United States
Hong KongThe calculator: which ones are permitted and how to prepare
CFP Board permits specified financial calculator models. Anything with alphanumeric storage, printing or communication capability is prohibited, and the calculator is checked at the center. Practice on the one you will bring.
You need one, and being fluent on it is worth more preparation time than it usually gets.
What is permitted
CFP Board publishes a list of approved financial calculator models, and it changes from time to time. Check the current list on cfp.net rather than relying on any secondary source, including this one. Check the current list.
Broadly: financial calculators without alphanumeric text storage, without printing capability, and without any communication function.
What is prohibited
- Anything that stores or displays alphanumeric text.
- Printing calculators.
- Anything with wireless or communication capability.
- Phones, tablets, and smart watches.
- Calculator manuals or reference cards.
The calculator is inspected at check-in, and memory is generally required to be cleared.
A calculator failing mid-session is a bad way to lose an exam you have prepared 250 hours for. Two calculators and fresh batteries cost very little against a USD 925 registration.
Why fluency matters
Time value of money work appears throughout the paper - retirement, education, investment, insurance and estate questions all use it. Seconds add up.
A candidate who has to think about the keystrokes loses seconds on every one of those questions, and the seconds come out of the case studies where they were needed.
What to practice
- The five time value of money variables, solving for each.
- Switching between beginning and end of period, and resetting afterwards.
- Setting payments per year, and remembering to change it back.
- Clearing the registers between problems.
- Uneven cash flows through the cash flow register, then net present value and internal rate of return.
- Amortization, where your model supports it.
Item three causes more wrong answers than any other single thing. A calculator left set to twelve payments a year quietly ruins every subsequent annual problem.
Practice on the exam calculator
Not on a spreadsheet, and not on a phone app. Keystrokes are motor memory and they need to be automatic under time pressure with a proctor watching. Use the real one.
Twenty problems across several sessions is usually enough, and it is the cheapest reliable improvement available.
CFP® is a registered mark of Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc. We are not affiliated with, or endorsed by, CFP Board. Confirm exam details against cfp.net before your sitting.
Common questions
Can you use a calculator on the CFP exam?
Yes, and you need one. CFP Board publishes a list of approved financial calculator models, which changes from time to time - check cfp.net rather than a secondary source.
What calculators are prohibited?
Anything storing or displaying alphanumeric text, printing calculators, anything with communication capability, phones, tablets, smart watches, and calculator manuals.
Should you bring a spare?
Yes, with fresh batteries. A failure mid-session is a poor way to lose an exam you prepared 250 hours for, against a USD 925 registration fee.
What causes the most calculator errors?
Leaving payments per year set to twelve from a previous problem, and leaving the calculator in beginning-of-period mode. Both quietly ruin every subsequent answer.
How much practice does it need?
About twenty problems across several sessions, on the calculator you will actually bring. Keystrokes are motor memory and need to be automatic under pressure.