The Uniform CPA Examination is one of the requirements for becoming a licensed Certified Public Accountant (CPA) in the United States. The current exam consists of three required Core sections plus one Discipline section of your choice. Each section is four hours long.
SECTIONS TO PASS
4
TIME PER SECTION
4 Hours
TOTAL TESTING TIME
16 Hours
PASSING SCORE
75
How Is the CPA Exam Structured?
The CPA Exam follows a Core + Discipline model. Every candidate must pass all three Core sections:
- AUD: Auditing and Attestation
- FAR: Financial Accounting and Reporting
- REG: Taxation and Regulation
You must also choose and pass one of three Discipline sections:
- BAR: Business Analysis and Reporting
- ISC: Information Systems and Controls
- TCP: Tax Compliance and Planning
Your Discipline does not create a different type of CPA license or restrict you to that area of practice. Passing any one of the three Discipline sections satisfies the Discipline requirement for the same CPA license.
CPA Exam Sections
AUD: Auditing and Attestation
AUD covers the knowledge and skills needed for audit, attestation, and accounting and review service engagements, including ethics, professional responsibilities, evidence, risk assessment, and reporting.
Format: 78 multiple-choice questions and 7 task-based simulations
FAR: Financial Accounting and Reporting
FAR focuses on financial accounting and reporting for business entities and not-for-profit entities, along with the accounting concepts and transactions newly licensed CPAs are expected to understand.
Format: 50 multiple-choice questions and 7 task-based simulations
REG: Taxation and Regulation
REG covers federal taxation, business law, ethics, professional responsibilities, and other regulatory knowledge relevant to newly licensed CPAs.
Format: 72 multiple-choice questions and 8 task-based simulations
Choose One Discipline
BAR: Business Analysis and Reporting
BAR emphasizes financial analysis, technical accounting and reporting, data-related concepts, and accounting and reporting for state and local governments.
Format: 50 multiple-choice questions and 7 task-based simulations
ISC: Information Systems and Controls
ISC focuses on information systems, data management, security, confidentiality, privacy, IT controls, and System and Organization Controls (SOC) engagements.
Format: 82 multiple-choice questions and 6 task-based simulations
TCP: Tax Compliance and Planning
TCP goes deeper into individual and entity taxation, tax compliance, tax planning, and related financial-planning topics.
Format: 68 multiple-choice questions and 7 task-based simulations
CPA Exam Question Types
Each section contains five testlets. The first two testlets contain multiple-choice questions (MCQs), and the final three contain task-based simulations (TBSs).
Multiple-Choice Questions
MCQs test accounting knowledge and your ability to apply concepts to specific situations. They make up part of every CPA Exam section.
Task-Based Simulations
TBSs present practical scenarios that require you to apply accounting knowledge and skills, often using exhibits, calculations, documents, or other information.
For AUD, FAR, REG, BAR, and TCP, MCQs and TBSs each account for 50% of the section score. ISC is weighted differently: MCQs account for 60% and TBSs account for 40%.
How Is the CPA Exam Scored?
You must earn a reported score of 75 or higher on each of the four sections you are required to pass.
A score of 75 does not mean that you answered exactly 75% of the questions correctly. CPA Exam scores are scaled, and the scoring process considers factors including question difficulty. The exam is not graded on a curve.
If you fail a section, you receive a Candidate Performance Report that provides additional information about your performance on that section.
Who Is Eligible to Take the CPA Exam?
CPA Exam eligibility is determined by the jurisdiction through which you apply. The United States has 55 CPA licensing jurisdictions, and each jurisdiction establishes its own education and other eligibility requirements.
Depending on the jurisdiction, requirements may address:
- College degree requirements
- Total semester hours completed
- Accounting coursework
- Business coursework
- When you may begin testing
- Evaluation of education completed outside the United States
Do not assume that a single education rule applies nationwide. Exam eligibility and CPA licensure requirements vary by jurisdiction, and several states have adopted or are implementing additional pathways to licensure.
Exam Eligibility vs. CPA Licensure
Being eligible to take the CPA Exam is not necessarily the same as meeting all requirements for a CPA license. After passing the exam, you may still need to satisfy additional education, experience, ethics, or other requirements established by your licensing jurisdiction.
Check your state or jurisdiction’s Board of Accountancy before making decisions about coursework or licensure.
How Long Do You Have to Pass All Four Sections?
Once you earn credit for a CPA Exam section, that credit remains valid for a period determined by your jurisdiction.
Current rules are not identical nationwide. Jurisdictions may use different credit periods and may calculate the period from either the exam date or score-release date.
Check your jurisdiction’s current CPA Exam credit rule rather than relying on an older statement that every candidate has the same 18-month window.
Registering and Scheduling the CPA Exam
The exact application process depends on your jurisdiction. Many candidates apply through NASBA’s CPA Portal, while some jurisdictions use their own processes.
- Choose the jurisdiction through which you plan to apply.
- Review its eligibility requirements before submitting an application.
- Submit the required application, transcripts, evaluations, and fees.
- Receive authorization to test after your eligibility is approved and the applicable section process is completed.
- Schedule your exam appointment with Prometric according to the instructions on your Notice to Schedule (NTS).
Application and examination fees vary by jurisdiction, so there is no single nationwide CPA Exam price that applies to every candidate.
When Can You Take the CPA Exam?
CPA Exam scheduling depends on the section and the current testing calendar. Core sections have broad testing availability, while Discipline sections may be offered during designated testing periods.
Because testing and score-release schedules can change from year to year, check the current AICPA and NASBA schedules before planning your exam dates.
What Happens on Test Day?
Each section provides four hours of examination testing time. Your scheduled appointment is longer because it also includes time for check-in procedures, introductory screens, a survey, and the standardized break.
Candidates are offered a standardized 15-minute break approximately midway through the section. This standardized break does not count against the four hours of testing time. Additional optional breaks are available between testlets, but those breaks do count against testing time.
How to Prepare for the CPA Exam
The CPA Exam covers a large amount of material, so preparation should begin with the current AICPA Exam Blueprints rather than an old outline of the test.
CPA Study Checklist
- Download the current AICPA Blueprint for your section.
- Identify the content areas and skills tested.
- Create a realistic study schedule for one section at a time.
- Practice both multiple-choice questions and task-based simulations.
- Review explanations for questions you miss.
- Practice completing questions under timed conditions.
- Learn how the five testlets are organized before test day.
- Use the current blueprint when accounting, tax, auditing, or regulatory rules have changed.
Choosing a Discipline
Choose BAR, ISC, or TCP based primarily on the content that best matches your education, experience, strengths, and interests.
- BAR may be a natural fit if you are strongest in financial accounting, reporting, analysis, and related technical topics.
- ISC may fit candidates with stronger backgrounds or interests in information systems, IT controls, security, and SOC engagements.
- TCP may fit candidates who are strongest in taxation and tax planning.
Regardless of the Discipline you choose, passing it results in the same CPA Exam completion requirement and does not limit your future CPA practice area.
Current CPA Exam Resources
NASBA CPA Exam Information — Find application information and requirements by jurisdiction.
CPA Exam Candidate Guide — Review current application, scheduling, testing, scoring, and candidate policies.
AICPA CPA Exam Blueprints — Review exactly what is eligible to be tested in each Core and Discipline section.
NASBA CPA Exam Score Information — Learn how CPA Exam scores are reported and what score is required to pass.
CPA Licensure Pathways — Check recent changes to CPA education and experience pathways by jurisdiction.