CFA Level 1 Practice Questions

The CFA Level 1 Practice Questions is a free 20-minute skill test from Science of Apps. It tests readiness for CFA Level I across its topic areas — ethics and professional standards, quantitative methods and economics, financial statement analysis and corporate issuers, and equity, fixed income, derivatives and portfolio management. Score 70% or more on its 20 questions to earn a verifiable CFA Level I Readiness certificate (SOA-CFA1). Every question is based on published standards and research — including CFA Program Level I (CFA Institute), Principles of Finance (OpenStax (Rice University)), Principles of Microeconomics 3e (OpenStax (Rice University)) — and each answer is explained with its source.

Read the four skill areas on this page, then take the 20-minute test online — no fee, course or sign-up. You see every answer explained when you finish. Score 70% or more and you get a CFA Level I Readiness certificate straight away, on screen, as a PDF and by email, with a credential ID anyone can verify.

Yes. The questions are original scenarios written by Science of Apps, and each one is based on a public source you can read: CFA Program Level I (CFA Institute); Principles of Finance (OpenStax (Rice University)); Principles of Microeconomics 3e (OpenStax (Rice University)); Principles of Macroeconomics 3e (OpenStax (Rice University)); IFRS Accounting Standards (IFRS Foundation); Principles of Accounting, Volume 1: Financial Accounting (OpenStax (Rice University)). The source is shown under each question and linked in the answer review. Science of Apps doesn't copy questions from other tests.

Four skill areas with five questions each, drawn from a bank of 10 per area so a retake brings new questions: Ethics and Professional Standards (Code and Standards, Duties to clients and employers and GIPS); Quantitative Methods and Economics (Time value of money and statistics, Hypothesis testing and Micro and macro economics); Financial Statement Analysis and Corporate Issuers (Statements and ratios, Inventory, assets and leases and Corporate governance and capital); Equity, Fixed Income, Derivatives and Portfolio Management (Equity valuation, Bonds and Derivatives and portfolio theory). Every question is an original scenario based on a published standard, official documentation or research, named under the question.

CFA Level I candidate, Investment analyst, Finance graduate, Equity research associate and Wealth management associate. It suits anyone who wants a quick, verifiable way to show CFA Level 1 skills, from students and career switchers to experienced professionals.

No. It is an independent practice test written to the publicly available CFA Level 1 content outline, for checking your readiness before you book the real exam. Science of Apps is not affiliated with CFA Institute, and passing earns a Science of Apps certificate rather than the official credential.

Yes. The test is online, in English and free everywhere — people take it from India, the US, the UK, Europe, Africa, Latin America and Asia-Pacific. Your certificate is dated with your own local date and can be verified from anywhere at scienceofapps.com/certification/verify/.

20 questions — 5 from each of 4 skill areas — with a 20-minute limit. You need 70% (14 of 20) to pass and 90% for distinction.

We rate it Advanced: assumes years in the role or deep specialist knowledge. It has 20 scenario questions — 5 from each of 4 skill areas — and a 20-minute limit. You need 70% (14 of 20) to pass and 90% for distinction.

Nothing. There is no fee to take a test, to receive the certificate, to have it emailed or to verify it, and no sign-up.

On our server, not in your browser. The answers never reach the page until you submit, so a certificate can only be earned by passing. Each certificate gets a unique credential ID stored by Science of Apps.

You see your score for each area and every question with the correct answer and why, with the published source behind it. You can retake after 30 minutes, and the retake draws questions you haven't seen yet.

No. Every certificate is dated, so it always shows when you passed. Retake a test any time for a newer date or a higher score.

Yes. After you pass, Add to LinkedIn opens the Licenses & certifications form with the certificate name, Science of Apps as the issuer, the issue date, your credential ID and the verification link filled in. You can also download it as a PDF or PNG, and it's emailed to you as a PDF.

Every certificate has a credential ID and a QR code. Scanning it, or entering the ID at scienceofapps.com/certification/verify/, shows the holder's name, the certification, the score and the issue date from our records.

No. They are Science of Apps' own assessments of applied skill. They aren't issued by a university or standards body, and they work best alongside a portfolio that shows the skills in real work.