How Long Does CeMAP Take to Complete?

How long CeMAP® takes depends mostly on the hours you can give it each week. This guide sets out the official figures from Walbrook (LIBF): the study hours per unit, the registration deadlines and the fact that exams are on demand. It then turns them into realistic timelines for part-time study. The figures apply to the whole UK qualification. For what CeMAP is and how it is structured, see the CeMAP qualification guide. Facts were checked on 30 October 2026 in the CeMAP qualification specification and on the Walbrook CeMAP page.

How long does CeMAP take to complete?

CeMAP takes 250 hours of total qualification time, as set by Walbrook, and most part-time candidates finish in three to nine months. Full registration gives 18 months to pass all five unit exams. Walbrook publishes no typical completion time for the whole qualification.

The official numbers are:

Measure	Official figure	Source
Total qualification time (TQT)	250 hours: 6 guided learning hours plus 244 other hours	CeMAP specification
Unit Study Time	50 hours for each of the 5 units	CeMAP specification
Registration period, full qualification	18 months	CeMAP specification and course page
Registration period, one module	12 months	CeMAP specification and course page
Typical time for FSRE (CeMAP 1)	"typically completed in four months"	Walbrook FSRE page
Typical time for the whole of CeMAP	Not published	—

Everything else on this page, including the weekly-hours tables, is our arithmetic based on those figures. "Three to nine months" is our reading of what a part-time candidate can sustain; people who already work in mortgages often need fewer hours, and people new to financial services may need more.

Key fact: The 18 months is a deadline, not a target. Very few candidates need all of it, and nothing stops you finishing much sooner.

How many study hours does each unit need?

Each CeMAP unit needs 50 hours of Unit Study Time, according to the specification: FRE1, FRE2, MRT1, MRT2 and ASEW/ASSC are 5 credits and 50 hours each. The 250-hour total includes 6 guided learning hours.

Module	Unit	Study hours	Exam
CeMAP 1 (FSRE)	FRE1: Industry, Regulation and Key Parties	50	40 questions, 1 hour
	FRE2: Skills, Principles and Ethical Behaviours	50	40 questions, 1 hour
CeMAP 2 (MORT)	MRT1: Mortgage Law, Practice and Application	50	50 questions, 1 hour
	MRT2: Mortgage Products and Post Completion	50	40 questions, 1 hour
CeMAP 3	ASEW/ASSC: Assessment of Mortgage Advice Knowledge	50	6 case studies × 10, 2 hours
Total	5 units	250	6 hours of exams

The hours are equal on paper, but the units do not feel equal. In our experience of building practice for each unit:

• FRE1 and FRE2 are the most regulation-heavy and the least familiar to newcomers. Walbrook's own course page says CeMAP 1 "is often considered the most challenging module".
• MRT1 has the most questions (50 in an hour) and the most technical breadth: borrowers, affordability, fees, property and valuation.
• MRT2 covers products, repayment methods and post-completion issues such as arrears.
• ASEW is synoptic: it tests MRT1 and MRT2 again through case studies, so it goes faster if the earlier units are fresh.

How the hours are spent matters as much as the total. A reasonable split for each 50-hour unit is about 30 hours reading and making notes, 10 hours of topic questions and 10 hours of timed mocks and review (our suggestion, not Walbrook's). The CeMAP revision guide covers methods.

Exam tip: Do not save all the mocks for the last week. Short timed practice from week one tells you early whether your 50 hours are going in the right places.

How long do you have to finish CeMAP?

You have 18 months to finish CeMAP if you register for the full qualification, or 12 months for each module registered separately. Within that window you must pass every unit, including any resits, each of which costs £120 as of October 2026.

The two registration types compare like this:

Registration	Fee (as of October 2026)	Time allowed
Full CeMAP, all three modules	£735	18 months for all five units
CeMAP 1 only	£330	12 months
CeMAP 2 only	£320	12 months
CeMAP 3 only	£160	12 months

Fees are from Walbrook's CeMAP page. The CeMAP cost guide lists every other charge.

Two rules make the deadline real:

1. The exam link closes with the registration. Walbrook's exam information says your exam link "stays accessible until you either complete your exam or your registration expires".
2. Resits are capped. For a failed unit you may sit at most three attempts in a week and ten in any 12-month period.

Walbrook's public pages do not explain what happens to units already passed if a registration lapses, or whether a lapsed registration can be extended. Its additional fees document lists a £175 deferral fee "if applicable" but does not say when it applies. If your deadline is close, contact Walbrook before it passes.

Key fact: In our reading, the registration clock starts when you register, not when you first open the study text. Register when you are ready to start.

How fast can you complete CeMAP?

CeMAP can be completed in a few weeks by a full-time candidate: all five exams are on demand on Brightspace with no booking, and Walbrook allows unit exams back-to-back on the same day. Studying 250 hours in four weeks means about 60 hours a week.

Nothing in Walbrook's rules sets a minimum time. The limits are practical:

• Study hours. 250 hours is the official estimate. Someone who already works in a lender or broker, or who holds a related qualification, may need fewer.
• Exam stamina. The exams total six hours, including two hours for CeMAP 3, and no toilet breaks are allowed during an exam.
• Results. Walbrook states same-day results for FSRE. It does not state results timing for MORT or CeMAP 3, so do not plan a next exam on the assumption that you will know the last result within minutes.

