Overview of the CFA Level I Exam
The CFA Level I exam is a computer-based test (CBT) administered at Prometric test centres. It consists of 180 multiple-choice questions divided across two sessions of 90 questions each, with a break between sessions.
Each question has three answer choices. There is no negative marking for incorrect answers. You are not penalised for guessing, so leaving a question blank is never the right choice.
Session 1: 90 questions, 2 hours 15 minutes Break: Typically 30 minutes (you leave the testing room) Session 2: 90 questions, 2 hours 15 minutes Total seated time: Approximately 5.5 hours including the break
The two sessions are different in content coverage but similar in format. The exam is not adaptive in the sense that difficulty does not change based on your performance; each question is pre-determined.
Question Format
Every question follows a consistent structure. A brief scenario or factual statement is presented, followed by a question and three labelled answer choices (A, B, C). Questions range from straightforward recall or concept identification to multi-step calculations and analytical scenarios requiring you to apply a principle to a described situation.
Unlike Level II (which uses vignettes of 300–500 words with six questions per scenario), Level I questions are standalone. Each question is independent of the others, and no information from one question is needed to answer another.
This format has a practical implication: a difficult question wastes only the time you spend on it, not the time for the entire item set. If you are unsure, make your best selection and move on. Unlike Level II, there is no cost to running out of time on one question and abandoning the rest of a vignette.
Time Management
90 questions in 2 hours 15 minutes works out to exactly 1.5 minutes per question (135 minutes / 90 questions). In practice, many questions take 30–60 seconds and some calculations take 2–3 minutes. A workable strategy is to keep pace at roughly 45 minutes per 30 questions, which gives you time to review flagged questions without cutting it close.
Most test-taking software allows you to flag questions for review. Use the flag for any question where you are genuinely uncertain and move on. After completing the 90 questions, use remaining time to return to flagged questions. Do not spend more than 3 minutes on any single question on your first pass.
Candidates who underperform on timing typically do so by spending too long on difficult quantitative questions early in the session. If a Fixed Income calculation or a Quantitative Methods question is taking more than 2 minutes, make your best guess, flag it, and continue.
Topic Areas and Their Weights
The ten topic areas and their approximate weight ranges for the Level I exam are:
| Topic Area | Weight Range |
|---|---|
| Ethics and Professional Standards | 15–20% |
| Quantitative Methods | 6–9% |
| Economics | 6–9% |
| Financial Statement Analysis | 11–14% |
| Corporate Issuers | 6–9% |
| Equity Investments | 11–14% |
| Fixed Income | 11–14% |
| Derivatives | 5–8% |
| Alternative Investments | 7–10% |
| Portfolio Management | 8–12% |
The weight ranges mean you should expect roughly 27–36 Ethics questions across the two sessions, roughly 20–25 FSA questions, and similar counts for Fixed Income and Equity. The exact count varies by exam version.
Topic distribution is not evenly split between sessions one and two. CFA Institute does not publish the session-by-session breakdown, but candidates consistently report that FSA questions tend to be concentrated in the first session.
The Three-Option Format
The shift from four answer choices (common in other professional exams) to three is a deliberate design decision by CFA Institute. Three options allow for questions where a single strong distractor (a plausible wrong answer) is presented alongside the correct answer, without needing a second weaker distractor to fill out four choices.
In practice, this means two of the three options are typically plausible and one is clearly incorrect. If you can eliminate the clearly incorrect option, you are choosing between two plausible options at 50/50. Well-prepared candidates can eliminate two of three options on the majority of questions and face meaningful uncertainty only on a minority of them.
For quantitative questions, two of the three options are often numerically different calculations of the same concept (using different formulas or making different assumptions), while the third is a calculation error. If you arrive at an answer that matches one of the options, it is almost always correct. If your calculation does not match any option, you have made an error and should re-examine your work.
Calculator Usage
The CFA Institute permits two calculator models: the Texas Instruments BA II Plus (and BA II Plus Professional) and the Hewlett-Packard 12C. Using any other calculator is grounds for dismissal from the exam.
Most candidates use the TI BA II Plus. The relevant functions for Level I are time value of money (N, I/Y, PV, PMT, FV), net present value (NPV), internal rate of return (IRR), and basic statistics (mean, variance). The BA II Plus Professional has some convenience features (more memory storage, built-in amortisation schedule) but is not required; the standard model is sufficient.
Calculator fluency is a meaningful factor in performance. Quantitative Methods, Fixed Income, and Equity Investments all include calculation-heavy questions where a candidate who can execute the calculation efficiently in 45 seconds has a real time advantage over one who takes 90 seconds for the same calculation. Practise common calculations until they are automatic.
What to Expect on Exam Day
You check in at the Prometric centre with a valid government-issued photo ID. You are not permitted to bring any study materials, notes, scratch paper from outside, or electronic devices other than your permitted calculator. Scratch paper and a pencil are provided at the centre.
Your personal items (phone, bag, wallet beyond what you need for ID) go into a locker. You may bring approved snacks and a drink for the break period, which you access only during the break.
The exam is computer-based, and the interface is straightforward: you click or tap your answer choice, can flag questions for review, and see your progress through the 90 questions. The interface is similar to what you see in the official CFA Institute practice platform, which is worth using before exam day to confirm you are comfortable with it.
Results are typically released approximately eight weeks after the exam window closes. CFA Institute sends an email when results are available through the candidate portal.
Preparing for the Format
The most important format-specific preparation habit is practising under timed conditions. Many candidates complete practice questions in an open-ended way (finishing each question set without time pressure) and then discover in the exam that the pace required is faster than they are used to.
Run at least two full-length timed sessions before your exam. 90 questions in 135 minutes with a fixed start time and no pausing. These sessions tell you whether your current accuracy holds under time pressure and identify whether you have any topics where you are consistently spending too long.
Ethics practice questions, Fixed Income practice questions, and FSA practice questions are available to practise across the high-weight topic areas. Using those questions in timed sets of 15–30 questions is an efficient way to develop both content familiarity and the pace required for exam day.
Exam Windows and Registration
Level I runs in four windows per year:
- February: Typically held in the last week of February
- May: Typically held mid-May
- August: Typically held mid-August
- November: Typically held mid-November
Each window has an early, standard, and late registration fee tier, with early registration typically closing around three months before the exam date. Late registration remains open until approximately six weeks before the exam and carries the highest fee.
You register and pay through the CFA Institute website. Registration includes access to the official curriculum (available digitally), study tools through the CFA Institute learning ecosystem, and one mock exam. Third-party practice question providers offer additional question banks and mock exams beyond the official materials.
After registering, you schedule your specific testing appointment at a Prometric centre near you. Centres fill up as the exam date approaches, so scheduling your appointment early after registration is advisable, particularly in exam markets (London, New York, Hong Kong, Singapore) where candidate numbers are high.