You are reading the 2026 curriculum (exams up to November 2026). Sitting in February 2027 or later? Go to the 2027 Ethical and Professional Standards guide.
Standard VII(B): Reference to CFA Institute, the CFA Designation, and the CFA Program
Do not misrepresent or exaggerate what CFA Institute membership, the CFA designation or candidacy means. Use "CFA" as an adjective ("CFA charterholder"), never with a level or an expected date, state facts about your progress accurately, and never imply superior performance.
Before this: Standard VII(A): Conduct as Participants in CFA Institute Programs
On the exam
- Demonstrate the application of the Code of Ethics and Standards of Professional Conduct to situations involving issues of professional integrity
- Recommend practices and procedures designed to prevent violations of the Code of Ethics and Standards of Professional Conduct
- Identify conduct that conforms to the Code and Standards and conduct that violates the Code and Standards
Demonstrate VII(B), recommend procedures and identify compliant conduct. Expect "which reference is proper?" items, often about business cards, bios and email signatures. Partial designations and performance promises are the usual violations.
How deeply to learn each part
- Know the idea
- Understand it in general. It frames other topics, but you will not calculate with it.
- Use it
- Understand it well enough to solve a question with it. Recognize when it applies.
- Memorize
- Learn it by heart. The exam will not give it to you.
You know this one. The full lesson is folded away. The takeaways, formulas and checkpoint below are your quick refresher, and the checkpoint is a fair test of whether you still do.
You tested strong here. The full lesson is folded away. The takeaways, formulas and checkpoint below are your quick refresher, and the checkpoint is a fair test of whether you still know it.
What does Standard VII(B) require?
When you refer to CFA Institute, its membership, the CFA designation or candidacy in the CFA Program, you must not misrepresent or exaggerate what they mean or imply. The target is promotional claims that promise results because of the charter.
Memorize
- Factual statements about the benefits of earning the designation are fine, and so are statements about the commitment to ethics or the thoroughness and rigor of the program.
- Statements that overstate your competence are not allowed, and neither are superior performance claims , whether made for charterholders in general or for you.
- You may give opinions about the merits of the program if they are clearly your opinion. Anything stated as fact must be supported by facts.
- The Standard covers any medium: letterhead, business cards, biographies, directory listings, advertising, brochures, resumes and oral statements.
- CFA Institute member Memorize active only
- Dues paid yearly to stay active
- Professional Conduct Statement filed yearly renews the commitment to the Code
-
- CFA charterholder Memorize may use the designation
- Completed the program and work experience right to use earned
- Membership requirements kept lapse forfeits the right until reactivated
-
- Candidate in the CFA Program Memorize registered and enrolled, or awaiting results
- No partial designation never "CFA Level II"
- No expected date never "CFA, expected 2027"
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Who may use what?
Members. Your active membership continues only while you pay annual dues and file the Professional Conduct Statement. If either lapses, you are no longer an active member and must not present yourself as one until reactivation. You may say you were a member in the past.
Charterholders. A CFA charterholder has earned the right to use the designation by completing the program and the required work experience. The right continues only while the membership requirements are met. A lapse forfeits it until reactivation, though you can say you were a charterholder. Do not add the designation to a pseudonym or anonymous online profile.
Candidates. A CFA Program candidate is someone whose registration has been accepted and who is enrolled to sit a specified exam, or who has sat an exam and is awaiting results. A registered person who is not enrolled for any exam is not an active candidate until they enroll again. References must say you are a candidate in the CFA Program, and must not imply a partial designation or cite an expected completion date. The charter is awarded only once all requirements are met and the Board approves it.
Which references are proper?
Proper and improper references are tested by comparing pairs.
| Proper | Improper |
|---|---|
| “Ana Ruiz, CFA charterholder” | “Ana Ruiz is a CFA” |
| “Level III candidate in the CFA Program” (while enrolled) | “Ana Ruiz, CFA Level II” |
| “Passed Level I of the CFA Program in 2025” | “CFA, expected 2027” or “charter pending” |
| “Passed all three levels in three consecutive years” | “Three levels in three years proves I am a cut above” |
| “CFA charterholders commit to a strict code of ethics” | “As a charterholder, I will beat the market for you” |
| “The curriculum broadened my knowledge of derivatives and risk” | “Charterholders outperform other managers” |
Exam tip Three checks for any line: is “CFA” used as a noun (or by someone who is not an active charterholder), does it name a level or a date, and does it promise anything? A yes to any of them makes it improper.
What should firms and members do?
Improper references often come from colleagues in marketing, compliance and public relations who do not know the rules. Members should give those departments written information on the Standard and its guidance. Firms should use templates approved by a central authority such as compliance, so bios, cards, signatures and websites are consistent. Members should keep membership active.
