How hard is the CPA exam?
The CPA exam is hard. Each of its four sections is a four-hour exam, you need 75 on a 0 to 99 scale to pass, and in 2025 only 42% of candidates passed FAR and 48% passed AUD, per the AICPA. Scores are not curved. What makes it tough is volume: hundreds of topics, tested with multiple choice and simulations, within a deadline set by your state.
You take three core sections, Auditing and Attestation (AUD), Financial Accounting and Reporting (FAR) and Taxation and Regulation (REG), plus one discipline you choose: Business Analysis and Reporting (BAR), Information Systems and Controls (ISC) or Tax Compliance and Planning (TCP). Most sections weigh multiple-choice questions and task-based simulations 50/50, while ISC is 60/40. The AICPA does not curve scores or aim for a target pass rate.
The pass rates show where the difficulty sits. FAR and BAR are the lowest at around 42%, because they cover the widest range of standards and calculations. TCP is the highest at about 78%. Most states now give you 30 months to pass all four sections, counted from your first passed section, so pacing matters as much as knowledge. A failed section is a delay, not the end: you can retake it.
| Section | Type | 2025 full year | Q2 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| AUD | Core | 48.21% | 49.38% |
| FAR | Core | 42.12% | 42.47% |
| REG | Core | 63.12% | 66.87% |
| BAR | Discipline | 41.94% | 45.62% |
| ISC | Discipline | 67.79% | 67.98% |
| TCP | Discipline | 77.65% | 79.75% |
- 1Check your state board's rules: eligibility, fees and how long your credit window is.
- 2Pick your discipline based on your work and courses, not only on the highest pass rate.
- 3Plan one section at a time. Put FAR early if your accounting courses are recent, since it is the broadest.
- 4For each section, go through the content once, then spend most of your hours on multiple-choice sets and simulations.
- 5Keep a log of every miss and run spaced flashcards for rules and thresholds, so earlier sections do not fade.
- 6Take a full timed mock exam a week or two before test day and fix what it shows.