Answer a few questions about your studies or work to see if you can register for CFA® Level I, your route and the earliest window you can still book, shown after a short form.
Four quick questions. We apply CFA Institute's three entry routes to your own dates, using rules and windows checked in October 2026.
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Updated 10 October 2026 · Rules checked in October 2026 against CFA Institute's policies page
Quick answer: You can register for the CFA® Level I exam if one of three things is true. You hold a bachelor's degree. Or you are still studying, and your exam window is 23 months or less before your graduation month. Or you have 4,000 hours of paid work and/or full-time college, spread over at least three years in a row. Everyone also needs a valid international passport. There is no age limit, minimum mark or required subject.
CFA stands for Chartered Financial Analyst. CFA Institute, the US-based body that runs the exams, sets these rules. An exam window is the block of days in a month when you sit the exam at a test centre. The checker above applies the rules to your dates and names the earliest window you can still book.
CFA Institute lets you into Level I through any one of three routes: a finished bachelor's degree, the student route, or the work route. You need only one. Think of them as three doors into the same exam hall. Whichever door you use, you sit the same exam and can earn the same charter. Every candidate also needs a valid passport.
| Route | The rule | Who usually uses it in India |
|---|---|---|
| Degree | A bachelor's degree (or equivalent) is finished and awarded. Any subject counts. | B.Com, BBA, BA, BSc and B.Tech graduates |
| Student | Your Level I window is 23 months or less before your graduation month. | Students in roughly the last two years of college |
| Work | 4,000 hours of paid work and/or higher education over at least three sequential years, reached by the day you register. | Diploma holders, people who left college, CA students with a paid articleship |
In plain words: one route is enough, and the passport rule applies to everyone.
Take your graduation month and count back 23 months. Any Level I window from that month onwards is open to you. The rule compares the exam window with your graduation month, not the day you register. So you can often book months ahead. For most Indian students, this opens Level I in roughly the last two years of college.
Think of it as a boarding gate. The gate opens 23 months before your graduation, and every window after that is fair game. Level I windows run four times a year, in February, May, August and November.
Worked example (illustrative): you are in the first year of a 3-year B.Com and expect to graduate in May 2029. Count back 23 months and you reach June 2027. The first Level I window after that is August 2027. So August 2027 is your earliest window, even though booking for it opens much earlier.
| Graduation month | Count back 23 months | First Level I window you qualify for |
|---|---|---|
| December 2028 | January 2027 | February 2027 |
| May 2029 | June 2027 | August 2027 |
| May 2030 | June 2028 | August 2028 (dates not published yet) |
Your graduation month, not your year of study, decides your first window.
Not sure of your graduation month? Use the month your degree programme is due to end. If your university's dates shift, run the checker again.
Yes, through the work route. You need 4,000 hours of paid work, college study, or both, spread over at least three sequential years. You must reach the total by the day you register. The work does not have to be in finance. CFA Institute counts each year of higher education as 1,000 hours, and study and work periods cannot overlap.
Paid internships and articleships count. Unpaid ones do not. Picture a 4,000-litre tank that must take at least three years to fill. Pouring faster does not help, because the three-year clock still has to run.
Worked example (illustrative): you finished two years of college, which counts as 2,000 hours. You then start a paid, full-time job at 40 hours a week, about 173 hours a month. You need 2,000 more hours, which takes about 12 months. Those 12 months also complete your three sequential years. The checker does not count the month you start, because it is usually a part month. So if you start in July 2025, your 12 full months run from August 2025 to July 2026, and you qualify from August 2026.
CFA Institute can ask for proof of your education or work. Keep your mark sheets, payslips and an employer letter ready.
Three things sit under every route. You need a valid international travel passport, because CFA Institute asks for it to register and to sit the exam. The exam is in English only. And you must live in a country where CFA Institute can operate. Aadhaar, PAN or a driving licence cannot replace the passport.
