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Previous Standards of Professional Conduct
Standards of Professional Conduct (effective 2008)
CFP Board’s Standards of Professional Conduct were revised in May 2007 and adopted with an effective date of July 1, 2008 and an enforcement date of January 1, 2009. These Standards remained in effect through September 30, 2019.
Effective Date: July 1, 2008
Enforcement Date: January 1, 2009
For conduct that occurs between October 1, 2019 and June 29, 2020, CFP Board will continue to enforce violations of the existing Standards of Professional Conduct. Starting June 30, 2020 and onward, CFP® professionals will then be subject to potential disciplinary action for any violations of the Code of Ethics and Standards of Conduct.
Download the Standards of Professional Conduct
Enforcement
CFP Board's rigorous enforcement of its Code of Ethics and Standards of Conduct and Standards of Professional Conduct — including releasing disciplinary information to the public — distinguishes the CFP® certification from the many other credentials in the financial services industry. Everyone who seeks CFP® certification is subject to a background check, and those whose past conduct falls short of CFP Board's ethical and practice standards can be barred from becoming certified. After attaining certification, a CFP® professional who violates CFP Board's ethical and practice standards becomes subject to disciplinary action up to the permanent revocation of certification. CFP Board is committed to maintaining a disciplinary process that is fair to the certificants whose conduct comes under scrutiny and one that is credible to the public.
Standards of Professional Conduct (effective 2002)
CFP Board’s Standards of Professional Conduct were updated and became effective January 1, 2002. The Standards were then revised in February 2003. These Standards remained in effect through June 30, 2008.
Effective Date: January 1, 2002
Revision Date: February 2003
Access More Guidance Materials
This compliance resource is part of a full library of resources that CFP® professionals can use to comply with the Code and Standards. More guidance materials can be found in our Compliance Resources Library.