The AFC Experience Requirement
The experience requirement for AFC certification is an important component in preparing you as an AFC. Experience gives context to personal finance concepts, helps build confidence, and fosters deeper learning. There are a variety of ways to satisfy this requirement including:
- Financial counseling, coaching, and education
- Personal financial planning and tax preparation
- Developing curriculum, presentations, or other educational materials
- Managing financial counselors/programs
- Training, webinars, and coursework
All AFC candidates must obtain 1,000 experience hours and submit a verification form to complete their experience requirement* before their program deadline. There is a ten-year window for calculating experience hours: candidates may include hours from seven years preceding their AFC enrollment and have up to three years from enrollment to complete their certification*.
EXPERIENCE MAY BE OBTAINED BEFORE OR AFTER YOU TAKE THE AFC EXAM.
*FINRA Foundation Fellows’ experience assignment may differ.
Experience Guide
All AFC candidates must meet an experience requirement before their program deadline. We have outlined a number of ways to earn experience hours in the Experience Guide. Candidates may include experience from 7 years preceding their enrollment date and have up to 3 years to complete the program.
Experience Portal
The Experience Portal is a place for AFCPE Members to find volunteer opportunities and internships that may qualify for experience hours. Members can access the Experience Portal through their myAFCPE Dashboard.
Earn 1.5 hours for every hour
Experience under the supervision of an AFC can be extremely valuable and can be reported at 1.5 hours for every 1 hour of experience. This ratio is permitted in the following categories:
- One-on-one Counseling
- Teach Financial Education Classes/Workshops
- Develop Financial Education Classes/Curriculum/Educational Content
my.AFCPE.org
Login to your myAFCPE Dashboard at any point after enrollment to submit your experience hours; you do not need to complete the exam before logging experience hours.
Experience Verification Form
All candidates must submit an Experience Verification Form to meet the requirements of certification. Candidates will upload this form after their 1000 experience hours have been approved and after they have passed the exam.
Random audits are performed on submitted experience hour forms. If selected for audit, you will be notified via email and your reported verifier will be sent a form for completion.
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Still have questions about experience hours, what counts, how to report or where to find opportunities? Reach out!
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