CPA Exam Calendar 2026: Testing Windows and Score Dates

The CPA exam calendar looks nothing like it did a few years ago. Core sections now test year-round with no blackout months, while the Discipline section you choose is boxed into just four windows a year — and missing one by a day can cost you a full quarter. Get the sequencing wrong and you can burn through the clock on the 30-month window you have to pass all four sections, watching your earliest pass expire before you've finished. This guide lays out exactly how the current CPA exam calendar works, the real 2026 testing windows and score release dates, and how to sequence your sections so the calendar works for you instead of against you.

1. The 4 sections you actually have to pass

Under the current CPA Evolution licensure model, every candidate sits the same three Core sections, then picks one Discipline based on where they want their career to go. You only ever take four sections total — but which Discipline you pick, and when you schedule it, has a real effect on how your whole calendar plays out.

• Auditing and Attestation (AUD) — Core, required for everyone.
• Financial Accounting and Reporting (FAR) — Core, required for everyone.
• Regulation (REG) — Core, required for everyone.
• One Discipline of your choice — Business Analysis and Reporting (BAR), Information Systems and Controls (ISC), or Tax Compliance and Planning (TCP).

The Discipline you pick doesn't appear on your CPA license later — it's the same license either way — so most candidates choose based on which one plays to their existing coursework or work experience, not which sounds more impressive.

2. Core section testing: how continuous testing works

AUD, FAR, and REG are open for scheduling essentially year-round in 2026, with no blackout months between testing windows. That gives you real flexibility to sit a Core section whenever you're actually ready, rather than waiting on a quarterly window.

"Continuous testing removes the artificial deadline — but it also removes the forcing function that used to keep people on schedule."

Score release for Core sections is rolling rather than tied to a single date: the AICPA publishes target release dates throughout the year, but your actual score depends on when Prometric transmits your exam data to them, so two candidates who test a day apart can still get scores a week or more apart.

3. Discipline testing windows for 2026 and 2027

Unlike the Core sections, your chosen Discipline (BAR, ISC, or TCP) is only available during four fixed windows a year. Miss one, and your next chance is roughly three months later. Here's the current window plus the next two coming up:

4. The 30-month rule — and how it can work against you

Once you pass your first section, most state boards now give you 30 months to pass the remaining three (a small number of states, including Hawaii, still use the older 18-month window measured differently — confirm your own state board's rule before you build a calendar around this). If the clock runs out before you've passed all four, your earliest passed section can expire and drop off, forcing you to retake it.

This is where the Core/Discipline split actually matters for your calendar: because Core sections test continuously, you can space them out fairly freely. Your Discipline section is the fixed point everything else has to be planned around, since missing your intended window can eat a quarter of your 30 months for no good reason.

5. How to build your exam calendar

1. Pick your Discipline section first, since it has the least flexibility, then work backward from the next window that realistically gives you enough study time.
2. Schedule your three Core sections around that fixed Discipline date, spacing them so you're not studying two sections' worth of material at once.
3. Build in at least one buffer month before your Discipline window in case a Core section needs a retake.
4. Check your state board's exact rolling-window rule (30 months in most states) before finalizing dates, since a miscalculation here is the single most expensive scheduling mistake.
5. Register early for your Discipline window — seats at popular Prometric centers fill up well before the window closes.

6. Scheduling mistakes that cost candidates a quarter

• Treating the Discipline section like a Core section. Assuming you can test "whenever" and missing the October window by a few days means waiting until January.
• Not accounting for score release lag. A Discipline score can take up to six weeks after the window closes — plan your next section around that, not around your test date.
• Losing track of the rolling-window clock. Candidates who space sections too far apart risk their first pass expiring before the fourth section is done.
• Booking a Prometric slot too late. Popular testing centers and dates within a Discipline window fill up fast, especially in the final week.
• Planning past the officially published windows. The AICPA publishes target dates a few windows ahead, not years ahead — don't assume a window far in the future will land on the same dates as this year's.

Frequently asked questions