How the CPA Exam is built: three Core sections plus one Discipline

In this lesson you will

Identify the three Core sections and the three Discipline sections of the Uniform CPA Examination
Describe the five-testlet layout and the question counts for each section
Distinguish multiple-choice questions from task-based simulations
Plan a time budget for a four-hour section

The licensure model behind the exam

The Uniform CPA Examination follows the CPA Evolution licensure model, which launched on the exam in January 2024. The AICPA Board of Examiners states the model in the introduction to the Exam Blueprints: every candidate passes three Core sections and one Discipline section of the candidate's choosing. The Core sections test what every newly licensed CPA (the Blueprints say "nlCPA") needs to protect the public interest. The Discipline sections test deeper knowledge in one domain.

Type	Section	Time
Core	Auditing and Attestation (AUD)	4 hours
Core	Financial Accounting and Reporting (FAR)	4 hours
Core	Taxation and Regulation (REG)	4 hours
Discipline	Business Analysis and Reporting (BAR)	4 hours
Discipline	Information Systems and Controls (ISC)	4 hours
Discipline	Tax Compliance and Planning (TCP)	4 hours

Four sections at four hours each make a 16-hour exam. You pass AUD, FAR and REG plus one of BAR, ISC or TCP. You do not take all three Disciplines.

Testlets and question counts

Each section has five testlets. Testlets 1 and 2 hold multiple-choice questions (MCQs). Testlets 3, 4 and 5 hold task-based simulations (TBSs). The January 2026 Blueprints give these counts:

Section	MCQs (testlets 1 and 2)	TBSs (testlets 3, 4, 5)
AUD	78 (39 + 39)	7 (2 + 3 + 2)
FAR	50 (25 + 25)	7 (2 + 3 + 2)
REG	72 (36 + 36)	8 (2 + 3 + 3)
BAR	50 (25 + 25)	7 (2 + 3 + 2)
ISC	82 (41 + 41)	6 (1 + 3 + 2)
TCP	68 (34 + 34)	7 (2 + 3 + 2)

The Blueprints describe two item types only: MCQs and TBSs. A TBS is a case built around exhibits (contracts, trial balances, workpapers, tax forms, excerpts of standards) where you complete a schedule, select options, fill amounts or research an excerpt. The Core section introductions also call out applied research: reviewing and using excerpts of source material, such as auditing standards in AUD, to identify issues and decide responses.

Breaks and the clock

NASBA's exam FAQ describes a standardized 15-minute break offered about midway through each section. You may take it or decline it, and it does not count against testing time. Optional breaks between other testlets do count against your four hours. A candidate who takes a five-minute optional break at three testlet boundaries loses fifteen minutes of working time.

How practitioners use this

Managers who support candidates use the structure to set study calendars and busy-season expectations. Three habits hold up:

Read the section's testlet split before studying. AUD and ISC carry many more MCQs than FAR and BAR, so pacing on testlets 1 and 2 matters more there.
Practice TBSs under time pressure. On FAR and BAR, 50 MCQs leave the larger share of the clock for the simulations.
Use the official Blueprints, not a summary, as the content outline. The Blueprints list content area, group, topic, skill level and representative tasks.

Mistakes candidates make

Studying a Discipline before confirming the board's application rules and testing windows (covered in applying and scheduling).
Treating optional breaks as free time.
Relying on old materials that describe the pre-2024 four-section exam with a separate business section. That structure is gone.

The CPA exam sections guide gives a longer walk-through of each section.

Worked example

A time budget for AUD

Dana Ortiz, a first-year staff accountant at Bayside Ledger CPAs, sits for AUD. She has 240 minutes of testing time, 78 MCQs and 7 TBSs, and she plans to accept the standardized break because it does not use testing time.

Her budget:

MCQs: 78 questions x 1.3 minutes = 101.4 minutes, rounded to 101 minutes across testlets 1 and 2.
TBSs: 7 simulations x 17 minutes = 119 minutes across testlets 3 to 5.
Subtotal: 101 + 119 = 220 minutes.
Reserve: 240 - 220 = 20 minutes for flagged items and review.

She skips optional breaks between other testlets, since each minute there comes out of the 20-minute reserve. If she took a 4-minute optional break at three other testlet boundaries, she would spend 12 minutes and keep only 8 minutes of reserve. Conclusion: one standardized break, no optional breaks, and a checkpoint at the end of testlet 2 where she should have at least 139 minutes left (240 - 101).

Self-check

Answer each question before you open the answer.

How many sections must a candidate pass, and how many of them are Discipline sections?
Show answer
Four: the three Core sections (AUD, FAR, REG) and one Discipline section (BAR, ISC or TCP). The Blueprints state that the licensure model requires three Core sections and one Discipline of the candidate’s choosing.
Which testlets contain task-based simulations?
Show answer
Testlets 3, 4 and 5. The first two testlets in every section are multiple-choice, and the last three contain the TBSs.
A candidate takes the standardized break and a 10-minute optional break after testlet 1. How much testing time did the breaks use?
Show answer
Ten minutes. The standardized 15-minute break does not count against testing time, while optional breaks between other testlets do.
Which section has the most MCQs and the fewest TBSs?
Show answer
ISC, with 82 MCQs (41 + 41) and 6 TBSs (1 + 3 + 2) under the January 2026 Blueprints. It is also the only section that weights MCQs 60% and TBSs 40% instead of 50/50.

Sources

Back to the syllabus

Standards are paraphrased from the primary sources listed above; read the source before relying on a requirement. This lesson is training material, not professional advice. Report an error