CFA® Results and How to Deal with a Fail

This page is split into two clearly separated parts: FinQuiz Editorial Additions and the Original Guest Post (Text Unchanged). Waiting on results? Start with CFA Exam Results Coming Soon: What If?

Read the Original Guest Post Level I Resources FAQ
On this page FinQuiz Editorial Additions (2026 update) Recommended Level I resources Original Guest Post (Text Unchanged) FAQ

Disclosure

  • The guest author does not endorse FinQuiz products.
  • FinQuiz editorial additions are separate from the original guest post.
  • The author’s words are preserved exactly as written, with no links added into the guest text. The original results graphic it references is no longer available.

FinQuiz Editorial Additions (2026 Update)

This section is written by FinQuiz editors. The guest post below was published for the July 2016 results day and decodes the score report of that era—the topic-range chart with asterisks and the 10 fail bands. The report changed completely; the coping advice did not age a day. Here is the translation.

What your report shows now: since 2025, results include a scaled score plotted against the Minimum Passing Score for your sitting—Level I is reported on a 1,000–1,900 scale with the MPS at 1,600—plus a topic-by-topic performance chart. The fail bands are gone, and so is the graphic this post decodes. But Joseph’s method survives intact: read the topic breakdown, find where you fell short, and let that—not the sting—plan your next attempt. The chart is even better raw material for a retake plan than the old ranges were.

What has changed since 2016

  • No single results day: results now arrive roughly 5–8 weeks after each exam window closes, by email and in your CFA Institute account—the wait is shorter, the stomach-drop identical.
  • Bands out, MPS in: the 10-band system is retired; you see your scaled score against the passing standard, and Level III passers receive pass/fail only.
  • The retake calendar improved: his silver lining—“you can still register for December”—is now stronger: multiple windows per year mean your next attempt can be months away. Our study plan for retakers turns the topic report into a schedule.
  • No recheck, and none needed: retabulation has been discontinued—no reviews, no appeals—while exams near the passing standard are automatically re-graded before release. Our restored retabulation post tells that whole story.
  • His pass-rate consolation still holds: failing remains the majority outcome—2025 average pass rates were roughly 44% at Level I, 42% at Level II, and 50% at Level III—which is exactly why the designation keeps its value.
  • A note on cost: every FinQuiz product carries a pass guarantee—don’t pass, and the updated next-edition materials are free, so a retake doesn’t mean repurchasing your prep.
  • The posts he references are live: Exam Results: What to Tell the Friends and Family and CFA Exam Results Coming Soon: What If?—both linked below as well.

Recommended Level I resources (FinQuiz)

Only Level I resources are promoted in the editorial areas of this page.

Practical pairing: Put your topic report next to a fresh free-mock score by topic. Where both agree you’re weak is where the retake hours go first—exactly the honest look Joseph prescribes below.

Original Guest Post (Text Unchanged)

Disclosure: The guest author does not endorse FinQuiz products. The content below is displayed with no edits, no paraphrasing, and no reordering. No links have been added into the author’s text. Originally published July 24, 2016; the results graphic it references belonged to the paper-exam era and is no longer available—see the editorial update above for what today’s report shows.

The time between taking the CFA exam and the release of results can be excruciating. The CFA Institute has released the date of June exam results July 26, 2016. Emails will start going out at 9am eastern standard but it may take several hours to receive your email.

How can you use the exam results to prepare for your next exam? How could you possibly deal with the results if you end up in one of the fail bands?

Decoding CFA Results 2016

Results will look like the graphic below with your percentage range in each topic within one of the three ranges. The graphic is actually from my Level 3 exam results but the format is the same for all three exams (I didn’t save my exam results for the Level I which seems a million years ago).

The asterisks mark the range in which you scored. The CFA Institute does not release an exact score or a minimum passing score for the exam but you can still use your results for some useful information.

I scored greater than 70% in five of the eight topic areas on the item-set portion of the exam and between 51% to 70% in the remaining three topic areas. If these were results of a Level I exam, I would look closely at the three topic areas and their relative weight on the Level II exam.

