Ask any CFA candidate what score they need to pass and you will get a confident answer: 70%. It is repeated so often that it feels official. It is also wrong. CFA Institute has never published a passing score, and the real threshold is not a round number you can revise towards. Understanding how the exam is actually graded, what your score report shows, and the one figure you can genuinely control will do far more for your result than chasing a myth. Here is how CFA grading really works.
There is no magic 70%: the CFA passing score is a secret
CFA Institute deliberately never publishes the Minimum Passing Score (MPS) for any exam. The widely quoted 70% is a myth. Based on long-run analysis, the MPS is generally estimated in the mid-to-high 60s percent for Level I, the high 60s for Level II, and the low 60s for Level III, but these are outside estimates, not official figures, and they move from one exam to the next. Anyone who tells you the exact number you need is guessing.
How the MPS is actually set
The passing standard is not plucked from the air, and it is not a fixed percentage carried over year to year. CFA Institute uses a structured standard-setting process known as a modified Angoff method. A panel of charterholders reviews the exam question by question and estimates the probability that a just-competent candidate, someone who barely deserves to pass, would answer each item correctly. Psychometricians oversee the process, and the results are combined into the MPS for that specific exam. Because the standard is set against the difficulty of the actual paper, a harder exam produces a lower MPS, and an easier one a higher MPS.
It is a standard, not a curve
This is the point most candidates misunderstand. You are not competing against other candidates for a limited number of passes. There is no quota and no fixed pass rate. You pass by clearing the competency standard, full stop. If everyone sitting the exam is well prepared, everyone can pass; if few are, few will. That is exactly why published pass rates bounce around from one sitting to the next, and why a lower pass rate does not mean you were ranked out.
How your answers are scored
Every question carries equal weight and is worth one point, and there is no penalty for a wrong answer, so you should never leave anything blank. There are no per-topic minimums you must clear; your total against the MPS is what decides the result. Multiple-choice and item-set questions are machine-scored, while the constructed-response (essay) portion of Level III is graded by charterholders.
Ethics can be the tiebreaker
Ethics deserves special attention because of the ethics adjustment. For any candidate whose total sits right around the MPS, performance on the Ethics section can be the deciding factor between a pass and a fail. In a borderline result, strong Ethics can carry you over and weak Ethics can sink you. Treat it as one of the most valuable areas to master, not a box to tick at the end.
How to read your score report
When your results arrive, the report is a diagnostic tool, not just a verdict. It shows your overall performance as a line against the MPS line, wrapped in a shaded 90% confidence interval that reflects the range your true ability most likely falls within. If your line sits at or above the MPS, you passed. Below that, the report breaks your performance down by topic against 50% and 70% reference lines and the administration average, so you can see where you were strong and weak. Note what it does not show: no raw percentage and no exact MPS number are ever revealed. One practical reminder: your results are withheld entirely until you have completed your Practical Skills Module (PSM), so clear that first.
When your August 2026 results will land
Results are released by email and in your candidate portal, on a rolling basis roughly five to eight weeks after your exam window closes. For the August 2026 sitting, expect Level I around late September, Level II in early October, and Level III in late October. And remember, an incomplete PSM means your score is held back even if you passed. While you wait, here is how to use the time productively.
The one number you can actually control: aim for 70% on mocks
Here is the irony. The real passing score is hidden, but there is a number you can steer towards, and it happens to be 70%, just not the one from the myth. A consistent average of around 70% on full-length, timed mock exams is a reliable signal of pass readiness. Because it is under your control and measurable week by week, your mock average is a far better target than any rumoured MPS. Build your final month around hitting it.
Get exam-ready the smart way
Since the passing standard tracks real competence, the winning strategy is simple: practise under real conditions until your mock scores clear that 70% mark. A structured toolkit makes that measurable, with SchweserPro QBank to drill topics, SchweserNotes and OnDemand videos to close gaps, and full-length Schweser Mock Exams to rehearse the real thing. As an official Kaplan Schweser partner, Top Finance offers the CFA study packages from Kaplan Schweser built to get you there.
The bottom line
The CFA passing score is a secret by design, and no one can hand you the magic number. But the path is not a mystery: clear a standard set against real competence, never leave a question blank, make Ethics a strength, and use your mock average as the target you actually control. If the result does not go your way this time, our guide to reading your score report and building a 90-day retake plan will walk you through the comeback. For now, aim for that 70% on your mocks and let the hidden number take care of itself.