Certified Financial Examiner (CFE)

To be eligible for the CFE designation:

AFE designation requirement

You must have obtained the AFE designation or be applying for the AFE designation concurrently with the application for the CFE designation. This may occur on the same day, but the AFE designation requirements must be met before the CFE can be obtained.

Education requirements

  • Successfully complete three semester hours of a Management course from an accredited college or university or its demonstrable equivalent.
    AND
  • Successfully complete three semester hours of a General Auditing course from an accredited college or university or its demonstrable equivalent. Alternatively, an additional 18 months of experience specific to financial examinations (for a total work experience of 42 months overall) can qualify in lieu of a General Auditing course.

Examination requirements

You must pass the four CFE examinations administered by the Society of Financial Examiners:

  • CFE1 - Examination Methods and Management 
  • CFE2 - Enterprise Risk Management 
  • CFE3 - Reinsurance 
  • CFE4 - Financial Analysis

All CFE exams must be passed with a 36 month window.
The CFE application must be submitted with 38 months of passing the first CFE exam.

Work-related experience requirements

To qualify for the CFE designation, you must be an insurance department employee, or self-employed with a contract for services directly with an insurance department, or be employed with a company that has a contract with a state insurance department and have three (3) years of insurance department examination experience related to financial solvency regulation within the last 4 years.

24 months of the 36 months of experience required above (or 42 months required without a General Auditing course) must be work experience in performing duties in compliance with the NAIC Financial Condition Examiners Handbook.

Membership requirements

To qualify for the CFE designation, you must be an Accredited Member in good standing of the Society of Financial Examiners.

Application approval requirements

To receive the CFE designation, you must submit an application to SOFE headquarters and it must be approved first by the Membership Committee, who will then recommend it for approval by the Executive Committee. Upon approval by the Executive Committee, the designation will become effective.

Before Applying:

 

To maintain the CFE designation:

Annual requirements:

You must earn and submit a minimum of twenty (20) credit hours each year. Included in those 20 hours must be:

  • The current year's NAIC Update (Examiner or Analysis)
  • Two (2) hours of Ethics credits

Triennial requirements

If you are an AFE/CFE designee, you are required to earn and submit 120 hours during the triennial period.

Current three-year reporting period January 1, 2023 to December 31, 2025
Three-year reporting deadline January 31, 2026