Fast-track courses, sold by training providers rather than by Walbrook, typically pack the teaching into about ten days: one block for CeMAP 1 and another for CeMAP 2 and 3, according to providers' own course pages on 30 October 2026. The course does not sit the exams for you. Most candidates still need a period of self-study and mocks afterwards. Our CeMAP course guide compares fast-track, online and classroom options.

Exam tip: If you plan to sit two units on the same day, sit the shorter, more familiar one first. A failed first exam is a poor start to a second.

How long does CeMAP take part-time?

CeMAP takes about six months part-time at 10 hours a week, which is how most working candidates fit 250 hours around a job. Twenty hours a week finishes in about three months; six to seven hours a week takes about nine months.

The table divides 250 hours across three timelines. It is our arithmetic, not an official schedule.

Timeline	Weeks	Hours a week	What a week looks like
3 months	13	about 19	2 hours every weekday evening, plus 9 hours at the weekend
6 months	26	about 10	1 hour on four weekday evenings, plus 6 hours at the weekend
9 months	39	about 6.5	1 hour on three weekday evenings, plus 3 to 4 hours at the weekend
18 months (the maximum)	78	about 3.2	One long session a week; hard to keep knowledge fresh

A six-month plan in Walbrook's suggested order

Walbrook's suggested order is FRE1, then MRT1, then FRE2, then MRT2, with CeMAP 3 last. At 10 hours a week:

Month	Unit	Hours	Exam at the end?
1	FRE1	50	Sit FRE1
2	MRT1	50	Sit MRT1
3	FRE2	50	Sit FRE2
4	MRT2	50	Sit MRT2
5	ASEW/ASSC	50	Sit CeMAP 3
6	Buffer	—	Resit or rest

The buffer month is deliberate. A month with no slack turns one failed unit into a delay for every unit after it. Walbrook adds that learners "can study flexibly in the order they choose", and its course page notes that many start with CeMAP 2 because it is closer to day-to-day adviser work.

Exam tip: Sit each unit while it is fresh. Leaving all five exams to the end means re-learning FRE1 five months after you studied it.

Does the CeMAP qualification expire?

The CeMAP qualification does not expire: Walbrook states no expiry date for a pass, and it issues a digital certificate when you complete. What does run out is the registration period, 18 months for the full qualification, during which every unit must be passed.

There are three different clocks, and they are often confused:

Clock	Length	Who sets it
Registration period	18 months (full) or 12 months (per module)	Walbrook
Validity of a CeMAP pass	No expiry stated	Walbrook
Your competence as an adviser	Reviewed regularly while you advise	Your firm, under FCA rules

The third clock matters once you work. The FCA's Training and Competence sourcebook, TC 2.1, requires firms to assess an adviser as competent and, under TC 2.1.12R, to review that competence regularly. So a CeMAP pass from years ago still counts as the qualification, but a firm will expect up-to-date knowledge. The become a mortgage adviser guide explains how firms sign advisers off.

Older passes from the pre-2025 structure transferred automatically into the new units on 13 January 2026, according to Walbrook's notice on the changes.

Key fact: "How long does CeMAP last" has two answers: the qualification has no stated expiry, while the registration lasts 18 months from the date you register.

What slows people down?

The things that slow CeMAP candidates down are uneven weekly study, sitting units before mock scores are safely above the 70% pass mark, long gaps between units, and resits. Each failed attempt costs £120 and adds more study time before the next try.

The common delays, in our experience:

1. Front-loading. Twenty hours in week one, then nothing for a month. Steady hours beat bursts.
2. Sitting too early. The CeMAP pass mark is 70% for every unit: 28/40, 35/50, 28/40 and 42/60. Sitting on a mock average of 72% leaves no margin.
3. Long gaps between units. CeMAP 3 retests MRT1 and MRT2. A long pause before it means revising both again.
4. Exam set-up problems. A work laptop with a VPN, or a room that fails the 360-degree scan, can cost a session. Walbrook's exam and assessment information covers the equipment rules, and our CeMAP exam booking guide walks through exam day.
5. Underestimating CeMAP 1. Newcomers to regulation often need more than 50 hours for FRE1.

Exam tip: Book a fixed weekly study slot in your diary, the way you would an appointment. Candidates who protect three sessions a week finish; candidates who study "when they can" drift past their deadline.

Your CeMAP timeline plan

Your CeMAP timeline plan starts with the free FRE1 diagnostic, which shows in 30 minutes how much of the first unit's 50 hours you already know. Then choose a 3, 6 or 9-month timeline and fix the hours a week it needs.

1. Measure. Take the free FRE1 diagnostic: 20 questions, 30 minutes, no account.
2. Choose a timeline. Use the part-time table above. Ten hours a week for six months suits most people with a full-time job.
3. Register when you can start. Full registration costs £735 as of October 2026 and starts your 18 months.
4. Study one unit at a time. Drill weak areas as you go; the FCA, PRA and Handbook drill is the usual first one for FRE1.
5. Prove readiness before each exam. Sit the free FRE1 mock 1 under real timing. Our readiness rule is three mocks in a row at 85% or more, with every topic at 80% or more.
6. Sit, then move on. Book nothing; exams are on demand. Start the next unit the following week.

Mock 1 and the quick practice are free for every unit. Mocks 2 to 10 and the topic drills are part of Pro, at £6.99 a week, £11.99 a month or £22.99 for 3 months, so you can pay only for the months you are studying. A practice score is a guide to readiness, not a pass guarantee.

Key fact: At 10 hours a week, each CeMAP unit takes about five weeks. Five units plus a buffer month fits comfortably inside six months.