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Qualifications | Certification Process | Career Quiz
To achieve the CFE designation you must meet the following requirements:
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Be an Associate Member of the ACFE in good standing
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Meet the minimum academic and professional requirements
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Be of high moral character
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Pass the CFE Examination (if a resident of the United States, UK or Canada) or have significant experience to qualify for the International Waiver of Examination program
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Agree to abide by the Bylaws and Code of Professional Ethics of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners
Academic Requirements
Applicants for CFE certification should have a minimum of a Bachelor's degree (or the equivalent) from an institution of higher learning. No specific field of study is required. If you do not have a Bachelor's degree, you may substitute two years of fraud-related professional experience for each year of academic study. For example, if you successfully attended college full-time for only two years, you would need an additional four years of professional experience to satisfy the education requirement.
When you apply, you will be awarded qualifying points for the specific level of education you claim.
Professional Requirements
A minimum of two years professional experience is required to be certified as a CFE. The experience requirement for CFEs must be related, directly or indirectly, to the detection and deterrence of fraud.
The Board of Regents has further defined related experience to include:
Accounting and Auditing:
You may qualify if you have experience as an accountant or auditor, e.g., internal or external auditor, and have certain responsibilities for the detection and deterrence of fraud by evaluating accounting systems for weaknesses, designing internal controls, determining the degree of organizational fraud risk, interpreting financial data for unusual trends, and following up on fraud indicators.
Criminology or Sociology:
Only those professionals with education or research in the fraud and white-collar crime dimensions of sociology or criminology may claim experience under this category. An experienced background in the general sociological field is insufficient.
Fraud Investigation:
Experience investigating civil or criminal fraud, and white-collar crime for law enforcement agencies or in the private sector, qualifies. Examples include federal, state, or local law enforcement (e.g., IRS, inspectors general and district attorney investigators). Insurance fraud investigators and fraud examiners working for corporations, businesses or organizations qualify as well.
Loss Prevention:
Security directors for corporations and organizations who work with loss prevention may claim this experience as credit. Security consultants dealing with fraud-related issues also are eligible. Experience as a security guard or equivalent is not acceptable.
Law:
Candidates with experience in the legal field might qualify, provided the experience deals with some consideration of fraud. Examples include prosecuting attorneys, fraud litigators and others with an anti-fraud specialization.
If your experience does not fall into one of the above categories, but your responsibilities include the detection, investigation or deterrence of fraud, please submit your application and dues along with a detailed description of your background. If you are not accepted for membership, the dues will be refunded in their entirety.
The Point System
CFE certification eligibility is based upon a point system, which awards credit based upon education and experience. All points claimed for education must be from a recognized institution of higher learning. A minimum of 50 points and two years of direct or indirect fraud-related professional experience is required for CFE Certification.
Ten points are awarded for:
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Each year of formal higher education (with a four-year limit)
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Each recognized certification (e.g., CPA, CIA, CPP)
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Doctorate or equivalent postgraduate degree (e.g., PhD, JD)
Five points are awarded for:
