CFA Level 1 February 2026: Exam Window, Key Deadlines and What to Do If You Started Late

Dimitri Dangeros, CFA, CAIA
Nov 18
5 min read

CFA Level I February 2026: Exam Window, Key Deadlines and What to Do If You Started Late

If you are aiming for the CFA Level 1 February 2026 exam, you don’t have the luxury of being vague about dates. The window is fixed, the rules are strict, and good intentions don’t save you if you miss a deadline. Below is a clear overview of the CFA Level I February 2026 exam window, the key milestones you must hit, and a realistic approach if you’ve left your preparation late.

Exam window for CFA Level 1 February 2026

The CFA Level I February 2026 exam is delivered by computer in approved test centers during a defined week in early February 2026. When you first register, you’re only securing your place in that window. You later log into your candidate account and pick a specific exam day and start time.

Once you schedule your appointment, that becomes your personal slot within the CFA Level I February 2026 window. Moving it is only possible up to the rescheduling deadline and only if there is capacity at your chosen test center. Treat the overall window as a one-week opportunity, but treat your own booked day as fixed.

Level I is offered four times per year (February, May, August and November), and there is a limit on how often you can sit each level. In other words, CFA Level I February 2026 is not a harmless “trial run” – it is one of a limited number of attempts.

Key deadlines for CFA Level 1 February 2026

The timeline for CFA Level I February 2026 follows a standard pattern. Exact dates are shown in your CFA Institute account, but the structure is the same every cycle:

Early registration deadline – pay the lower fee if you commit early.
Standard (final) registration deadline – the last date to register for CFA Level I February 2026 at the higher fee.
Scheduling deadline – the last date to choose your exact exam day and time.
Rescheduling deadline – the last date you’re allowed to move your booking within the February 2026 window.

Missing any of these has consequences:

If you register but never schedule before the scheduling deadline, you’ve paid but you do not have a confirmed exam appointment.
After the rescheduling deadline, you cannot change your CFA Level I February 2026 day, even if your work or personal plans shift.

The only sensible approach is to put all of these deadlines into your calendar on the day you decide to pursue the February window. Relying on memory is how people lose both time and money.

Fees and rescheduling in 2026

From the 2026 exam cycle onward, candidates pay a single registration fee per level, with two main price points: early and standard. For CFA Level I February 2026, that makes the early deadline financially important. The difference between early and standard pricing is big enough that missing it is basically paying a penalty for being disorganized.

If you decide to move your test day after booking, you also pay a separate rescheduling fee. It’s a real cost, not a deposit and not a partial credit toward anything else. Constantly changing your mind about your CFA Level I February 2026 appointment is an easy way to burn cash before you even reach the exam hall.

What if you started late for CFA Level 1 February 2026?

CFA Institute still advises candidates to budget around 300 hours of preparation for each level. If you’re only now getting serious about study and your CFA Level I February 2026 date is approaching, you need to confront the arithmetic:

With 15 weeks to go, 300 hours means about 20 hours per week.
With 10 weeks to go, it means roughly 30 hours per week.

For a full-time professional, 30 real hours every week is demanding. Many candidates simply don’t get there, even if they promise themselves they will. If you’re not willing to cut back on evenings, weekends and other commitments, squeezing into CFA Level I February 2026 is likely to end in a fail and another fee for a later sitting.

If you are willing to make changes, a late start can still be turned into a passing performance. You just lose the right to have “slack weeks” where you do almost nothing.

Late-start action plan

If you are committed to CFA Level I February 2026 in spite of a late start, you need a focused plan, not vague motivation:

Aim your time at high-weight topicsFinancial Reporting and Analysis, Ethics, Quantitative Methods, Equity and Fixed Income typically carry a large percentage of the marks. They deserve most of your hours, even if they’re not your favourite subjects. Comfortable but low-weight areas should not be eating your schedule.
Lock in a weekly routineFor a late candidate, a realistic pattern is:
- 2–3 hours on most weekdays
- 4–5 hours on each weekend day
That can put you around 20–25 hours per week, which is what you need to get close to the recommended total before your CFA Level I February 2026 exam. If your actual week is nowhere near that, you’re not “behind schedule”; you simply don’t have a schedule.
Switch quickly into question practiceDo not spend weeks passively reading. After you’ve covered a topic once, move straight into practice questions and timed sets. Let your errors tell you what to review. Re-reading the entire curriculum every time you feel lost is a slow and inefficient way to prepare for CFA Level I February 2026.
Treat Ethics as a recurring topicEthics is a meaningful part of Level I and not something you want to meet properly for the first time in the final week. Spread Ethics across your calendar and revisit it several times before CFA Level I February 2026, using questions to test how you apply the principles.

Final decision: is February 2026 your right window?

Before you pay for CFA Level 1 February 2026, be blunt with yourself:

Can you actually sustain the weekly hours your situation now requires?
Will you register and schedule early enough to avoid deadline panic and extra fees?
Are you prepared to follow a structured plan instead of “studying when you feel like it”?

If any answer is “no”, you’re probably better off choosing a later sitting and doing it properly. If your answers are “yes” and you’re ready to put study first for the next few months, then CFA Level I February 2026 remains a demanding but realistic target.

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