CFA Level III · exam guide

CFA Level III Passing Marks and Results

Checked against CFA Institute's official pages, as of 12 October 2026. Rules and fees change; confirm on the official site before you act.

Results are pass or fail against a scaled Minimum Passing Score, which is 3600 for Level III.

• Your result is pass or fail, with an overall scale score to compare against the Minimum Passing Score (MPS).
• Candidates who pass Level III do not receive a detailed score report; the score report goes to candidates who do not pass.
• The Minimum Passing Score for Level III is 3600 on the reporting scale. There is no minimum passing score for individual topics.
• The MPS is set by the CFA Institute Board of Governors after an administration whenever the curriculum or candidate population changes significantly; otherwise it is carried forward by equating, which allows for differences in difficulty between exam versions.
• CFA Institute does not publish a fixed percentage of questions needed to pass.
• Results are emailed within 5-9 weeks after your exam window closes. CFA Institute's exam overview says Level III results come within 6-8 weeks of taking the exam, once your Practical Skills Module is complete. Level III essays are graded at an event involving hundreds of CFA charterholders.
• You only receive a result if you have completed one Practical Skills Module (PSM) for this level by the results release date; otherwise the result is voided and you must register, pay and retest at the same level.
• CFA Institute shows a 10-year average pass rate of 52% for Level III.
• Each specialised pathway has its passing bar set at the same height, and the charter is the same whichever pathway you take.