CPA exam test day: arrival, identification, breaks and the rules that forfeit a section

What happens between walking into the test center and starting the exam, and the handful of rules that cost candidates a whole section fee before they answer a question. Sourced to the NASBA Candidate Guide, edition 2026-07-16. Last reviewed 2026-09-23.

What time do you have to arrive for the CPA exam?

Arrive at the test center at least 30 minutes before your appointment time. That half hour is for check-in: signing in, a hand-held metal detector scan, a digital photograph, a fingerprint, and being seated. Arriving after your scheduled start time can mean you are refused permission to test, with no refund. The appointment time on your confirmation is the testing time plus 30 minutes, and that extra half hour covers log-in, the end-of-exam survey and the standardized break rather than extra time to answer questions. You still get four hours to test.

What ID do you need for the CPA exam?

Bring two forms of identification. One must be a primary form carrying a recent photograph and your signature: a current driver license or state identification card from a US state or territory, a current passport, or a US military identification card. The second must carry your signature and can be another government-issued identification, a board-issued card, or a credit, debit or ATM card. Neither may be expired. A Social Security card, a student identification card, a permanent residency card and a draft classification card are not accepted. At an international test center the primary identification must be a current passport.

What happens if your name does not match your ID at the CPA exam?

The name on your identification has to match the name on your Notice to Schedule exactly, and if it does not you will not be permitted to test. Do not change the spelling or the order of your name between the application, the NTS and your identification. A shortened name on a driver license is acceptable as long as the name on your signature identification matches the NTS. If the name on your NTS is incorrect, submit an information change request through your candidate account at least 10 days before the appointment, because the test center cannot resolve it on the day.

What can you bring into the CPA exam room?

Bring the correct Notice to Schedule and your identification, and plan to bring nothing else into the testing room. Personal belongings go in a small locker outside. Scratch paper, pencils and a calculator are provided and must be handed back. Soft foam earplugs with no cords are allowed and will be inspected. Phones, watches, calculators, bags, food, drink, notes, study material, hats other than religious head coverings, and jewellery beyond a wedding or engagement ring are all prohibited, and the list runs longer than most candidates expect. You are scanned before every entry to the testing room, including after each break, and eyeglasses are inspected. A camera device found before you enter is confiscated and you cannot test; one found inside ends the examination.

How do breaks work on the CPA exam?

You are offered one standardized 15-minute break roughly midway through the section, after the first task-based simulation testlet, and that break does not count against your testing time. You may also break at the end of any other testlet, but the clock keeps running during those. You cannot break at any other point, and leaving the testing room without first selecting the break option means you are not allowed back in and your absence is reported to your board. Breaks longer than ten minutes are also reported. You give a fingerprint on the way out and on the way back, and you re-enter your launch code to continue. Personal electronic devices stay off limits during a break.

What is the five minute limit on the CPA exam introductory screens?

After you enter your launch code the examination shows a set of introductory screens under a five-minute limit, and if you exceed it the session terminates and cannot be restarted. If that happens you leave the test center, forfeit the fees, score zero for the section and have to reapply. There is enough time to read and respond to the screens and no time for anything else, so do not use them to take notes, settle in or step out.

This one scores zeroThis is the least known way to lose a section. It happens before the first question, it cannot be undone, and it scores zero.

What gets you dismissed from the CPA exam?

You can be dismissed by test center staff, or have your score canceled by your board, for misconduct. Staff issue a warning for talking to another candidate, looking at another workstation, giving or receiving help, reading questions aloud, or disrupting the administration. Behavior that ends the session outright includes repeating conduct you were already warned about, removing or attempting to remove examination questions, writing or summarizing questions on anything other than the material issued to you, tampering with the equipment, refusing staff instructions, or having someone impersonate you. Every session is recorded, and misconduct is reported to boards daily. Examination material is AICPA copyright, and reproducing or distributing it, including from memory, is treated as infringement.

What happens if the computer crashes during your CPA exam?

Your work is saved. NASBA states that "your current process while taking the exam is actively saving as you are moving through the exam", and that if the computer shuts down "it will pick back up where you left off, and everything submitted prior to the shutdown is saved." So a crash is not a lost section, and the session resumes rather than restarting from the beginning. Tell test center staff straight away rather than trying to fix it yourself, and if you believe the interruption cost you the section, the written notice to NASBA within five days below is the step that preserves your position.

What do you do if a problem occurs during your CPA exam?

Report any problem with the equipment or the room to test center staff while you are still there, without waiting. If you believe the circumstances stopped you performing to your ability, you must also tell NASBA candidate care in writing within five days of the examination, and a comment left in the end-of-exam survey or a word to the staff does not count as that notice. Do not wait for your score first. If instead you think a specific question was faulty, email the AICPA examinations team within four days, identify the item by its position rather than its wording, and say what the problem is. The AICPA reviews every message that arrives by the deadline and does not reply individually.

What happens if you miss your CPA exam appointment?

If you do not attend, and did not cancel through an approved method, you are recorded as a no-show, you forfeit the examination fees for that section and there is no refund. Turning up with an incorrect Notice to Schedule or incorrect identification produces the same result. You then have to wait for NASBA to process the no-show status before you can reapply and pay again. Canceling an appointment does not move the expiry date on your NTS, so a cancellation still leaves you needing to sit before that date.

Source: NASBA CPA Exam Candidate Guide, edition 2026-07-16. Procedure and requirements only. Examination content is AICPA copyright and none of it is reproduced here. See also the NTS, rescheduling fees and retakes.

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