CFA Exam Cancellation

• CFA exam deferral request forms are made available only for candidates with exam appointments.
• CFA deferral request forms may take up to six weeks to be processed.
• CFA exams can be canceled by Prometric, though it is rare. Reasons include weather events, natural disasters, pandemic restrictions, and other specific local situations.
• To cancel your CFA exam and reschedule, you’ll be charged a $250 fee and the change must be made within your current exam window.
• If you need to cancel your exam, you can request to withdraw your exam registration until 5 days before the beginning of your exam window, but enrollment and registration fees will not be refunded, deferred, or transferred to another exam cycle.

In the unlikely event that Prometric cancels your CFA exam, you’ll be alerted via email. To ensure you’re able to receive this notice, label this email address as a safe sender so it doesn’t get lost in your spam folder: donotreply@promtetric.com.

You’ll also be contacted by the CFA Institute within 15 days to provide you with more information and next steps. If your CFA exam is canceled by Prometric, you’ll need to re-register for an upcoming exam date.

How to Re-register if Your CFA Exam Is Canceled by Prometric

In order to reschedule your CFA exam date, use the information provided by the CFA Institute to find the most opportune testing window within 15 days of cancellation. You’ll have until the registration deadline for each of these testing windows to re-register.

All the current deadlines can be found on the CFA Institute website.

How to Get a Refund if Prometric Cancels Your CFA Exam

Refunds are not typically offered, however, if your exam is canceled by Prometric twice due to COVID-19 you’ll be eligible for a refund. All the fees you paid with your original registration will be refunded. The CFA Institute will contact you with additional information and next steps, and it may take up to 120 days from your request to receive your refund.

If your CFA exam is rescheduled by Prometric, they will do their best to schedule you at the same location and time as your previous test. If there are no open appointments at that test center within your testing window, you will be rescheduled within a 50-mile radius of your original location.

What Happens if My Rescheduled Exam Isn’t Feasible?

If your rescheduled CFA exam date doesn’t work for you, you can contact Prometric to reschedule, and they will do their best to meet your needs. If there is no test center within a 50-mile radius of your home, your appointment will be canceled. As a result, you may be eligible to defer to another exam window. Regardless, keep a close eye on this link from the CFA Institute that provides test center updates.

If you need to cancel your CFA exam, it’s important to know what your options are and how to proceed with the cancellation. CFA candidates can request a withdrawal of their exam registration up to five days before the start of their exam window. If you choose to cancel your CFA exam, you will not be eligible for any enrollment or registration fee refunds.

The fees will also not be eligible for deferral to a future exam. If you do not withdraw your registration five days before the start of the exam window, you won’t be able to re-register for the next exam until the results of the current exam are released, which is around 60 days after the exam date.

When to Defer Your CFA Exam

You may have the option to defer your CFA exam instead of canceling. There are a handful of accepted reasons for deferral including a COVID-19 diagnosis, a death in the immediate family, pregnancy, mandatory military service, or a natural disaster. A full list of the CFA Institute’s accepted reasons can be found here. All deferral requests are reviewed on a case-by-case basis.

How to Defer Your CFA Exam

To defer your CFA exam, you’re required to fill out a deferral request form. These forms are only available for CFA candidates that have existing CFA exams scheduled. Beginning in 2022, exam documentation is required for most deferral requests. It may take up to six weeks for your deferral request to be processed, and your exam appointment may still be active during the testing window, meaning communication about the exam may continue while your deferral is being processed.