Also known as: certified financial planners · CFP
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A professional credential whose truthful and verifiable use in advertising constitutes protected commercial speech.
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Catherine Carter, a Florida attorney also licensed as a CPA, lists both credentials on her letterhead and in a yellow-pages advertisement. The state board initiates disciplinary proceedings solely because she used the CFP designation without additional disclaimers. The court holds the listing protected because the statement is truthful and verifiable.
Camila Cervantes prepares client brochures that accurately state she holds the CFP designation. A competitor complains to regulators that the title implies specialized expertise not required for ordinary investment advice. Regulators decline to pursue action because the designation is factually correct and no evidence shows the statement misleads clients.
No. Truthful and verifiable statements identifying a lawyer as a Certified Financial Planner are protected commercial speech. A state may not impose discipline absent evidence that the statements are actually or inherently misleading.
Supporting sources
The state must demonstrate that the disclaimer is reasonably related to preventing actual or inherent deception. Blanket requirements or outright bans on the truthful use of the designation are unconstitutional.
Supporting sources
…respondent Florida Board of Accountancy (Board)[^maj-1] to “practice public accounting.” In addition, she is authorized by the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, a private organization, to use the trademarked designation “Certified Financial Planner” (CFP). Ibanez referred to these credentials in her advertising and other…