CPA Exam Sections Explained: AUD, FAR, REG, and Your Discipline

What are the sections of the CPA Exam?

The CPA Exam has four sections: three required Core sections - Auditing and Attestation (AUD), Financial Accounting and Reporting (FAR), and Taxation and Regulation (REG) - plus one Discipline section you choose from BAR, ISC, or TCP. Each section runs four hours and mixes multiple-choice questions with task-based simulations. You must pass all four to be licensed.

This structure comes from the CPA Evolution model, which the AICPA and NASBA launched in January 2024 to replace the old four-fixed-section exam. The idea is a strong common Core that every CPA shares, plus one area of deeper focus that reflects how the profession has specialized around technology, analysis, and tax. You pass three Core sections and exactly one Discipline - never all three Disciplines - so the total is always four sections and 16 hours of testing.

The rest of this guide breaks down what each section covers, how it is formatted, how the exam is scored, and how long you have to finish all four. For the full backstory of why the exam changed, see our CPA Evolution 2024 explainer.

• •Core (required, pass all three): AUD, FAR, REG.
• •Discipline (pick one): BAR, ISC, or TCP.
• •Total: four sections, four hours each, 16 hours of testing, 75 to pass each.

What are the three Core CPA sections?

The Core is the shared foundation every CPA candidate must pass, regardless of which Discipline they later choose. It covers the three pillars of public accounting practice: auditing, financial reporting, and taxation and regulation. Because all three are mandatory, most candidates build their study plan around the Core first and slot the Discipline in where it best complements their strongest area.

Each Core section is a self-contained four-hour exam with its own blueprint of content areas, its own mix of multiple-choice questions and task-based simulations, and its own passing bar of 75. Below is what each one tests at a glance; the detailed content-area weights follow further down this guide.

How do you choose a CPA Discipline section?

After the three Core sections, you sit exactly one Discipline of your choice. All three lead to the same CPA license and none restricts what you can practice once licensed, so the choice is about playing to your strengths and interests rather than locking in a specialty. Think about which body of material you already know best, which Core section you found most comfortable, and where your intended career leans.

The three options branch out from the Core in predictable directions: BAR extends FAR into deeper analysis and reporting, ISC builds on the technology and controls world, and TCP is the tax specialist's continuation of REG. Pick the one whose subject matter you would rather study for another four hours, because that alignment usually matters more than a headline pass-rate gap.

How is each CPA section formatted?

Every CPA section combines two question types: multiple-choice questions (MCQs) and task-based simulations (TBSs). MCQs test recall and applied understanding; TBSs are longer, scenario-driven tasks that ask you to work through documents, fill in schedules, or reason toward a conclusion the way you would on the job. For five of the six sections the two types split the score evenly, 50:50. ISC is the single exception, weighting MCQs more heavily at 60:40.

The table below shows the published question counts and score weighting for each section. One important caveat: these MCQ and TBS totals include unscored pretest items that the AICPA embeds to trial future questions, so not every question you answer counts toward your score, and you cannot tell which is which. The counts are stable for the 2026 to 2027 blueprint but the AICPA can revise them at blueprint updates.

What content areas does each CPA section test?

Each section has a published blueprint that divides its material into content areas, each carrying a weight range that tells you roughly how much of the exam it drives. The ranges are intentionally bands rather than fixed percentages, because the exact mix varies from one test form to the next. Use them to prioritize: the higher the weight, the more of your study time that area deserves.

Below are the blueprint content areas and their weight ranges for all six sections. Read your chosen four - the three Core sections plus your Discipline - as the skeleton of your study plan, and notice where the heaviest bands sit before you decide how to sequence your prep.

