CFA Level I Exam · Guidance for Standard VII: Responsibilities as a CFA Institute Member or CFA Candidate

Standard VII(A) Guidance: Confidential Program Information

Updated 7 October 2026 · Fact-checked

Standard VII(A) says members and candidates must not engage in conduct that compromises the reputation or integrity of CFA Institute or the CFA designation, or the integrity, validity, or security of CFA Institute programs. Confidential program information is exam content not released publicly. You can give general opinions about the program, but you cannot reveal what was tested.

Understand Standard VII(A) Guidance: Confidential Program Information

Standard VII(A) is called Conduct as Participants in CFA Institute Programs. Its text says: Members and Candidates must not engage in any conduct that compromises the reputation or integrity of CFA Institute or the CFA designation or the integrity, validity, or security of CFA Institute programs.

The idea is simple. The exam is only worth something if every candidate faces it fairly. If questions leak, the pass or fail result stops meaning the same thing for everyone. So the guidance protects the integrity, validity and security of the exam process.

The guidance treats confidential program information as material that CFA Institute has not made public. It includes specific exam questions, the specific topics, formulas or concepts that were tested or not tested, and the grading or scoring details that are not published. Candidates agree to keep this information confidential when they enroll and sit the exam.

The guidance also covers other conduct: cheating or helping others cheat, sharing or using exam content in a way that gives an unfair advantage, bringing unapproved materials or devices into the exam room, and misusing candidate-only tools or resources. It also covers revealing exam content after the exam through forums, social media or study groups.

The key line is between confidential content and general opinion. Standard VII(A) does not stop you from expressing opinions about the CFA program. You may say the exam was hard, that you think the curriculum is too long, or that you disagree with a policy. You may not say which specific topics, questions or tested concepts appeared. Opinions about the program are allowed. Disclosure of what was tested is not.

A final point: the Standard applies to members and candidates. It also applies to conduct that is not itself exam day cheating, such as giving away exam content to help a friend, or writing a post that lists what was tested.

Key formulas to remember

Text of Standard VII(A): Members and Candidates must not engage in any conduct that compromises the reputation or integrity of CFA Institute or the CFA designation or the integrity, validity, or security of CFA Institute programs.; Learn the wording. Questions test whether an action compromises integrity, validity or security.
Disclosure test: Specific content tested (questions, topics, formulas, concepts tested or not tested) = confidential. General opinion about the program = permitted.; Use this to sort any scenario into allowed or prohibited.
Conduct that compromises the program: Cheating, helping others cheat, bringing unauthorized materials, sharing exam content, misusing candidate-only tools = violation.; The Standard covers actions before, during and after the exam.
Who is covered: CFA Institute members and CFA candidates.; Candidates are bound by this Standard even before they hold the designation.

How to solve Standard VII(A) Guidance: Confidential Program Information questions

Use this method for any VII(A) question. It sorts the facts quickly and avoids the traps built into the options.

1Identify who acts: a member or a candidate. Both are covered by VII(A).
2Find what was shared or done. Is it exam content, a candidate-only tool, or a view about the program?
3Ask if the information was made public by CFA Institute. If it was not, treat it as confidential.
4Check whether the act reveals what was tested or not tested, or gives an unfair advantage. If yes, it is a violation.
5If the person only gives a general opinion, such as difficulty, workload or fairness, with no specific content, it is not a violation.
6Check for cheating-type conduct: unapproved materials, helping others, sharing questions, misusing candidate-only tools.
7Choose the option that matches your finding. Eliminate the option that treats a general opinion as a violation, and the option that treats disclosure of tested content as acceptable.

Quickest way: The specific-versus-general filter

When to use it: Use this when you have about 90 seconds and the stem describes someone talking or posting about the exam.

Ask one question: does the statement name or hint at specific content that was or was not tested?
If yes, it breaches VII(A). Look for the option that says so.
If no, and it is only an opinion about difficulty, length or the program, it is allowed.
Check for the words cheating, unauthorized, shared questions or candidate-only tools. These point to a violation.
Pick the answer and move on. No calculation is needed.