You sit the exam on a computer at a Prometric test centre (Prometric is the test-centre company CFA Institute uses), which you pick when you schedule. There has been no enrollment fee since April 2025, so you pay only the registration fee for your window. As of October 2026, the Level I fee is USD 1,140 at the early price and USD 1,490 at the standard price. That is about ₹1,10,141 and ₹1,43,956, illustrative at the FBIL reference rate USD 1 = ₹96.61 on 9 Oct 2026. FBIL (Financial Benchmarks India) publishes India's official reference exchange rates. Your bank adds its own markup, and local taxes are added at payment. For your full cost, use the CFA fee calculator.
It depends on your route and on today's date. Each window has a booking period with an early-fee deadline and a final deadline. Once the final deadline passes, that window is gone and you move to the next one. The table shows the Level I windows a degree holder can still book, taken from CFA Institute's dates page.
| Window and Level I dates | Booking opens | Early fee until | Booking closes |
|---|---|---|---|
| February 2027 22–28 Feb 2027 | Open now | 7 Jul 2026 (passed) | 5 Nov 2026 |
| May 2027 11–17 May 2027 | Open now | 14 Oct 2026 | 10 Feb 2027 |
| August 2027 15–22 Aug 2027 | 3 Nov 2026 | 20 Jan 2027 | 29 Apr 2027 |
| November 2027 13–19 Nov 2027 | Not published yet | – | – |
Book early: the early fee is USD 350 cheaper per level, and a missed deadline pushes you to the next window.
Students qualify only for the windows the 23-month rule allows, so your own list may start later. For the live calendar, see CFA exam dates.
If you start as a student, the rules tighten as you climb. For Level II, you must be within 11 months of graduation. For Level III, you need your degree finished, or 4,000 hours of professional work. The charter itself needs 4,000 hours of relevant work over at least 36 months. That work can come before, during or after the exams.
| Stage | CFA Institute rule | Example: May 2029 graduate (illustrative) |
|---|---|---|
| Level I | Window 23 months or less before graduation | August 2027 onwards |
| Level II | Within 11 months of graduation | Windows from June 2028, so August 2028 is the first |
| Level III | Degree finished, or 4,000 hours of professional work | May 2029 onwards |
| Charter | 4,000 hours of relevant work over at least 36 months | Once the work is done |
You can start early, but your degree has to keep pace as you move up the levels.
The charter is the final professional title. You earn it after passing all three levels, completing the work hours and finishing CFA Institute's membership steps.
In a 3-year degree, usually not. Your Level I window must be 23 months or less before your graduation month. A first-year student graduating in May 2029 qualifies from the August 2027 window, in second year. You can often book while still in first year, because booking opens months ahead.
Yes. CFA Institute asks for a finished bachelor's degree or equivalent, and a 3-year B.Com, BBA, BA or BSc is a bachelor's degree. There is no 4-year rule for CFA, and any subject counts.
Not straight away. After Class 12 you first join a bachelor's programme. You qualify once your Level I window is 23 months or less before your graduation month. With a 3-year degree, that is usually from your second year of college.
Yes. CFA Institute requires a valid international travel passport to register and to sit the exam. Aadhaar, PAN or a driving licence is not accepted instead. Apply early and check that it stays valid past your exam window.
No. CFA Institute sets no age limit, no minimum marks and no required subject. You need one of the three routes, a valid passport, and readiness to take the exam in English.
Yes, if it is paid. CFA Institute accepts paid internships and articleships as work experience. Unpaid ones do not count. Your college years and work must not overlap, and together they must span at least three sequential years.
Guidance only. CFA Institute decides who can register, and its rules can change, so confirm on cfainstitute.org before you pay. CFA Institute does not endorse, promote or warrant the accuracy or quality of the products or services offered by QuintEdge. CFA® and Chartered Financial Analyst® are registered trademarks owned by CFA Institute. FRM® is a trademark owned by the Global Association of Risk Professionals, Inc.
