As an AFCPE certified professional, it is important to stay up-to-date on the latest trends and changes in personal finance and counseling.
Professional development is a career-long process. Over time, many changes occur in a profession or field of study that require practitioners to update their knowledge and skills. The purpose of continuing education is threefold:
- to enhance the professional’s capacity to serve their clients
- to protect the public interest
- to uphold the rigor of the certification
To maintain your certification, you must:
- Pay the annual fee, due June 30
- Complete your continuing education requirement every two years, due June 30 on even years
Annual Certification Fees
The certification fee is due annually by June 30 to maintain your certification. This fee is separate from AFCPE Membership. You may pay your fee in your myAFCPE account.
You have the option of a two-year pre-payment that locks in the current rate (maximum two-year payment only).
*Annual Certification Fees and any Continue Education Program paid through AFCPE® are non-refundable.
Required Each Year: $75 Certification Fee
Late Fees: Late fees will be incurred for each month that an annual fee is not paid. After six months of non-payment, your certification will be revoked.
Continuing Education Requirements
The certification reporting period is two years, ending on June 30 of every even year. Certification may be obtained at different times during a reporting period. See the AFCPE® Continuing Education Guide for full details.
Required Every 2 Years: 30 CEUs*
*2 of the 30 CEUs must cover Ethics and/or Standards of Practice
Requirements Based On Your Inaugural Reporting Period
You’ve earned your designation. Now what?
Year 1 of the Reporting Period
Year 2 of the Reporting Period
Subsequent Reporting Periods
Full CEUs required
Note: If you fail to maintain your credential by reporting the required CEUs during the two-year reporting period, your status will be listed as “lapsed” for a maximum period of six months with an approved extension application. You must pay extension fees and obtain the required number of CEUs in order to reinstate your credential within the extension period. If you do not comply with the reinstatement requirements within the maximum period of six months, the Certification Council will revoke the credential.
Accepted CEU Activity Types and Requirements
Programs must pertain to personal finance and/or financial counseling subject matter, must enhance your ability and expertise, and must meet the requirements of your certification. For full details, see the AFCPE® Continuing Education Guide.
Examples of Accepted Subject Matter:
- Behavioral Training
- Budgeting
- Counseling Theory
- Credit
- Debt Management
- Education Theory and Skill Development
- Estate Planning / Retirement
- Financial Coaching
- Insurance
- Housing
- Personal Tax
- Student Loans
- Ethics*
- Standards of Practice*
*Note: The only required category is Ethics and/or Standards of Practice. Certified professionals are required to earn 2 Ethics and/or Standards of Practice related CEUs per reporting period.
CEU Type, Activity, and CEU Credits Allowed
Ethics/
Standards of Practice
Activity
Ethics or Standards of Practice training
CEU Credits Allowed
REQUIRED: 2 CEUs per reporting period
AFC professionals must earn 2 CEUs each reporting period in the categories of Ethics or Standards of Practice. CEUs submitted for this requirement do not need to be sponsored by AFCPE. Please see the AFCPE Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice for acceptable topics. Professionals have the option of submitting a CEU event for pre-approval if they are unsure if it meets the requirements.
AFCPE provides live events throughout the year to satisfy this requirement. Please see our Events Calendar for upcoming opportunities. Additionally, some opportunities are available as on-demand recordings. These events are available at no additional cost to AFCPE Members or can be purchased individually. Please visit the Events Section of your myAFCPE account to search for opportunities.
Some examples of training topics to consider when planning for your ethics/standards of practice requirement are:
• Ethics in financial counseling
• Diversity and inclusion
• Understanding your limits as an AFC
• Confidentiality
• Secure information gathering and record keeping
• Cybersecurity
AFCPE® Annual Symposium and Pre-Conference
Activity
Live Stream
or recording
CEU Credits Allowed
Based on available programming
Presenter
3 CEUs per year
Attendee
15 CEUs per year
Non-AFCPE® conferences or local professional financial training
Activity
Attendee
CEU Credits Allowed
Maximum of 6 CEUs per day
Maximum of 15 CEUs per conference
Webinars
Activity
Participate in web-based financial trainings with instructor
CEU Credits Allowed
1 CEU per hour of instruction
Maximum of 3 CEUs per webinar
Research and Publishing
Activity
Publish article for AFCPE® blog or on reputable national, regional, or military publication.
Submission Guidelines
Editor Contact: Rachael DeLeon
CEU Credits Allowed
Maximum of 2 CEUs
Publish or review a research journal article, research paper, or book on a personal finance topic
Submission Guidelines
Editor Contact: Jing Jian Xiao
Maximum of 10 CEUs
Publish or review a newsletter article or book review in The Standard quarterly newsletter.
Submission Guidelines.
Maximum of 2 CEUs
AFCPE® Member Opportunities
Activity
AFCPE® Journal Reviewer
CEU Credits Allowed
3 CEUs per year
Journal of Financial Counseling and Planning (JFCP) Quiz
2 CEUs per quiz
Education
Activity
College-level personal finance, financial counseling or education course (completed)
In-person training program with established coursework and measurable evaluation of comprehension
Self-guided coursework with measurable evaluation of comprehension
CEU Credits Allowed
Maximum of 5 CEUs per credit hour; 18 CEUs per class
1 CEU per hour; maximum 6 CEUs per day; 18 CEUs per course*
1 CEU per coursework hour; 18 CEUs per course*
*Must show proof of completion and provide an agenda or other document substantiating the number of hours
requested.
Creating Educational Material
Activity
Creating new material or content
CEU Credits Allowed
3 CEUs per 1 hour of content; maximum of 10 CEUs per curriculum
Updating existing material or content
1 CEU per 1 hour of content; maximum of 5 CEUs per curriculum
Professional Designations & Certifications
Activity
AFCPE® certifications
CEU Credits Allowed
AFC® adding FFC®:
8 CEUs
Approval Process and Forms
All forms are available at myAFCPE. CEU approval forms are not required until after your certification is completed and official. Please use separate approval forms for each request. For full details on submitting CEUs, please see the AFCPE® Continuing Education Guide.
Individual Approval Process
- Request CEUs using the Individual CEU form at myAFCPE.
- AFCPE® will review and accept or deny your request via email within five business days. You are responsible for retaining documentation of the request and the response for your records.
- If you receive pre-approval, you must then submit verification of your participation.
- All CEU approval requests must be submitted within six months of program completion.
Note: If you are attending a conference that is not pre-approved, please submit a conference agenda and a list of all the sessions you will attend.
Group Approval Process
We can help. Submit questions to ceu@afcpe.org.
Quarterly reports are sent via email to each certified professional for the current reporting period. The report includes a summary of your CEU records.
The AFCPE® office may randomly select CEU reports for audit each reporting period.
An audited certificant will be asked to submit proof of attendance and, if pre-approval was requested and granted, the CEU approval form or notice provided by the AFCPE® office.
Certificants are required to keep proper records and documentation.
If annual fees and CEU requirements are not met, and an extension request has not been submitted and approved, the credential will be revoked and re-certification will be required. Review the Certification Reinstatement Policy, to learn more about your options for recertification.
Trademark User Guidelines
AFCPE®’s certification marks represent the highest standards of excellence in the field of financial counseling and are valuable assets of AFCPE®. Professionals authorized by AFCPE® to use its certification marks benefit from both our long history of high ethical and educational standards and the public recognition of AFCPE®’s certification marks as symbols of professional accomplishment. Please help uphold the value of the trademarks by adhering to strict use and reproduction guidelines.
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