be provided after the February testing window is completed. CFA Institute will contact you directly via email if this option is available to you.
If the Feb 2021 CFA exam is postponed, you can:
- either defer your exam (free of charge) to any of the open 2021 CFA exams,
- or ask for a refund if you're impacted twice.
Dec 2020 CFA Exam Cancelled, Location by Location
Dec 2020 CFA exam has been already cancelled in almost 100 locations, i.e. in 50 countries, around the world. With new test centers added to the list each week, the odds are that the list of locations where the Dec exam actually takes place will be shorter than the list of closed test centers.
December 2020 Test Centers Closed Due to COVID-19
Here's the list of the recently closed Dec 2020 CFA exam test centers:
Last Update: December, 4
- Argentina – Buenos Aires
- Armenia – Yerevan
- Australia – Melbourne
- Austria – Vienna
- Azerbaijan – Baku
- Bahamas – Nassau
- Bahrain – Manama
- Belgium – Brussels
- Brazil – Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo
- Bulgaria – Sofia
- Canada – Calgary, Edmonton, Halifax, Montreal, Ottawa, Quebec, Regina, Toronto, Vancouver, Victoria, Winnipeg
- Chile – Santiago
- Cyprus – Nicosia
- Czech Republic – Prague
- Finland – Helsinki
- France – Paris
- Germany – Frankfurt, Munich
- Greece – Athens
- Hungary – Budapest
- India – Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Bhopal, Chennai, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai, New Delhi, Pune
- Ireland – Dublin
- Israel – Tel Aviv
- Italy – Milan
- Jamaica – Kingston
- Jordan – Amman
- Kazakhstan – Almaty
- Kuwait – Kuwait City
- Latvia – Riga
- Lithuania – Vilnius
- Malaysia – Kuala Lumpur
- Mexico – Mexico City
- Mongolia – Ulaanbaatar
- Morocco – Casablanca
- Myanmar – Yangon
- Norway – Oslo
- Peru – Lima
- Philippines – Manila
- Poland – Warsaw
- Portugal – Lisbon
- Qatar – Doha
- Russia – Moscow
- Saudi Arabia – Jeddah, Riyadh
- Serbia – Belgrade
- Singapore – Singapore
- South Africa – Cape Town, Johannesburg
- Spain – Barcelona, Madrid
- Switzerland – Geneva, Zurich
- Turkey – Istanbul
- United Kingdom – Birmingham, Edinburgh, London
- United States – Boston, Charlotte, Chicago, Columbus, Denver, Des Moines, Detroit, Honolulu, Indianapolis, Long Island, Los Angeles, Madison, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, New York City, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Portland, Rochester, Sacramento, Salt Lake City, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose, Seattle, Secaucus/Northern New Jersey, Washington, DC
Unprecedented CFA Exam Postponement
On 19 March 2020, CFA Institute announced the postponement of June 2020 exams (all levels) owing to the novel coronavirus outbreak. Now, due to the global pandemic situation, CFA Institute speeds up the transition of CFA exams to computer-based testing. As recently decided – from 2021 – not only the level 1 exam but also level 2 and level 3 CFA exams will be held on computers.
The nearest possible exam date for postponed June 2020 candidates of all levels is 5-6 December 2020 and it’s the last paper-based exam! So far, CFA Institute applied it's 'no refund' policy. June 2020 candidates were only given the opportunity to re-schedule. It has just changed! Currently, if you're a postponed June 2020 candidate scheduled for your Dec 2020 exam and if your Dec 2020 exam will also get cancelled (which is a possibility considering the pandemic) – you will be able to get a refund of your registration costs! Of course, you'll still have the option to defer your exam to a later date once again.
If you don't want to take your postponed exam this December, you may choose any of the available 2021 exams. Once again notice that all of the 2021 exams (all levels) will be delived on computers.
2020 CFA Exams Curriculum Also in 2021
That’s big news!
Because the 2020 CFA exams were postponed, there will be no new CFA Program curriculum in 2021. It means that the 2020 curriculum will apply to all CFA exams taking place at all 2021 exam dates.
Generally, topic weights are also said to remain similar to what they were. However, as of the Dec 2020 exam, level 1 CFA exam topic weights are given in ranges, which is a totally new thing. You can see here how level 1 topic weights changed over the last years.
Taking Shortcut:
Handy e-Books from Analyst Guide!
As always, our Analyst Guide has been updated before the upcoming exam but this time – thanks to CFA Institute's decision about the curriculum – another update won’t be needed until 2022!
Analyst Guide is a study platform powered by Soleadea and offering shortcut ways of handling CFA exam study content to both level 1 and level 2 candidates. You will find there some printable and handy e-books and flashcards dedicated to concrete areas of your CFA exam curriculum, e.g. formulas, definitions or accounting standards.
Great for both study and revision!
To level 1 candidates, we particularly recommend the Must-Understand CFA Exam Relations e-Book containing some relevant level 1 relations delivered in an interesting form. Instead of a boring list of almost 200 relations – you'll find sentences to fill in and questions to answer, e.g.:
- Modified duration is always _______ than Macaulay duration.
- Which of the two is lower: the money-weighted rate of return or the time-weighted rate of return? Why?
This way it is more engaging and encourages active learning, which helps improve your knowledge retention! (answers and explanations are always on the next page)
Also flashcards can aid memorization and knowledge retention. Use our flashcards with the most important CFA exam formulas and definitions if you want to learn these challenging bits of knowledge in no time and on the go:
