Certifications

Financial Planning Technician, Level 3

Build up the six areas from the ground up: life planning, insurance, finance, tax, real estate and inheritance.

A national certification that teaches the knowledge around money and everyday life in a systematic way. Start with multiple-choice questions and see how many everyday money matters you can answer.

Test yourself with multiple choice

What kind of test is it?

The Level 3 Financial Planning Technician test is a national trade skill certification covering knowledge of financial planning. Across six areas — life planning, insurance (risk management), managing financial assets, tax planning, real estate, and inheritance and business succession — it tests the fundamentals of money in everyday life. It is useful both for work and for thinking through your own and your family's finances.

Format and how often it is held

Questions are mainly multiple choice, and the test is made up of a written part and a practical part. It uses a CBT format available on a rolling basis, so it is easy to pick a date that suits you. For details on how it is run, check the latest announcements from the organizing body.

What passing gets you

It proves you hold broad foundational knowledge about money. That helps in finance, insurance and real estate work, and applies directly to planning your own life as well. It is also a stepping stone to the higher levels of the certification.

How to prepare

The six areas make for a wide syllabus, but each topic is close to everyday life, which keeps the test approachable. Once you have the key terms and rules down, solve multiple-choice questions repeatedly to make them stick. Drilling area by area with this quiz set and shoring up your weaker areas works well.