For example, I know that Equity Investments is a very important part of the second exam and is worth between 15% and 25% of your total exam score. I might want to consider spending some time before my CFA Level II studies to review some of the Level I equity material to make sure I have a good base of understanding.

We published a basic strategy for the Level II CFA Exam which you might want to review.

How to deal with a CFA Exam Fail

Getting the email from the Institute saying you failed the exam is like getting punched in the gut. Your stomach sinks, you start to feel queasy and some even break down into tears.

You will hear all kinds of excuses and complaints about the designation and the CFA Institute after results are released. Some blame the questions, others try to make themselves feel better by saying that the designation doesn’t matter to their segment of the industry. These are all common coping mechanisms to deal with the results but you need to resist the urge. Your reasons behind taking the exam and the value of the designation have not changed and neither should your attitude.

Resist the urge to get mad at yourself or at the CFA Institute. Half or more of the candidates that take any given exam do not pass. The exams are tough and that is what makes the designation so valuable and will be a source of pride when you do pass.

Take an honest look at how you prepared for the exam and ask yourself where you could have improved your efforts. For most candidates, it is a matter of simply not devoting enough time to study the curriculum. Others may have done really well in a few topic areas but so poorly in core topics that it put them in a fail band. Either way, use the information in your exam results to see where you need to improve.

On the bright side, having taken the June exam means you are still able to register for the December exam and have a good chance at success. The Institute does not publish pass rates for repeat test takers but I have to believe that it is much higher than the general pass rates.

NOT PASSING AN EXAM IS THE WORST THING TO HAPPEN?

Contrary to what you may be thinking, it is not really too difficult telling friends, family and coworkers about the exam results. If not passing an exam is the worst thing to happen in your life, you are either very sheltered or not challenging yourself enough. Your friends and family understand that the CFA is important to you and will go out of their way to empathize.

If others in your office have taken the exam, they will know full well how difficult the test is and will not hold it against you. Unless you completely blew off studying, there are bound to be some topics in which you did well and can highlight your success in those areas. Take an honest approach and admit that you just have to work a little harder in the topics where you didn’t score as well.

WHAT TO TELL THE FRIENDS AND FAMILY?

We published a post Exam Results, What to Tell the Friends and Family which you might want to review. Another helpful post is Exam Results Coming Soon, What if…?

‘til next time, happy studyin’

Written by Joseph Hogue, CFA

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FAQ (Global candidates)

When do CFA exam results come out now?

There is no single July results day anymore. With computer-based exam windows running through the year, results are released roughly 5 to 8 weeks after your exam window closes—you’ll get an email and can view the full report in your CFA Institute account. The excruciating wait this post describes is shorter than the paper era’s, but every bit as nerve-wracking.

Do the fail bands still exist?

No. The band-1-to-10 system and the topic-range chart with asterisks this post decodes were retired. Since 2025, your report shows a scaled score plotted against the Minimum Passing Score for your administration—Level I is reported on a 1,000–1,900 scale with the MPS at 1,600—plus a topic-by-topic performance breakdown. Level III candidates who pass receive pass/fail only. The post’s core advice translates perfectly: the topic chart is now even better raw material for planning your next attempt than the old ranges were.

How quickly can I retake the exam after failing?

Faster than in 2016. Instead of one June-to-December second chance, the exams run in multiple windows per year, so your next attempt can be months away. Use your topic report to target the retake—our study plan for retakers turns that into a schedule—and note that FinQuiz materials carry a pass guarantee: if you don’t pass, you receive the updated next-edition materials free, so retaking doesn’t mean repurchasing your prep.

Can I appeal my result or have my exam rechecked?

No. CFA Institute has discontinued retabulation entirely: due to the exam’s format, results are not reviewed or re-evaluated and there is no appeals process. Quality controls are built into scoring instead—exams near the Minimum Passing Score are automatically re-graded before results are released. Our restored post on CFA retabulation covers the full story; the short version is that the energy is better spent on the retake.