• •AUD: Ethics and Professional Responsibilities 15-25%; Assessing Risk and Developing a Planned Response 25-35%; Performing Procedures and Obtaining Evidence 30-40%; Forming Conclusions and Reporting 10-20%.
• •FAR: Financial Reporting 30-40%; Select Balance Sheet Accounts 30-40%; Select Transactions 25-35%.
• •REG: Ethics, Professional Responsibilities and Federal Tax Procedures 10-20%; Business Law 15-25%; Federal Taxation of Property Transactions 5-15%; Federal Taxation of Individuals 22-32%; Federal Taxation of Entities 23-33%.
• •BAR: Business Analysis 40-50%; Technical Accounting and Reporting 35-45%; State and Local Governments 10-20%.
• •ISC: Information Systems and Data Management 35-45%; Security, Confidentiality and Privacy 35-45%; Considerations for SOC Engagements 15-25%.
• •TCP: Individual Tax Compliance and Planning 30-40%; Entity Tax Compliance 30-40%; Entity Tax Planning 10-20%; Property Transactions 10-20%.

How is the CPA Exam scored?

Every section is scored on a scale from 0 to 99, and you need a 75 to pass. That 75 is a passing threshold, not a percentage of questions answered correctly. Your score is a weighted, scaled score that combines your performance on the MCQs and the TBSs according to each section's weighting - 50:50 for five sections and 60:40 for ISC - so two candidates who answer the same number of questions correctly can score differently depending on which questions those were.

The exam is not curved against other candidates. Your result reflects only your own answers measured against a fixed standard, which means there is no advantage or penalty from testing alongside a strong or weak cohort. Because the score is scaled rather than raw, you cannot reverse-engineer an exact percent-correct target; the practical goal is consistent competence across the whole blueprint, since a weak content area can quietly pull a scaled score below 75. For how these thresholds translate into results across sections, see our CPA exam pass rates breakdown.

• •Scale: 0 to 99, with 75 as the passing mark for every section.
• •A 75 is a scaled, weighted score, not a raw 75 percent correct.
• •The exam is not curved - you are measured against a fixed standard, not other candidates.

How long do you have to pass all four CPA sections, and when can you sit them?

Once you pass your first section, a rolling window opens: under the rule most jurisdictions have now adopted, you have 30 months - measured from the score-release date of that first pass - to clear the remaining three sections. Miss the deadline and your oldest credit expires, forcing a retake. This 30-month window replaced the legacy 18-month rule, giving candidates meaningfully more breathing room, but adoption and the exact mechanics can vary by state board, so confirm the current policy with your own jurisdiction.

Scheduling differs between Core and Discipline. The three Core sections test year-round under continuous testing, and you can retake a failed Core section as soon as its score is released. The Discipline sections are the exception: BAR, ISC, and TCP are offered only in the first month of each calendar quarter - January, April, July, and October. That window shapes sequencing, because if you fail a Discipline you cannot retake it immediately; you wait for the next quarter's opening month. Many candidates therefore clear the Core first and time their single Discipline attempt carefully.

• •Rolling 30-month window from your first passed section's score-release date to finish the other three (up from the old 18 months).
• •Core sections (AUD, FAR, REG) test year-round with continuous retakes once a score is released.
• •Discipline sections (BAR, ISC, TCP) are offered only in the first month of each quarter: January, April, July, October.

Which CPA section should you take first?

There is no mandated order, so strategy comes down to the 30-month clock, the year-round availability of the Core, and your own strengths. A common approach is to open with FAR - the broadest section and, on 2025 numbers, one of the toughest - so that the hardest material is behind you and the 30-month window starts on your terms. Others prefer to bank an early win with a section they feel strong in, then use that momentum. Either way, sit a Core section first, because Core availability is year-round while the Discipline is locked to quarter openings.

Let the pass rates inform, not dictate, your sequence. The table below shows 2025 full-year cumulative rates by section. They fluctuate quarter to quarter and reflect who self-selects into each section, so they are a planning input rather than a difficulty ranking - our how-hard-is-the-CPA guide unpacks that nuance. If your timeline is tight or you want section-by-section support, Exam Assist works with CPA candidates on pay-after-pass terms through the Take My CPA Exam service; message us with your target sections and dates and we will map out the options confidentially. Exam Assist is independent and not affiliated with the AICPA or NASBA.