CFP® Exam Professional Conduct and Regulation Practice Questions

Professional Conduct and Regulation is 8% of the CFP® exam: CFP Board’s Code of Ethics and Standards of Conduct, the fiduciary duty, the Procedural Rules and the rules that govern advisers and brokers. Practice original scenario questions, then take the free ten-question drill.

Take the full timed CFP mock exam

170 four-choice questions in two timed 3-hour sections, with short scenarios and a case study in each, weighted like the real exam, with a score by domain and an explanation for every answer. 14 of the 170 questions are professional conduct.

Or try the free professional conduct drill
  • 33 original professional conduct questions with explained answers
  • 8% of the exam: domain A, CFP Board topics A.1–A.6
  • 14 of the 170 questions in our full mock
Free sample · Question 1 of 3Professional Conduct and Regulation

Priya, a CFP® professional, decides to end her engagement with a client who has repeatedly ignored her advice. Which course of action best meets her fiduciary duties to the client?

What our professional conduct questions cover

  • The fiduciary duty and its three parts: loyalty, care and following client instructions
  • Disclosing and managing material conflicts of interest and obtaining informed consent
  • The seven steps of the financial planning process and when the practice standards apply
  • Duties to clients, firms, subordinates and CFP Board, including reporting obligations
  • Investment adviser registration with the SEC or the states, broker-dealers, FINRA and Regulation Best Interest
  • The Securities Act of 1933, the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Investment Advisers Act of 1940
  • Consumer protection: FDIC and SIPC coverage, credit reporting and privacy rules
Line drawing of a balanced scale, a closed rule book with a ribbon, a fountain pen and a handshake

This list is our own summary of the domain, written for practice. CFP Board publishes the official list of principal knowledge topics.

Drill professional conduct, then sit the full mock

Take the full timed CFP mock exam

170 four-choice questions in two timed 3-hour sections, with short scenarios and a case study in each, weighted like the real exam, with a score by domain and an explanation for every answer. 14 of the 170 questions are professional conduct.

Or try the free professional conduct drill

Rules the questions test most

  1. A CFP® professional owes the fiduciary duty whenever providing financial advice to a client: loyalty (put the client’s interests first and avoid or disclose and manage conflicts), care (act with the care, skill, prudence and diligence of a prudent professional) and following the client’s reasonable and lawful instructions.
  2. A conflict is disclosed well enough when the client can give informed consent: the disclosure must be specific about the conflict and how it could affect the advice.
  3. When financial planning is required, the work follows seven steps: understand the client’s circumstances, identify and select goals, analyze the current course of action and alternatives, develop recommendations, present them, implement, and monitor and update.
  4. Advisers managing $100 million or more generally register with the SEC; smaller advisers generally register with their state. Broker-dealers register with the SEC and are FINRA members.
  5. SIPC protects customers of a failed brokerage firm up to $500,000 per customer, including up to $250,000 in cash. It does not protect against market losses.

Start the free professional conduct drill · Full CFP mock exam · Case study drill · Mixed drill

Common questions

How much of the CFP exam is ethics and regulation?

Professional Conduct and Regulation is 8% of the CFP® exam, about 14 of the 170 questions. It covers CFP Board’s Code of Ethics and Standards of Conduct, the Procedural Rules, financial institutions, financial services regulation, consumer protection law and the fiduciary standard.

What do the ethics questions look like?

Most describe a CFP® professional’s conduct with a client or firm and ask which duty applies, whether the conduct meets the Standards, or what the professional should do next. Others test registration rules and consumer protections such as SIPC and FDIC coverage.

Are these CFP Board questions?

No. Every question is original and written by us to CFP Board’s publicly available Code of Ethics and Standards of Conduct and its Principal Knowledge Topics. None comes from a CFP Board practice exam.

Take the full timed CFP mock exam

170 four-choice questions in two timed 3-hour sections, with short scenarios and a case study in each, weighted like the real exam, with a score by domain and an explanation for every answer. 14 of the 170 questions are professional conduct.

Or try the free professional conduct drill

More CFP exam domains

Domain weights and exam format: CFP Board: What you’ll be tested on (domains and weights) · CFP Board: Exam format · CFP Board: Code of Ethics and Standards of Conduct, checked November 2026.

Game Assessment Prep is an independent practice site. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by or a registered education program of CFP Board, and CFP Board does not review or endorse these questions. Every question is original; none is taken from CFP Board practice exams or other CFP Board materials.

Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards Center for Financial Planning, Inc. owns and licenses the certification marks CFP®, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER®, and CFP® (with plaque design) in the United States to Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc., which authorizes individuals who successfully complete the organization’s initial and ongoing certification requirements to use the certification marks.