CFA Level 1 costs USD 1,140 with early registration or USD 1,490 with standard registration in 2026 — and the old one-time enrollment fee of USD 350 is gone. CFA Institute eliminated it starting with the February 2026 window, while raising registration fees for every level. Fees are identical for every candidate worldwide and are charged in US dollars. Here is the full picture: every level, the hidden costs, the scholarships that cut a registration to USD 400, and the retake rules that decide what the program really costs you.
Fees set by CFA Institute, identical worldwide, taxes may be added at checkout. Registering early saves USD 350 per exam.
Each level is paid separately, and every level has two deadlines: an early registration price and a standard price. The gap is USD 350 per exam — the easiest saving in the whole program, available to everyone.
| Exam | Early registration | Standard registration | Exam windows |
|---|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | USD 1,140 | USD 1,490 | Feb · May · Aug · Nov |
| Level 2 | USD 1,140 | USD 1,490 | May · Aug · Nov |
| Level 3 | USD 1,240 | USD 1,590 | Feb · Aug |
| All three levels | USD 3,520 | USD 4,570 | First-attempt passes |
Two changes landed together. First, the one-time USD 350 enrollment fee that every first-time Level 1 candidate used to pay was eliminated from the February 2026 window onward. Second, registration fees increased for every level: Levels 1 and 2 went from USD 990/1,290 to USD 1,140/1,490, and Level 3 from USD 1,090/1,390 to USD 1,240/1,590.
Net effect: if 2026–27 is your first year in the program, you come out roughly even — the enrollment fee you never pay offsets most of the higher registration. If you are mid-program or retaking, every exam now simply costs USD 150–200 more than it did in 2025.
Because CFA fees are identical worldwide, they weigh heaviest on candidates in lower-income markets — and CFA Institute's scholarships exist for exactly that reason. The Access Scholarship reduces your exam registration to USD 400 total for candidates who demonstrate financial need and aren't reimbursed by an employer — a saving of over USD 1,000 on a single standard-fee exam. Students at CFA-affiliated universities have the Student Scholarship (registration reduced to USD 600), and eligible faculty the Professor Scholarship at the same level.
Two rules trip people up: you must apply before registering for the exam, and applications are tied to specific exam windows, so the scholarship deadline arrives well before the exam itself. Details and application windows are on cfainstitute.org under Scholarships.
The playbook is short: register early every time (USD 350 saved per level), apply for the Access Scholarship if you qualify, choose prep priced sanely rather than in four figures, and above all pass on the first attempt — no discount compares to not paying USD 1,490 twice. If you're weighing the investment against the payoff, the global CFA salary guide has the other half of the math.
My Level 1 High-Yield Review teaches the testable core of the current curriculum — short story-first lessons, BA II Plus keystrokes on screen, searchable transcripts. Watch the Quantitative Methods class free and test it against an official mock before paying anything. One-time payment, 7-day refund, works anywhere in the world.