To register for your level 1 CFA exam, you must have:

• a bachelor’s (or equivalent) degree or be a final-year student OR
• 48 months of professional work experience (full-time, investment-related or not) OR
• a combination of professional work experience and education totaling 48 months (education and work cannot overlap).

To become a CFA charterholder, you must have:

• all 3 levels of the exam completed AND
• at least 48 months of relevant investment-related work experience (full-time jobs only).

Summing up, as far as eligibility for the CFA exam goes, you need to have an undergraduate degree or 4 years (48 months) of work experience. The combo of education and experience is also possible. So, basically the following scenarios make you eligible for registering for your level 1 CFA exam:

• you’re in the last year of your undergraduate studies (and about to become a bachelor (or equivalent) before you register for your level 2 exam),
• you have your bachelor’s (or equivalent) degree (doesn’t matter whether you go to a graduate school now, later, or never),
• you have no degree but you worked professionally full-time for 4 years (48 months) in whatever field,
• you are in an undergraduate school and have already gained some work experience in a full-time job and the total number of years of your education + work experience is 4 (48 months, not overlapping).

If you meet the entrance requirements for candidates and you register for your level 1 exam, you’re on the right track to becoming a CFA charterholder. Now, you need to take and pass all the 3 levels of CFA exam:

• level 1 CFA exam,
• level 2 CFA exam, and
• level 3 CFA exam.

This order is not random. You start with level 1 and continue with level 2 only if you pass level 1. The level 3 exam cannot be taken unless you pass the other two exams. That is why you can't register for your next exam before you know whether you passed or failed the one you’ve just taken. Which doesn’t mean you cannot study for your next exam before you register.

Currently, if you're taking your level 1 exam in December 2020, the quickest CFA exam path ever is open to you. You can pass your CFA exams and become a CFA charterholder in less than a year (which is huge because up to now the quickest possible way to handle the exams was 18 months). This unprecedented opportunity results from the CFA Institute's decision to move CFA exams, all levels, to computer-based testing. If you attempt this path, know this – it’s a very strict and challenging scenario. There will be no time for procrastination – you’ll need to work like crazy!

To become a CFA charterholder in a year, you need to pass all the levels of your CFA exam at the first attempt (no retakes allowed).

Note that to make it work for you within a year, you need to meet the entrance requirements before you actually decide to register for your level 1 exam and start your preparation. Also, you’ll already need to have the required 48 months of investment-related work experience before you complete your level 3 exam if you want to become a CFA charterholder right after you pass the last level of your CFA exam. You can find all the CFA charterholder requirements detailed below .

Your work experience qualifies for CFA Program purposes if:

• it is related to the investment decision-making process,
• accrued before, during, or after participation in the CFA Program (full-time jobs only),
• adequately described in your membership application.

You can apply to become a regular member of CFA Institute already when you pass your level 1 CFA exam. It is recommended that you also join your local society when you become a CFA Institute regular member. Society membership is open to CFA charterholders, but also to candidates and other individuals as long as they meet eligibility requirements.