FRM Certification 2026: Exam, Cost, Pass Rates + Best Prep Courses

Last updated: October 2026. Written by Josh Hutcheson, OnlineCourseing editor. See our review methodology.

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The FRM certification is the most widely recognized credential in risk management. It is run by GARP, the Global Association of Risk Professionals, and it has become a standard requirement or strong preference for roles in market risk, credit risk, treasury and model validation at banks, asset managers and consultancies.

This guide covers what the FRM involves for candidates registering now: the two exams, the full cost including the fees people forget, the next exam dates and deadlines, how hard it is, the work requirement and which prep course is worth your money. Every GARP figure below was read from GARP’s own pages on 5 October 2026, and every prep price from the provider’s site on the same day.

What is the FRM certification?

The FRM is a professional designation that shows you can identify, measure and manage financial risk to an industry standard. It is not tied to a degree: anyone can register for the exams, but to use the letters after your name you must pass both parts and document two years of relevant professional experience.

GARP says more than 100,000 professionals in over 190 countries and regions have completed the certification since the first exam sitting in 1997. It also cites an independent benchmarking study by Ecctis that rates the FRM as comparable to a master’s degree in 14 national and regional education systems, including RQF Level 7 in the UK and the U.S. master’s degree standard. That is a comparison of level, not a degree you can enroll on, but it is a useful signal of how demanding the curriculum is.

It is often compared with the CFA. The CFA is broader and built around investment management; the FRM goes deep on risk. Our CFA vs FRM comparison covers that choice in detail.

FRM exam structure

The FRM is two multiple-choice exams taken on a computer, and Part II builds directly on Part I:

GARP offers both parts in May, August and November. You have four years from the date you pass Part I to pass Part II. Both exams are scored pass/fail, and GARP posts results in the candidate portal within eight weeks of the window closing, with a quartile breakdown showing how you did against other candidates on each topic.

All candidates test at a physical center: PSI for most countries, and ATA for candidates in China Mainland, Hong Kong SAR and Thailand. Seats are first come, first served, which is one more reason to register and schedule early.

What the FRM exam covers: full curriculum

Both parts follow GARP’s official curriculum, which its FRM Committee reviews and revises every year. Part I is the toolkit; Part II is where you apply it to real risk-management problems.

FRM Part I: the four topic areas

• Foundations of Risk Management: the role of risk management, governance and ethics
• Quantitative Analysis: probability, statistics, regression and the math the rest of the exam leans on
• Financial Markets and Products: derivatives, fixed income and how the instruments behave
• Valuation and Risk Models: VaR, volatility, option valuation and the core modeling techniques

FRM Part II: the six topic areas

• Market Risk Measurement and Management
• Credit Risk Measurement and Management
• Operational Risk and Resilience
• Liquidity and Treasury Risk Measurement and Management
• Risk Management and Investment Management
• Current Issues in Financial Markets, a section of recent readings that changes the most from year to year

GARP publishes the topic weightings, the required readings and the learning objectives for each year in three free documents: the FRM Candidate Guide, Learning Objectives and Study Guide. Download the current year’s versions before you buy any prep, because a provider’s materials should map onto them chapter by chapter.

FRM cost breakdown

The exam fees are only part of the bill. Here is the full picture for a candidate registering for the May 2027 window, from GARP’s fee page and its study-materials page:

GARP’s fees exclude VAT, GST and similar taxes, which are added at checkout based on where you are. The two biggest levers on the total are under your control: registering in the early window saves $200 per part, and passing each part on the first attempt saves a second registration fee and another three months of study.

FRM exam dates and registration deadlines

GARP runs three exam windows a year, in May, August and November. The dates GARP has published as of 5 October 2026:

All GARP deadlines are 11:59 pm Eastern Time, and payment must reach GARP by the close of the registration period for the registration to count. Check the exam logistics page for the August 2027 window and the May 2027 exam dates once GARP publishes them.

How to register for the FRM, step by step

1. Create a GARP account at garp.org. It is free and takes a few minutes.
2. Register for Part I in the window you want and pay the $400 enrollment fee with your first registration. Use the early window if your timeline allows.
3. Schedule your appointment with PSI (or ATA in China Mainland, Hong Kong SAR and Thailand) before the scheduling deadline. Pick your test center, date and time.
4. Print your confirmation email. GARP requires a printed copy on exam day; it will not accept an electronic one.
5. Sit the exam, then register for Part II once you have passed Part I, within four years.
6. Submit your work experience to be certified once both parts are passed.

