ChFC, CLU, RICP and other American College CE requirements
As of Oct 5, 2026, The American College of Financial Services requires client-facing designees to complete 30 hours of CE per 2-year cycle, including 1 ethics, for ChFC, CLU, RICP, CAP, CASL, ChSNC, CLF, FSCP, TPCP and WMCP.
The American College of Financial Services sets the CE rule for the designations it awards. Here is what it requires, and where each figure comes from.
What is required today
30 hours per 2-year cycle, including 1 ethics
- Cycle
- Two calendar years, January 1 to December 31 of the second year, due that December 31.
- Carryover
- None.
"client-facing designees will be required to complete 30 hours of CE every two years" Source: theamericancollege.edu, checked Oct 5, 2026.
We have not confirmed this requirement yet. Check with The American College of Financial Services.
How the rule works
- The 30 hours apply to client-facing designees. Non-client-facing designees complete at least 1 hour of ethics CE every two years instead.
- The College states the requirement per designee, and one annual fee covers all of a designee's College designations. Each period runs January 1 to December 31 of the second year; complete and report your hours by that December 31.
- You also recommit to The College's standard of ethics, self-report your client-facing status and pay an annual recertification fee. A designee who has not recertified by March 31 after the deadline loses the right to use the designation marks.
- Credits approved for state CE, CFP, CPE, CLE and IAR CE count if earned within your period. 50 minutes of attendance is one credit hour, and programs under 50 minutes do not count.
- If you earn your first College designation in an odd-numbered year, your first CE period is the next one; in an even-numbered year, you are exempt from the next period and start with the one after.
Not yet confirmed
We show these as open until the body that sets the rule confirms them.
- Which two-year period is current. The College's current guidelines give it as January 1, 2026 to December 31, 2027 and the next as January 1, 2027 to December 31, 2028, which overlap; an earlier edition gave January 1, 2025 to December 31, 2026. Until The College clarifies, confirm your own period end with The College.
- Whether DAFCP holders must meet this CE requirement. The College's recertification page lists DAFCP among the designations that require recertification; its program guidelines do not.
Other requirement guides: CFP · CIMA, CPWA, RMA and CIMC · CFA · IAR CE by state · FINRA CE
Requirements shown are summaries. Your designation body and state regulator have the final word. Today is Oct 8, 2026, Eastern.