The structure of the Uniform CPA Exam is a four-section, 16-hour assessment built on what the AICPA calls the CPA Evolution model: three mandatory core sections that every candidate takes, plus one discipline section you choose from three options. Each section runs four hours, is scored on a 0 to 99 scale, and requires a 75 to pass. The AICPA owns the exam, NASBA and the AICPA administer it on behalf of state boards of accountancy, and candidates sit for it at Prometric testing centers.
The Three-Plus-One Framework
Since January 2024, the exam has used a “core-plus-discipline” structure, sometimes described as three-plus-one. Everyone passes the same three core sections, which cover auditing, financial reporting, and taxation. Then you pick one of three discipline sections that lines up with your career direction or your strengths.1AICPA & CIMA. Navigating CPA Evolution’s New CPA Exam Model The reasoning: modern practice spans data analytics, IT governance, and complex global tax work, and a single uniform exam can’t test all of it at useful depth.
A common worry is that choosing a discipline locks you into that specialty. It doesn’t. Every CPA receives the same license with the same privileges regardless of which discipline they passed. Someone who passed the tax discipline can still sign audit opinions; someone who passed the IT-focused discipline can still represent clients in tax matters. Professional standards require competence and due care in whatever work you take on, but your practice is not restricted by which discipline sits on your exam record.1AICPA & CIMA. Navigating CPA Evolution’s New CPA Exam Model
The Three Core Sections
The three cores form the baseline every CPA has to clear. Each is four hours long, and all three are available for continuous, year-round testing at Prometric centers.2National Association of State Boards of Accountancy. What is the Uniform CPA Examination?
Auditing and Attestation (AUD)
AUD covers the professional standards governing audit and attestation engagements. You have to show you can plan an engagement, evaluate internal controls, gather sufficient evidence, and form an opinion on financial statements under Generally Accepted Auditing Standards. The section also tests the AICPA Code of Professional Conduct and the ability to identify risks that could lead to financial misstatement. AUD is one of the more question-heavy sections, with 78 multiple-choice questions and 7 task-based simulations.3AICPA & CIMA. Learn What Is Tested on the CPA Exam
Financial Accounting and Reporting (FAR)
FAR tests preparation and analysis of financial statements for both for-profit and not-for-profit organizations under FASB and governmental accounting frameworks. Expect balance sheets, income statements, cash flow statements, and the accounting treatment of assets and liabilities. Precision in recording transactions so that reports reflect the underlying economics is central. FAR has 50 multiple-choice questions and 7 task-based simulations, but the questions are calculation-intensive, which is one reason the section consistently posts some of the lowest pass rates.
Taxation and Regulation (REG)
REG is the legal backbone of the exam. The content divides into five weighted areas: ethics and federal tax procedures, business law, property transactions, taxation of individuals, and taxation of entities.4AICPA & CIMA. Uniform CPA Examination Blueprints You work with Internal Revenue Code provisions, the Uniform Commercial Code as it applies to contracts and debtor-creditor relationships, and agency law principles. Government regulation of business, including worker classification rules and the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, also appears. REG contains 72 multiple-choice questions and 8 task-based simulations, the most TBSs of any section.
The Three Discipline Sections
After the three cores, you pick one discipline to finish the exam. Each discipline is also four hours. Unlike the cores, discipline sections run only during quarterly testing windows: one month each in January, April, July, and October, with scores released roughly six weeks after each window closes.
Business Analysis and Reporting (BAR)
BAR extends what FAR covers into deeper financial reporting and analysis. Topics include consolidated financial statements, lease accounting, hedge accounting, and the use of financial and non-financial data for organizational decision-making. Candidates who pick BAR often expect to work with large corporations or complex entities where sophisticated financial oversight is the daily job. BAR has been one of the tougher disciplines by pass rate, hovering around 42% cumulatively in 2025.5AICPA & CIMA. Learn More About CPA Exam Scoring and Pass Rates
Information Systems and Controls (ISC)
ISC sits at the intersection of accounting and information technology. It tests IT governance, data security, system organizational control (SOC) reports, cloud computing environments, and the auditing of complex electronic systems. As automated processes do more of the work in modern businesses, this discipline validates that a CPA can evaluate digital internal controls and manage data breach risk. ISC is the most question-heavy discipline, with 82 multiple-choice questions and 6 task-based simulations.
