CeMAP Exemptions and Credit Transfer: What You Still Need to Sit

CeMAP® exemptions decide which of the five new units you still need to sit if you already hold some qualifications. This page covers the two routes Walbrook (LIBF) uses: the automatic transfer of old CeMAP passes, and recognition of prior learning (RPL) for other qualifications. The rules are the same across the UK. For the background to the restructure on 30 September 2025, read what changed in CeMAP; for the format of each unit you still have to sit, see the CeMAP pass mark guide. Fees are as of October 2026 and every rule below is taken from Walbrook's own pages, with gaps marked where Walbrook says nothing.

Can you be exempt from a CeMAP unit?

You can be exempt from a CeMAP unit in two ways: an old CeMAP pass that maps to a new unit, transferred automatically on 13 January 2026, or recognition of prior learning, which needs an 80% match from a qualification gained in the last 10 years.

The CeMAP qualification specification says Walbrook "recognises prior learning in different forms", so you "may not be required to register for every unit". The two routes work very differently:

	Transfer of old CeMAP passes	Recognition of prior learning (RPL)
Who it is for	Learners with passes under the old seven-unit CeMAP	Holders of other qualifications or experience
How it happens	Automatic, on 13 January 2026	Application to Walbrook
Test	Walbrook's equivalence table	At least an 80% match, achieved in the last 10 years
Fee (as of October 2026)	None	£50, or £390 for experiential learning, only if granted
Limit	Any unit the table covers	You must still complete a substantial part, typically 50% or more

The new CeMAP has five units: FRE1 and FRE2 (CeMAP 1), MRT1 and MRT2 (CeMAP 2), and ASEW/ASSC (CeMAP 3).

Key fact: An exemption removes the need to sit a unit. It is not a pass with a grade, so no merit or distinction comes with it.

What do your old CeMAP passes count for now?

Your old CeMAP passes count for the new units in Walbrook's equivalence table: ITFS and UKFS for FRE1 and FRE2, MLPP and MAPP together for MRT1, MAPC for MRT2, and ASSM for ASEW/ASSC, while MRPP on its own counts for nothing.

Old passes	New equivalent
ITFS and UKFS (CeMAP 1, UKFR)	FRE1 and FRE2
Unit 3 (MLPP) and Unit 4 (MAPP)	MRT1
Unit 6 (MAPC)	MRT2
Unit 5 (MRPP) only	None: complete MRT1 and MRT2
ASSM (CeMAP 3)	ASEW/ASSC

Source: Walbrook's page on the improvements to CeMAP from 30 September 2025, under "Transition and exemptions".

For learners whose registrations were still open, three things happened on 13 January 2026:

1. Passes transferred automatically to the new units.
2. The registration clock restarted: a new 12 months to complete the qualification.
3. Extra study materials bought for outstanding units were swapped for equivalent materials for the new units.

What Walbrook does not say. Its public pages do not cover old passes from a registration that had already expired before the transition, for example a learner who passed UKFR in 2019 and never finished. If that is you, ask Walbrook directly whether those passes can be used, and whether RPL is the route.

Exam tip: Log in to MyLIBF and check which new units now show as complete. That record, not this page, is what counts.

Which units do you still need to sit?

The units you still need to sit are the new units your old passes do not cover: someone with UKFR alone still sits MRT1, MRT2 and ASEW/ASSC, while someone with every old unit except ASSM sits only ASEW/ASSC.

Find your old passes in the left column:

Old passes you hold	Already covered	Still to sit
None	—	FRE1, FRE2, MRT1, MRT2, ASEW/ASSC
UKFR (ITFS and UKFS) only	FRE1, FRE2	MRT1, MRT2, ASEW/ASSC
UKFR, MLPP and MAPP	FRE1, FRE2, MRT1	MRT2, ASEW/ASSC
UKFR, MLPP, MAPP and MAPC (with or without MRPP)	FRE1, FRE2, MRT1, MRT2	ASEW/ASSC
MLPP, MAPP, MRPP and MAPC, no UKFR	MRT1, MRT2	FRE1, FRE2, ASEW/ASSC
MAPC only	MRT2	FRE1, FRE2, MRT1, ASEW/ASSC
MLPP or MAPP, but not both	Nothing for MRT1 (our reading of the table)	MRT1 and any other uncovered units
MRPP only	—	All five

Two rows need a note. The table gives MRT1 only for MLPP and MAPP; it lists no partial credit for one of them, so we read a single pass as giving none. And MRPP never appears as covering anything, because protection moved into CeMAP 3.

Two worked examples

Sam registered for the old CeMAP in 2024 and passed ITFS, UKFS, MLPP and MAPP before the transition. On 13 January 2026 those passes became FRE1, FRE2 and MRT1, and Sam's registration restarted with a new 12 months. Sam still sits MRT2 and then ASEW/ASSC.

Leah passed MRPP and MAPC in 2025 but nothing else. MAPC became MRT2; MRPP became nothing. Leah still sits FRE1, FRE2, MRT1 and ASEW/ASSC: four of the five units.

Once you know your list, the unit guides cover each one: CeMAP MRT1 and CeMAP MRT2 for the mortgage units, for example.

Key fact: Walbrook's specification suggests ASEW/ASSC last, because it tests MRT1 and MRT2 knowledge. If you still need an MRT unit and CeMAP 3, sit the MRT unit first.

What if you only passed the old Unit 5 (MRPP)?

If you only passed the old Unit 5 (MRPP), Walbrook's table gives you no new unit: you "must complete CeMAP 2, MRT1 and MRT2". The protection content MRPP covered now sits mainly in ASEW/ASSC LO5 and AC4.7.