Common mistakes in Standard VII(A) Guidance: Confidential Program Information

Thinking any comment about the exam is a violation.
Candidates over-read the Standard and treat all talk as confidential.
Fix: Remember that opinions about the program are allowed. Only specific tested content is confidential.
Believing it is fine to say which topics were not tested.
It feels harmless because no question is quoted.
Fix: The guidance covers topics, formulas or concepts tested or not tested. Saying a topic did not appear is still disclosure.
Assuming the Standard applies only on exam day.
Candidates link exam rules to the exam room.
Fix: The Standard covers conduct before, during and after the exam, including posts and study group chats afterwards.
Thinking the Standard binds only members, not candidates.
Candidates assume the Code applies only after they earn the charter.
Fix: VII(A) names both members and candidates.
Treating helping a friend as acceptable because you did not cheat yourself.
People think the Standard only covers their own conduct on the exam.
Fix: Helping others cheat or sharing exam content also compromises integrity, validity or security.
Confusing VII(A) with VII(B).
Both sit under Standard VII and both involve the program.
Fix: VII(A) is about conduct in the program and exam confidentiality. VII(B) is about how you refer to CFA Institute, the designation and the program.

Worked examples

Example 1

A candidate finishes the Level I exam and posts in an online group that the exam was much harder than the mock exams and that the curriculum is too long to study while working. Has the candidate violated Standard VII(A)?

A. Yes, because any comment about the exam is confidential
B. Yes, because the candidate compared the exam to mock exams
C. No, because the candidate gave a general opinion without revealing tested content

Show the solution

Identify the actor: a candidate, who is covered by VII(A).
Identify what was shared: opinions on difficulty and curriculum length.
No specific questions, topics, formulas or concepts were named.
General opinions about the program are permitted.
Option A treats all comments as confidential, which overstates the Standard. Option B also treats a general comparison as a breach, but no content was revealed.

Answer: C. The candidate expressed a general opinion and did not disclose what was tested, so there is no violation.

Example 2

After the exam, a candidate tells a friend who is sitting the next window that the exam had no questions on derivatives and several on ethics. According to Standard VII(A), the candidate has:

A. violated the Standard by disclosing which topics were and were not tested
B. not violated the Standard because no question was quoted
C. not violated the Standard because the friend is also a candidate

Show the solution

The candidate shared information about which topics appeared and did not appear.
The guidance treats topics, formulas and concepts tested or not tested as confidential program information.
Not quoting a question does not make the disclosure acceptable.
The friend being a candidate does not remove the duty. Sharing could give the friend an unfair advantage and harms exam security.
Only option A matches the guidance.

Answer: A. The candidate disclosed confidential program information by saying which topics were and were not tested.

Exam tips

Sort every VII(A) scenario with one test: specific tested content is confidential, a general opinion is not.
Watch for the trap that says topics not tested are safe to share. They are not.
Remember that candidates are covered, not just members.
With three options, usually one overstates the Standard (all comments banned) and one understates it (sharing is fine). Eliminate both.
Learn the exact wording of VII(A) and name the Standard in your reasoning.

Practice questions from Guidance for Standard VII: Responsibilities as a CFA Institute Member or CFA Candidate

Standard VII(A) Guidance: Confidential Program Information in other exams

The same ground in other exams, if you are preparing for more than one or want another angle on it.

Standard VII(A) Guidance: Confidential Program Information: frequently asked questions

Can I discuss CFA exam questions after the exam?

No. Specific exam questions and the content tested are confidential program information. You may share general opinions, such as that the exam felt difficult, but not what was asked or which topics appeared.

What is the difference between confidential exam content and a general opinion about the CFA program?

Confidential content is specific: questions, topics, formulas or concepts that were tested or not tested. A general opinion is a view about the program, such as its difficulty, length or fairness, that reveals no specific content. The first breaches VII(A) and the second does not.

Does Standard VII(A) apply to candidates or only to charterholders?

It applies to both CFA Institute members and CFA candidates. A candidate who compromises the integrity, validity or security of the program can violate the Standard even without the designation.

Can I say which topics were not on the exam?

No. The guidance treats topics tested or not tested as confidential. Telling others a topic did not appear can give them an unfair advantage in later exams.