United States · Licensing examCPA Exam pass rates in 2026
Fourth-quarter 2026 figures come out after the quarter ends. The AICPA doesn't publish a single pass rate for the whole exam, only one per section.
| Section | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | 2026 so far |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AUD | 47.80% | 49.38% | 52.23% | 50.03% |
| FAR | 43.46% | 42.47% | 44.49% | 43.54% |
| REG | 66.65% | 66.87% | 65.37% | 66.32% |
| BAR | 41.30% | 45.62% | 44.35% | 43.88% |
| ISC | 66.79% | 67.98% | 70.22% | 68.56% |
| TCP | 79.28% | 79.75% | 80.08% | 79.75% |
What was the CPA Exam pass rate in 2025?
Every section's rate in the first three quarters of 2026 is higher than its 2025 full-year rate.
| Section | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Full year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AUD | 44.30% | 49.05% | 50.03% | 48.78% | 48.21% |
| FAR | 41.67% | 43.52% | 43.07% | 40.20% | 42.12% |
| REG | 62.03% | 63.58% | 66.05% | 60.73% | 63.12% |
| BAR | 37.64% | 47.26% | 39.46% | 39.71% | 41.94% |
| ISC | 61.23% | 71.96% | 66.91% | 66.75% | 67.79% |
| TCP | 74.94% | 80.63% | 76.68% | 76.72% | 77.65% |
What is the hardest CPA Exam section?
Going by pass rates, FAR and BAR. They had the lowest rates in both 2025 and 2026 so far, at around 42% to 44%. TCP had the highest, then ISC and REG.
A pass rate isn't the same as difficulty for you, though. Candidates choose their own Discipline, so BAR, ISC and TCP are each taken by a different group of people. In its July 2026 article, the AICPA's advice was plain: don't pick your Discipline by its pass rate.
BEC ended when the new exam launched in January 2024, so there's no current BEC pass rate.
Do pass rates change with the time of year?
The AICPA says scores aren't curved and there's no pass quota, and that the exam isn't harder or easier to pass at different times.
Sources: AICPA & CIMA and 1 more. Checked October 2026.
- AICPA & CIMA: CPA Exam scoring and pass rates (October 22, 2026) ↗
- AICPA & CIMA: The new CPA Exam, two years in (July 6, 2026) ↗
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