Exam-day rules and what happens if your plans change

GARP’s exam policies are strict, and most of the money candidates lose comes from them rather than from failing:

• Refunds: you have 48 hours after registering to request a refund. After that the fee is only recoverable through a deferral.
• Deferral: you can postpone once, to one of the next two exam windows, for a $250 processing fee. The deadline is 31 March for May exams, 30 June for August and 30 September for November.
• Rescheduling: you can move your appointment once to another date or time inside the same window, and no more.
• No-shows and late arrivals: if you do not schedule, do not show up, or arrive after your start time, you forfeit the fee with no refund or deferral.
• ID: an original, valid passport or driver’s license with a photo (a driver’s license must be from the country you test in), plus the printed confirmation, with names that match exactly.
• Calculators: only GARP-authorized business calculators are allowed. Using any other model means your exam is not graded.

How hard is the FRM? Pass rates

The FRM is a serious exam. In November 2025, GARP reported a 47% pass rate for Part I and a 50% pass rate for Part II, so roughly half of candidates did not pass each part. Rates vary from one window to the next, which is why GARP publishes them per sitting rather than as a fixed figure; the current numbers are on its program and exams page.

Part II’s rate is a little higher partly because everyone sitting it has already passed Part I. The lesson is not to be put off; it is that the FRM rewards consistent, question-driven preparation over passive reading. Candidates who fail usually ran out of practice time, not reading time.

How long does it take to study for the FRM?

GARP says candidates spend about 240 hours studying on average, and that answers in a recent survey ranged from under 100 hours to more than 400. Your number depends mostly on how much of the math and the products you already use at work.

A workable plan for most people with a full-time job is three to four months per part at 10 to 15 hours a week. Count back from your exam date, spend the first half learning the material and the second half almost entirely in the question bank, and use the final two to three weeks for full-length, timed mock exams. When you are scoring consistently in the mock exams, you are ready.

A 16-week FRM study plan

This is the shape we would use for one part, at roughly 15 hours a week:

For Part II, add time for the Current Issues readings, which change every year, and give extra weeks to whichever topic areas the current Learning Objectives document weights most heavily.

FRM requirements

To earn the certification you need to:

• Pass FRM Part I.
• Pass FRM Part II within four years of passing Part I.
• Submit two years of relevant full-time professional experience within 10 years of sitting Part II. The experience can be gained before or after the exams.

There is no degree requirement to register. After certification, GARP strongly encourages holders to take part in its Continuing Professional Development (CPD) program to keep their knowledge current.

Best FRM exam prep courses

Because the FRM is so practice-heavy, the most important thing a prep provider gives you is a deep, realistic question bank. Here is how the main options compare on merit:

AnalystPrep: best value. For most self-studying candidates this is the one to beat. The question bank is large and well explained, the video lessons cover both parts, and the $799 package’s lifetime access means you are not re-buying if you defer a sitting. It undercuts the premium providers substantially while covering everything you need to pass. Our AnalystPrep vs Kaplan Schweser comparison goes deeper on the trade-offs.

Kaplan Schweser: the premium option. Schweser is the most established name in FRM prep, with its condensed SchweserNotes, a large QBank, mock exams and a PassProtection guarantee (terms apply). It is genuinely good, but for a multiple-choice exam the extra benefit over a strong question bank is smaller than the price gap suggests. Worth it if you want one structured system with everything included.

Bionic Turtle: strong for Part II. Long a favorite in the FRM community for its quantitative and derivatives material, Bionic Turtle offers practice questions, mock exams, instructional videos, learning spreadsheets and a study plan. It is especially valued by candidates who want deeper conceptual grounding on the harder Part II topics. We have no affiliate relationship with it.

GARP Learning: the official option. GARP’s own digital platform holds the full text of the FRM books, Part I practice exams, chapter questions and study tracking. It is free with Part I registration and $250 for Part II. Its chapter questions are not meant to mirror real exam questions, so most candidates pair it with a third-party question bank for volume.

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FRM study materials: what you actually need

Strip away the marketing and a passing candidate needs three things: the official curriculum for coverage, a deep question bank for practice volume, and full-length mock exams for timing. Most people who pass use the official material plus one provider’s question bank and notes, not everything on the market.

GARP’s official books are the source of truth, since every tested concept traces back to them. They come in two forms: inside GARP Learning (free for Part I, $250 for Part II, with access ending on the last day of your exam window) or as printed books at $300 plus shipping per part. Part II also has required online readings on top of the books. Their weakness is bulk; they are thorough but slow to study from directly, which is why nearly everyone pairs them with condensed notes or a question bank.

Kaplan Schweser is the established name for condensed materials. Current pricing, read from Schweser on 5 October 2026: Part I is $499 Essential or $899 Premium, and Part II is $549 Essential or $949 Premium. Schweser often discounts around exam deadlines, so check for a promotion before paying list price.

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On a budget, reverse the priority: a strong question bank plus the official material beats condensed notes with no practice volume. That is the AnalystPrep route above, from $249 for a question bank with mock exams, and it is what we would pick for most self-studying candidates.

