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Sustainable Investing Certificate Identification Policy

Updated 27 Feb 2025

CFA Institute requires that every candidate have a valid, unexpired and original government-issued photo ID to sit for the exam. Examples include: 

  • Driver’s license 
     
  • Passport 
     
  • National ID 

Digital, or photocopies, of IDs are not acceptable, and you will not be permitted to test.  

During registration, you must enter your name in English, exactly as it appears on your government-issued photo ID.  Additionally, the name on the identification presented at check-in for your appointment must appear in English characters. If you are asked to present a second form of identification, the name on both IDs must match the name provided during registration. If your name does not exactly match, you will not be permitted to test.

Frequently Asked Questions

 

What name variations are allowed? 
Only the following name variations will be allowed: 

  • Given name(s) and surname are reversed, but match exactly with the names on your ID 
     
  • Accent mark is present (or missing) 
     
  • Special characters represented by standard accepted translations (example: ü represented as ue) 
     
  • Differences in hyphens and/or spacing 
     
  • Differences in capitalization 
     
  • Names truncated on your ID due to space constraints 

 
I registered with a shortened version of my full name. It’s obvious my name is a shortened version of my full name. My full name is on my ID. Will I be allowed to sit? 
No. You must update your CFA Institute account to reflect your name exactly as it is shown on your ID. Otherwise, you will not be allowed to sit. 
 
The name on my account does not match the name on my identification. What should I do now? 
Some individuals may now update and/or make corrections to the name on their CFA Institute account without assistance from our Customer Service team. For security reasons, this functionality is available only to persons who have not previously sat a CFA Institute exam.  

If you have not previously sat, you may log in to your CFA Institute account and update your name fields in the Passport Information section.  

If you have sat for a previous CFA Institute exam, or if you have not previously sat for an exam but it is less than 10 days before the testing window opens for your registered exam, you must submit your full name, CFA Institute ID number, and a scanned image or photo of the identification you plan to present on exam day to CFA Institute Self Service. Please note, however, that CFA Institute cannot guarantee email requests will be processed if they are submitted less than 30 days before your exam appointment.