CLU vs. ChFC for Financial Advisors

Financial professionals can earn a variety of certifications to demonstrate expertise and areas of specialization. Two well-known credentials are the chartered life underwriter (CLU) and the chartered financial consultant (ChFC). The CLU designation is geared toward life insurance specialists and focuses on insurance law, products, planning and business applications within the life insurance field. The ChFC designation, by contrast, is designed for financial planners and covers topics such as investing, taxes, risk management and comprehensive personal financial planning. Both credentials are offered through The American College of Financial Services. Here’s what to know about how they compare.

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What Is the CLU?

The CLU, or chartered life underwriter, is a certification program for life insurance specialists. Financial professionals pursue this program to improve their skills and education in the field of life insurance and to establish expertise for potential clients.

Requirements for a CLU

To enroll in the CLU course you must have three years of related professional experience within the five years preceding the award of this certificate. The program has no educational or other prerequisites aside from a high school diploma or equivalent. That said, most individuals will need an advanced degree in order to get the required professional experience.

To receive a CLU, you must complete five courses. This includes four core courses and one elective. You must pass a final exam attached to each course and agree to the college’s code of ethics. To maintain the designation, you must participate in the college’s annual recertification program.¹ The chief requirements of this program are 30 hours of continuing education every two years, including one hour dedicated to ethics, and an annual fee of between $115 and $200.

Enrolling in the CLU program costs either $985 per course or $3,395 for the four-course program.² It typically takes between 12 and 15 months to complete a CLU course.

Why Get a CLU?

If life insurance is part of your practice, the question here is whether the CLU will offer benefits to offset almost $4,000 in tuition, almost $200 in annual fees and more than a year of studying. The CLU might be useful for professionals who work in fields that include:

Insurance sales and planning
Estate and retirement planning
Employee benefits planning
Holistic financial planning

Earning the CLU designation can help attract new clients by signaling a high level of expertise in life insurance planning. A key benefit of the program is its depth of education, with coursework covering topics such as life insurance products, risk management strategies, employee benefits, insurance law, ethics and estate planning.

For professionals who already work extensively with life insurance, the curriculum may reinforce and expand existing knowledge rather than introduce entirely new concepts. Even so, the program can strengthen technical understanding, fill knowledge gaps and enhance overall competency when advising clients.

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What Is the ChFC?

The ChFC, or chartered financial consultant, is a certification program for financial planners. Financial professionals pursue this program to improve their skills and education and to establish a comprehensive financial planning specialty for potential clients.

Requirements for the ChFC

To enroll in the ChFC course you must have three years of related professional experience within the five years preceding the award of this certificate. The only educational requirement is a high school diploma or equivalent. That said, most individuals will need an advanced degree to get the jobs required for the professional experience prerequisite.

To receive the ChFC certificate you must complete eight required courses. This program has no electives. Each course has a final exam that you must pass, and the American College of Financial Services requires students to agree to an ethics code. To maintain this designation you must participate in the college’s annual recertification program. Mainly, this program requires 30 hours of continuing education every two years, including one hour of ethics education, and an annual fee of between $115 to $125.

Enrolling in the ChFC program costs $985 per course, with packages available.³ It typically takes about 18 months to complete this program.

Why Get a ChFC?

The ChFC is most useful for professionals who work in overall financial management. This can include financial planners, investment and asset managers, and related financial managers.

In addition to attracting new clients, the ChFC offers substantive educational benefits. The course material covers a wide range of issues related to financial planning. This includes tax management, retirement planning, investment strategies, wealth and risk management, estate preparation and many other subjects. For financial managers, this program is typically a good way to learn more about the field and add specialized knowledge to an existing skill set.

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Bottom Line

A financial advisor deciding between CLU and ChFC designations.

Both programs offer a certification for financial planners, but each has its own advantages. Broadly, the CFP designation is better known by the general public and potential individual clients. It also requires a bachelor’s degree in addition to the same work requirements as the ChFC. The chartered financial consultant designation, on the other hand, covers a more comprehensive education, and so may be more substantively useful for building skills, but is less well known among potential clients.

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Article Sources

All articles are reviewed and updated by SmartAsset’s fact-checkers for accuracy. Visit our Editorial Policy for more details on our overall journalistic standards.

“Professional Recertification | The American College of Financial Services.” American College Shield, https://www.theamericancollege.edu/learn/professional-recertification. Accessed 2 May 2026.
“CLU® Chartered Life Underwriter® Program.” American College Shield, https://www.theamericancollege.edu/learn/professional-designations-certifications/clu. Accessed 2 May 2026.
“ChFC® Chartered Financial Consultant® Program | The American College of Financial Services.” American College Shield, https://www.theamericancollege.edu/learn/professional-designations-certifications/chfc-chartered-financial-consultant. Accessed 2 May 2026.