Tax Compliance and Planning (TCP)
TCP picks up where REG stops, moving into advanced tax topics like the taxation of life insurance, retirement plans, and complex property transactions. The emphasis shifts from knowing the rules to applying them strategically, including planning for multinational entities and high-net-worth individuals. TCP posted the highest cumulative pass rate of any section in 2025 at roughly 78%, likely because candidates who choose it tend to already work in tax.5AICPA & CIMA. Learn More About CPA Exam Scoring and Pass Rates
What Each Section Looks Like Inside
Every section is four hours long, and the four sections together make a 16-hour exam.2National Association of State Boards of Accountancy. What is the Uniform CPA Examination? Within a section, questions are grouped into five testlets: two testlets of multiple-choice questions followed by three testlets of task-based simulations. After you finish the first simulation testlet, you get an optional 15-minute standardized break that does not count against the four-hour clock.
Multiple-choice questions test a specific concept or calculation with four answer options. The MCQ count varies by section, from 50 on FAR and BAR up to 82 on ISC. Task-based simulations present realistic work scenarios: filling out tax forms, analyzing exhibits like invoices or meeting minutes, evaluating internal control documentation. You apply the rules, not just recall them. Most sections include 7 TBSs; REG has 8 and ISC has 6. The older research-based simulations that required searching authoritative literature databases were discontinued when the current format launched in 2024, though applied research is still tested indirectly through scenario questions.
How Scoring Works
Each section is scored on a 0 to 99 scale, and you need a 75 to pass. That 75 is not a percentage of correct answers. It’s a scaled score that accounts for the relative difficulty of the questions you received, so two candidates who answered different question sets can both reach 75 even if one got more items right in absolute terms.5AICPA & CIMA. Learn More About CPA Exam Scoring and Pass Rates
Core section scores are released roughly every two weeks throughout the year on rolling cutoff dates. Discipline scores release once per quarter, typically six to eight weeks after the testing window closes. Scores post to NASBA’s candidate portal at midnight Eastern Time on the target release date, and the viewing window is limited before they’re removed.
Pass rates vary widely. The 2025 cumulative figures:
- AUD: 48%
- FAR: 42%
- REG: 63%
- BAR: 42%
- ISC: 68%
- TCP: 78%
FAR and BAR are consistently the hardest to clear, which is why many candidates sit for one of those first while study habits are fresh.5AICPA & CIMA. Learn More About CPA Exam Scoring and Pass Rates
How Long Passed Sections Stay Good
Once you pass a section, the clock starts on the rest. You have a set window to pass the remaining sections before that credit expires and you have to retake it. The model Uniform Accountancy Act rules were recently updated to extend this window from 18 months to 30 months from the score release date.6National Association of State Boards of Accountancy. Three Different Credit Extensions Happening Now! Individual boards of accountancy have to formally adopt the change, though, and many jurisdictions are still working through rulemaking. Check with your specific state board to confirm whether the 30-month window applies to you; some jurisdictions may still use 18 months.
This window is the single biggest source of pressure in the process. Passing FAR and watching its credit expire while you grind through AUD adds months and real money to the path. Mapping out a realistic study schedule before you sit for the first section is how most successful candidates manage it.
One Boundary Worth Naming
Passing all four sections does not, by itself, make you a CPA. Licensure also requires meeting your state board’s education threshold and completing a period of supervised professional experience, and many states require a separate ethics exam as well.7AICPA & CIMA. Becoming a CPA The exam structure described above is the testing piece of licensure, not the whole credential.