Go deeper Why consistent, honest use matters
The designation signals a verified level of knowledge and ethics only if people can trust what the letters mean. Every exaggerated card or bio dilutes that for all charterholders. This is why the Standard is strict about partial designations: passing a level is an achievement, but not a credential.
Go deeper Using the name and logo
References to CFA Institute should follow its terms for the use of its name and marks. The Standard cares about accurate meaning, so describing the program or your status in a way that suggests more than the facts is the same breach as an inflated title.
Memorize this
MemorizeStandard VII(B): proper vs improper
| Proper | Improper |
|---|---|
| "Ana Ruiz, CFA charterholder" | "Ana Ruiz is a CFA" (noun) |
| "Passed Level I of the CFA Program in 2025" | "CFA, Level II" (partial designation) |
| "Level III candidate in the CFA Program" (enrolled for the next exam) | "CFA, expected 2027" or "charter pending" |
| "Passed all three levels in three consecutive years" (fact) | "Three levels in three years proves I am a cut above" |
| "The program is rigorous and demanding" | "Charterholders outperform other managers" or "I will beat the market" |
Memory hook Adjective only, no levels, no promises. Facts yes, boasts no.
Know it cold Keep dues paid and the Professional Conduct Statement filed yearly. If either lapses you are not an active member or charterholder until reactivated (you may say you were one).
MemorizeWho is a candidate
| You are a candidate if | You are not if |
|---|---|
| Registration accepted and enrolled to sit a specified exam | Registered but not enrolled for any exam |
| You have sat an exam and results are not yet received | Enrollment lapses, until you enroll again |
Memory hook No exam booked, no candidacy.
Know it cold Candidates never state or imply a partial designation or an expected completion date.
- CFA Institute member Memorize active only
- Dues paid yearly to stay active
- Professional Conduct Statement filed yearly renews the commitment to the Code
-
- CFA charterholder Memorize may use the designation
- Completed the program and work experience right to use earned
- Membership requirements kept lapse forfeits the right until reactivated
-
- Candidate in the CFA Program Memorize registered and enrolled, or awaiting results
- No partial designation never "CFA Level II"
- No expected date never "CFA, expected 2027"
-
How it is asked
-
Level on the business card
A candidate who passed Level II and is registered for Level III prints "CFA Level II". Violation?
Yes, VII(B): no partial designation, even if true. Trap: "the statement is true".
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Which statement is consistent?
Pick: charterholders achieve higher returns / passed all three levels in three consecutive years / "I am a CFA".
The consecutive years statement: a fact. Trap: the performance claim.
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Lapsed membership
A charterholder has not paid dues or filed the Professional Conduct Statement for two years. May she use CFA?
No, not until membership is reactivated. Trap: "she passed the exams".
Exam traps
- Writing "CFA Level I" or "CFA, Level II" as a credential. There are no partial designations.
- Claiming candidacy when you are not enrolled for a specified exam (or awaiting results).
- Calling it improper to say you passed all three levels in consecutive years. It is fine if true; implying superior ability from it is not.
- Using "CFA" as a noun ("I am a CFA") and thinking the statement of a true fact makes it acceptable.
- Promising superior performance, for example "as a charterholder I will beat the market".
Checkpoint
3 exam-style questions. About 90 seconds each.
1A candidate who passed Level II and is registered for Level III prints "Lee Park, CFA Level II" on her business card. Did she violate the Standards?
2Which statement is most consistent with Standard VII(B)?
3A charterholder has not paid membership dues or filed the Professional Conduct Statement for two years. Under Standard VII(B), she:
Key takeaways
- "CFA" is an adjective, and only active charterholders may use it.
- No partial designations and no expected dates; candidacy only while enrolled for an exam or awaiting results.
- State facts and the rigor of the program; never promise or imply superior performance.
- Firms should use templates approved by compliance for bios, cards and signatures.
Questions about this lesson?
Where this comes back
- How to answer Ethics vignettes: a five-step method Ethics Application
Questions candidates ask
How should I write CFA after my name?
Only active charterholders may use it. Use CFA as an adjective, as in "CFA charterholder" or "holds the CFA designation". Do not alter it, and do not use it on pseudonyms or anonymous online profiles.
Can I put "CFA Level I" on my resume?
Not in that form, because it implies a partial designation. Write a fact instead, such as "Passed Level I of the CFA Program in 2025", or "candidate in the CFA Program" while you are enrolled to sit an exam.
When can I call myself a CFA candidate?
When your registration has been accepted and you are enrolled to sit a specified exam, or you have sat one and are waiting for results. If you are registered but not enrolled for an exam, you are not an active candidate.
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