The CPA Exam
Last reviewed
FAR has the lowest CPA Exam pass rate of any section at 43.54%, and TCP has the highest at 79.75%, on the AICPA published 2026 rates through Q3.
Core sections
| Section | Name | 2026 through Q3 |
|---|---|---|
| REG | Regulation | 66.32% |
| AUD | Auditing and Attestation | 50.03% |
| FAR | Financial Accounting and Reporting | 43.54% |
Discipline sections
| Section | Name | 2026 through Q3 |
|---|---|---|
| TCP | Tax Compliance and Planning | 79.75% |
| ISC | Information Systems and Controls | 68.56% |
| BAR | Business Analysis and Reporting | 43.88% |
Questions this covers
- Pass rates by section, cores and disciplines separated
- Pass rates by year, every section, back to 2006
- Which section is hardest, and whether pass rate is a fair measure
- Which discipline to choose between BAR, ISC and TCP
- What order to take the sections, and why FAR usually goes first
- When the 30 month window starts and what happens when credit expires
- When CPA Exam scores are released, for cores and disciplines
- The last day you can sit before your credit expires
- How many hours to study for each section, and why the published ranges disagree
- Which topics are hardest, and what the AICPA does and does not publish
- Whether everyone sits the same questions, and whether the exam still adapts
- Whether your credit expires once all four are passed, in all 55 jurisdictions
- What to do after a 74, and whether a review or appeal is worth it
- What the hour ranges mean in weeks when you already have a job
- Why a repeated failure is a measurement problem rather than an hours problem
- Whether the deadline behind the pressure has actually started
What is tested, by section
- What is tested on AUD
- What is tested on FAR
- What is tested on REG
- What is tested on BAR
- What is tested on ISC
- What is tested on TCP
- Which accounting standards the CPA Exam tests
- Every FAR topic the blueprint names
- How task based simulations work
- The distinctions that cost marks
- Mnemonics worth memorizing
Every section
- AUD: Auditing and Attestation
- FAR: Financial Accounting and Reporting
- REG: Regulation
- BAR: Business Analysis and Reporting
- ISC: Information Systems and Controls
- TCP: Tax Compliance and Planning
Pass rates are the AICPA published candidate pass rates for 2026 through Q3, read from AICPA & CIMA on 2026-10-22. The AICPA publishes them quarterly.
For licensure rather than the exam itself, see CPA requirements by state.
Common questions
Which CPA Exam section has the lowest pass rate?
FAR at 43.54% for 2026 through Q3.
How many sections does the CPA Exam have?
4: three core sections every candidate takes, and one discipline chosen from BAR, ISC, TCP.