The French Financial Markets Authority has published an overview of its professional certification regime, setting out how market professionals can meet the mandatory general AMF certification requirement and how the separate Sustainable Finance exam operates. The update confirms that the general certification is compulsory for staff performing one of eight key functions at investment services providers, including portfolio management companies, and for financial investment advisers since 1 January 2020. It can be obtained either by passing the AMF exam or, for investment services providers only, through an employer-run internal verification of minimum knowledge. The general AMF exam is a 120-question multiple-choice test administered only by AMF-certified organisations, with an 80% pass threshold on financial culture questions and on questions judged essential to the role, a maximum duration of two hours, and French and English versions. Affected professionals have six months from taking up their role to satisfy the minimum knowledge requirement and must be appropriately supervised until then. The external AMF exam remains valid for life across employers, while internal verification is valid only within the same group. The Sustainable Finance exam is a voluntary complement to the general AMF exam. It consists of 60 multiple-choice questions, has an 80% pass threshold, lasts up to 90 minutes, and covers the sustainable finance framework, ESG issues, extra-financial approaches in asset management, and distribution of sustainable finance products. More than 145,300 people had passed the general AMF exam by 31 December 2025, and more than 6,300 had passed the Sustainable Finance exam since 2022. The dossier also republishes the lists of AMF-certified organisations authorised to run the general AMF exam and the Sustainable Finance exam as at 1 January 2025. Training organisations seeking certification to organise either exam must apply under the procedures in AMF Instructions 2010-09 and 2021-03, with certification decided by the AMF Board after consultation with the High Certification Council.
France Autorite des marches financiers 2026-05-06
French Financial Markets Authority publishes professional certification overview covering mandatory AMF certification routes and sustainable finance exam
The French Financial Markets Authority has published an overview of its professional certification regime, confirming that general AMF certification is mandatory for staff in eight key functions at investment services providers and for financial investment advisers, and can be obtained via the AMF exam or, for investment services providers, internal knowledge verification. The update details the structure and validity of the general AMF exam and the voluntary Sustainable Finance exam, and republishes from 1 January 2025 the lists of AMF-certified organisations authorised to administer both.