CFA practice questions, CFA Level 1 practice exam and CFA prep for the 2026 curriculum

The CFA Program has three levels, and Level I is where almost every candidate starts. It is a computer-based exam of 180 multiple-choice questions delivered in two sessions of 135 minutes each, 90 questions per session, with an optional break in between. Total testing time is 4.5 hours. Every question is standalone with three answer options, so there is no penalty structure to game and no partial credit: you either pick the right option or you do not. Level I runs four times a year, usually in February, May, August and November, and you schedule an appointment inside the relevant window at a Prometric test center. Results arrive within five to seven weeks of your exam date, once your Practical Skills Module is complete.

• 180 multiple-choice questions in two 135-minute sessions
• 4.5 hours of testing, 90 questions per session
• Three answer options per question, no partial credit
• Offered in February, May, August and November

The 2026 curriculum keeps the same ten topic areas and the same weight ranges as 2025, so prep built on the current outline is still accurate. Ethical and Professional Standards is the single heaviest area at 15% to 20%, and it is the area CFA Institute weighs most when a candidate sits near the passing line. Financial Statement Analysis, Equity Investments and Fixed Income each carry 11% to 14%. Portfolio Management is 8% to 12%, Alternative Investments 7% to 10%, and Quantitative Methods, Economics, Corporate Issuers and Derivatives sit at 6% to 9% each, with Derivatives at the lower end. The weights tell you where to spend hours: Ethics plus the three big analysis areas are roughly half the exam on their own.

• Ethical and Professional Standards: 15% to 20%, the heaviest area
• Financial Statement Analysis, Equity and Fixed Income: 11% to 14% each
• Portfolio Management 8% to 12%, Alternatives 7% to 10%
• Quant, Economics, Corporate Issuers and Derivatives: 6% to 9% each

CFA Institute reports results only as pass or fail, alongside a chart showing your performance band against the minimum passing score. It does not publish the MPS itself, so no candidate can tell you the exact percentage needed. The Board of Governors sets the MPS after each administration when the curriculum or the candidate population changes significantly, and holds it steady through equating when they do not. The practical read is that mid-70s accuracy on realistic practice consistently clears it, and mid-60s does not. The ten-year average Level I pass rate is 41%. The February 2026 administration came in at 45%, with first-time candidates at 50% and candidates who had deferred at least once at 30%, which is a useful warning about deferring.

• Reported as pass or fail with a performance band chart
• The minimum passing score is never published
• Ten-year average Level I pass rate: 41%
• February 2026: 45% overall, 50% first-time, 30% for deferrers

CFA Institute restructured its pricing for the February 2026 exams: the one-time $350 enrollment fee was eliminated, and registration fees rose. Level I and Level II now cost $1,140 at the early registration deadline and $1,490 at standard registration; Level III is $1,240 early and $1,590 standard. CFA Institute states total exam fees across all three levels range from $3,520 to $4,600 depending on when you register, and that assumes you pass every level on the first attempt. Registering early is the cheapest lever you have: it saves $350 per level, which is more than most question banks cost. Prep materials, whether a full provider course or a question bank, sit on top of these fees.

• The $350 enrollment fee was eliminated as of February 2026
• Level I and II: $1,140 early, $1,490 standard registration
• Level III: $1,240 early, $1,590 standard registration
• All three levels total $3,520 to $4,600 if you pass first time

You can sit a CFA exam a maximum of twice per calendar year, and not in consecutive windows or windows within six months of each other, so a failed February attempt puts your next realistic sitting in August. You must also complete at least one Practical Skills Module for your level before your result is released; the module is not graded pass or fail, but skipping it holds up your score. CFA Institute has long cited roughly 300 hours of study per level as the benchmark, which works out to about 15 hours a week over five months. Candidates who pass tend to spend the back half of that window almost entirely on timed practice questions and mock exams rather than reading.

• Maximum two attempts per calendar year, never consecutive windows
• At least one Practical Skills Module required to receive your result
• Roughly 300 hours per level is the long-standing benchmark
• Shift to timed question practice for the second half of your prep