One warning on secondhand materials: GARP’s FRM Committee revises the curriculum every year, so prior-year notes bought used are a false economy, especially for Part II, where the Current Issues readings change the most. If you want to save money, save it on the package tier, not the edition year.

FRM vs CFA: which should you take?

Choose the FRM if your career is in risk (market, credit, operational or model risk), and the CFA if you are aiming at broader investment management, equity research or portfolio roles. They overlap on quantitative foundations, and some professionals hold both. The FRM is also much shorter: two exams rather than three, and about 240 study hours on average per GARP rather than the several hundred per level that CFA candidates plan for. See our CFA vs FRM comparison, our guide to the best CFA courses and FMVA vs CFA if a modeling credential is also on your list.

FRM salary and career outcomes

FRM holders work in market risk, credit risk, model validation, treasury and regulatory roles. GARP lists Agricultural Bank of China, Banco Santander, Bank of America, Bank of China, China Construction Bank, Citigroup, Deutsche Bank, HSBC, ICBC, JP Morgan Chase, KPMG, PwC, UBS and Wells Fargo among the employers whose staff hold the certification.

Be wary of single-number salary claims for the FRM: pay varies enormously by country, employer and seniority, and most published figures come from self-reported surveys. The honest picture is that the FRM works as a signal that helps you enter and advance in risk roles, where experienced professionals in major financial centers commonly earn six figures. It rarely brings an automatic raise on its own; its value is in the roles it qualifies you for.

Who the FRM is (and isn’t) for

The FRM is the right credential if your career is in risk, or heading there: market risk, credit risk, model validation, treasury or risk-focused regulatory work. It is also a strong choice for quantitatively minded professionals who want a globally portable signal without a multi-year degree.

It is the wrong first move if you are still deciding what part of finance you want to work in. The FRM is deliberately specialized, so the broader CFA or a hands-on financial modeling program is a better starting point if you want to keep your options open. Plenty of professionals add the FRM after a few years on the job, once they know risk is where they want to build a career. If credit is your focus specifically, see our best credit analyst certifications.

Is the FRM worth it?

For someone building a career in risk, yes. It is recognized globally, it is far cheaper and faster than a master’s degree, and it maps directly onto the daily work of risk roles, which is exactly why employers value it. GARP fees of $1,600 to $2,000 plus a few hundred dollars of prep is a modest outlay against the roles it opens.

It is not a general-purpose finance credential. If you are unsure whether you want to specialize in risk, the CFA or a modeling program may serve you better first. But if risk is the goal, the FRM is the clearest, most respected signal you can earn. Comparing it with the alternatives? Our ranking of the best finance certifications puts the FRM next to the CFA, CPA, FMVA and CMA by career path, and our risk management certifications guide compares it with PRM, PMI-RMP and GARP’s other credentials.

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Frequently asked questions

How much does the FRM certification cost?

GARP charges a one-time $400 enrollment fee plus a registration fee for each part: $600 if you register in the early window or $800 in the standard window (May 2027 pricing, checked 5 October 2026). That is $1,600 to $2,000 in GARP fees. Add $249 to about $1,850 for prep, and most candidates spend roughly $1,850 to $3,850 in total.

Is there an early registration discount for the FRM exam?

Yes, for May 2027. Early registration opens on 1 December 2026 at $600 per part, and standard registration opens on 1 February 2027 at $800 per part. Registering early saves $200 per part, or $400 across both.

When are the next FRM exam dates?

The November 2026 window runs 14 to 20 November for Part I and 21 to 25 November for Part II. Registration for it has closed; registered candidates can schedule until 24 October 2026. GARP also offers the exam in May and August.

What is the FRM pass rate?

GARP reported a 47% pass rate for Part I and 50% for Part II in November 2025. Both exams are pass/fail, and results arrive within eight weeks of the window closing.

How many parts does the FRM exam have?

Two. Part I has 100 multiple-choice questions and Part II has 80, and you get four hours for each. Both are taken on a computer at a PSI test center (ATA in China Mainland, Hong Kong SAR and Thailand).

How long does it take to study for the FRM?

GARP says candidates spend about 240 hours studying on average, with survey answers ranging from under 100 to more than 400 hours. Most working candidates spread that over three to four months per part.

Do I need work experience to get the FRM?

Yes. After passing both parts you submit two years of relevant full-time work experience, within 10 years of sitting Part II. The experience can be gained before or after the exams, so you can sit them first.

What is the best FRM prep course?

For value, AnalystPrep: 4,000+ questions and five mock exams from $249, with lifetime access on the $799 both-parts package. Kaplan Schweser is the premium option at $499 to $949 per part, and Bionic Turtle is well regarded for the quantitative Part II material.

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