CFA Level 1 Pass Rate: 2026 Results and What They Mean

The CFA Level I pass rate was 43% in August 2026, the most recent window, when 28,145 candidates took the exam. Across the last four windows it has ranged from 39% to 45%, and CFA Institute puts the long-run 10-year average at roughly 40%. So on average, about six in ten people who take Level I don't pass it on that attempt.

That sounds grim, but the headline number hides the most useful detail CFA Institute publishes: first-time candidates pass at a much higher rate than people who deferred. Here's the full picture.

Recent CFA Level I pass rates

All figures below come from CFA Institute's official results press releases:

10-year average: about 40% (CFA Institute cited 40% in its February and May 2026 releases and 41% in its November 2025 release, as the rolling window shifted.)

A few things stand out. First, the numbers bounce around by several points from window to window, so don't read a trend into any single result. May 2026 was one of the largest Level I cohorts in recent years and came in at 39%. Three months later, August landed at 43%. Second, every recent window has come in at or above the long-run average. If you want one planning number, use "roughly 40–45%."

The stat that actually matters: first-timers vs. deferrers

Look at the last two columns. In every window, first-time candidates passed at around 45–50%, while candidates who had deferred at least once passed at only 25–30%. That's a gap of about 20 percentage points, and it shows up every single time.

CFA Institute doesn't claim deferring causes failure, and it's fair to assume some selection is at work: people who defer are often the ones whose prep was already slipping. But the institute's own takeaway in the August 2026 release was that the results "highlight the benefits of staying on schedule." The practical lesson is the same either way:

• Register for a window you can realistically prepare for, not the earliest one available.
• Once you've committed, protect the date. Deferring for a real emergency is fine. Deferring because you feel "not quite ready" puts you in a group that passes far less often.

If you're a first-time candidate who studies consistently, your realistic odds are closer to a coin flip than the 40% headline suggests, and good preparation pushes them higher.

Why Level I has the lowest pass rate of the three levels

Level I isn't the hardest material in the program. Levels II and III go much deeper. It has the lowest pass rate largely because it's the entry point. Everyone starts here, including people who underestimate the workload, never finish the curriculum, or show up without having taken a timed practice exam.

The exam itself is a test of breadth and stamina. According to CFA Institute, Level I has 180 multiple-choice questions split into two sessions of 135 minutes each, which works out to about 90 seconds per question. Every question is worth the same, and there's no penalty for wrong answers, so you should never leave one blank.

That format punishes a few specific habits:

• Passive reading. Recognizing a concept when you read it isn't the same as applying it in 90 seconds.
• Skipping or cramming Ethics. It's a meaningful share of the exam and the questions are nuanced. Our Level 1 ethics tips cover why it trips people up.
• Weak pacing. Running out of time in a session is an avoidable way to lose points.

For a fuller breakdown of the difficulty, see how hard is CFA Level 1.

Is the CFA exam curved?

Not in the "top 40% pass" sense. CFA Institute sets a Minimum Passing Score (MPS) for each exam using a standard-setting process, and it doesn't publish the exact score. You're measured against that standard, not against the other candidates in your window. The pass rate moves because candidate performance moves, not because a fixed percentage is allowed through.

This matters for how you study. You don't need to beat anyone. You need to reliably score above a bar, and that's something you can measure yourself against with full, timed mocks.

How to put yourself on the right side of 40%

Nobody can guarantee a pass, and anyone who does is selling something. What the data and the format do suggest is where your hours should go.

1. Budget enough time. CFA Institute has long suggested candidates plan for roughly 300 hours of study per level, though actual needs vary with your background. We break down realistic ranges in how many hours to study for CFA Level 1. Build your plan backward from exam day, with a buffer for bad weeks.

2. Study a little every day. The deferral gap is basically a story about lost momentum. Short daily sessions with spaced review hold up better than marathon weekends followed by a week off. That's the whole idea behind Certus's Duolingo-style way to pass the CFA: streaks, XP and spaced-repetition flashcards that make it easy to show up daily.

3. Shift from reading to questions early. Once you've covered a topic, most of your time should go to practice questions, not rereading. Every wrong answer tells you exactly what to fix.

4. Take at least two or three full, timed mocks. A full mock tells you whether your knowledge survives 180 questions and 4.5 hours of testing time. Review every miss and every lucky guess. Our mock exam strategy guide explains how to get the most from each one.

5. Treat your first attempt as the real one. The first-timer pass rate is your best-case baseline. Plan your life around the exam window, not the other way around.

If you've already taken Level I and didn't pass, the numbers above aren't a verdict on you. Here's our guide on what to do after failing CFA Level 1.

What comes after Level I

Passing Level I lets you move on to Level II, which has its own challenges and a pass rate in a similar range. See our breakdown of the CFA Level 2 pass rate to know what you're signing up for.

Where Certus fits

Big-name CFA prep packages typically run from several hundred to well over a thousand dollars. Certus is built to be the affordable, consistent daily-study layer: bite-size lessons, spaced-repetition flashcards, streaks and XP, with plans starting at $9.58/month billed yearly. If cost is a deciding factor, our cheapest CFA prep guide compares the options honestly.

The fastest way to find out where you stand against that ~40% bar is to test yourself. Take our free full-length CFA mock exam. It's actually free, you don't need to sign up, and one afternoon will show you which topics need the most work.