That can feel harsh, but it follows from the restructure. The old CeMAP 2 had four units, of which MRPP (Mortgage Related Protection Products, 20 questions) was one. The new CeMAP 2 has no protection unit at all, so there is nothing for MRPP to map to.

Old Unit 5 content	Where it sits now
Protection needs and products	ASEW/ASSC LO5 (AC5.1)
Rules for selling protection and property insurance	ASEW/ASSC AC5.2 and AC3.3
State help with mortgage payments	ASEW/ASSC AC5.3
Advice on protection	ASEW/ASSC AC4.7

Your MRPP study is not wasted: it is a head start on part of CeMAP 3. But you still sit the CeMAP 3 exam in full.

A third-party source reports that holders of the Certificate in Protection were exempt from the old MRPP unit. Walbrook does not confirm this on its current pages, and in any case it applied to the old structure only. It gives no exemption under the new units.

Exam tip: Start MRT1 with the free MRT1 mock 1 taken cold. Old Unit 3 and 4 knowledge may be rusty, and the score shows where to begin.

What happened to UKFR exemptions?

UKFR exemptions granted through recognition of prior learning did not convert into FSRE exemptions: they counted only if CeMAP was completed by 12 January 2026, and otherwise the learner must sit FSRE or make a new RPL application based on an equivalent qualification.

There are two different things here, and they are often confused:

You have	What it means now
A UKFR pass (ITFS and UKFS)	Counts as FRE1 and FRE2
A UKFR exemption granted by RPL	Counted only if CeMAP was finished by 12 January 2026; otherwise sit FRE1 and FRE2 or apply for RPL again
UKFR in progress, chose to stay on it	Had to finish by 16 July 2026, when UKFR was withdrawn

A new RPL application for FSRE would be judged against the FSRE units, which include content UKFR did not have, such as the FRE2 ethics outcome and case studies. Our CeMAP 1 (FSRE) guide covers what the two units contain.

Key fact: Every UKFR deadline has passed. As of October 2026, anyone without a UKFR pass needs FRE1 and FRE2, an FSRE pass, or a new RPL decision.

How does recognition of prior learning work?

Recognition of prior learning works by application: Walbrook checks that your earlier qualification is at least an 80% match to a unit, gained in the last 10 years, and that you registered within four weeks; decisions typically take ten working days.

The criteria on Walbrook's recognition of prior learning page:

1. The prior qualification is at least an 80% match to a current unit, module or qualification.
2. It was achieved in the last 10 years.
3. You registered for the CeMAP qualification within the last four weeks.

RPL fee (as of October 2026)	Amount
Exemption based on an academic or professional qualification	£50
Exemption based on experiential learning	£390
If the exemption is not granted	No fee

The fees are in Walbrook's additional fees document, which is dated 2024 but still linked from the RPL page.

Walbrook adds that "RPL credits will not be equal to full qualifications": you must complete "a substantial part, typically 50% or greater". Each CeMAP unit carries 5 of the 25 credits, so if the 50% guide applies to CeMAP, RPL could cover at most two units. That arithmetic is our reading; Walbrook does not apply it to CeMAP explicitly.

"CeMAP or equivalent". Walbrook's CeRER specification, like many job descriptions, asks for "CeMAP or an alternative, equivalent, mortgage advice qualification". That wording is about entry to a role or a further qualification, not an exemption from CeMAP units. The FCA's appropriate qualification tables list which qualifications count for mortgage advice.

For whether other qualifications, such as CII awards, are worth putting forward, see our CeMAP vs CII comparison. Registration fees for whatever you still sit are on our CeMAP cost guide.

Exam tip: Apply for RPL within the four-week window after registering. Miss it, and the third criterion fails however good the match.

Does FSRE count towards DipFA?

FSRE counts towards DipFA: FRE1 and FRE2 are mandatory units of both CeMAP and the Diploma for Financial Advisers, and Walbrook states that "learners who complete FSRE can transfer credits to DipFA", so one pass serves both qualifications.

This is the credit transfer that runs the other way from most exemptions. If you pass CeMAP 1 (FSRE) now and later move into investment advice, you do not sit FSRE again for the DipFA. The DipFA course page lists six modules, including FSRE, and, as of October 2026, a full-qualification fee of £1,475.

Qualification	Includes FSRE (FRE1 and FRE2)?
CeMAP (Level 3)	Yes, as CeMAP 1
FSRE on its own (Level 4)	Yes, it is FSRE
DipFA (Level 4)	Yes, as one of six modules

Old UKFR passes did not feed into the DipFA in the same way (our reading of the transition material), which is one practical gain from the new structure.

Key fact: FSRE on its own is a Level 4 qualification, while CeMAP as a whole is Level 3. The FSRE units are Level 4 units counted within the Level 3 CeMAP.

Your plan for the units you still need

Your plan for the units you still need has four steps: confirm your covered units on MyLIBF, list what is left from the table above, apply for any RPL within four weeks of registering, then work through the remaining units in the suggested order.

1. Confirm. Check MyLIBF for the new units already marked complete.
2. List. Use the "still to sit" table. If your case is not in it, ask Walbrook.
3. Apply early. If you plan an RPL claim, apply within four weeks of registering.
4. Diagnose. Take the free diagnostic for your first remaining unit. For CeMAP 1 that is the FRE1 diagnostic, 20 questions in 30 minutes; for CeMAP 2, start with the free MRT1 mock.
5. Practise to the readiness rule. Our rule, the same as in the app, is three mocks in a row at 85% or more with every topic at 80% or more. It is a guide, not a pass guarantee.

Mock 1 of every unit is free with no account. Mocks 2 to 10 and topic drills by learning outcome come with Pro, and one plan covers all five units, so it suits learners who need only one or two.