What has been the Uniform CPA Exam Pass Rate in recent years?Well, as you may have heard, this is one of the most difficult professional exams and the exam pass rate has been hovering slightly below 50% every year. Let’s take a look at the latest data:
Source: 2010 and 2011 (Q1) results from official CPA exam website
What Can The CPA Exam Pass Rate Tell You
Given there are only 2 quarters of information in 2010, so let’s focus on the 2009 data for now: 1. AUD has the highest pass rate! Well, I expect the relatively lower pass rate for AUD given this is the longest exam (4.5 hours)… wrong! This may be an encouragement to some of you are struggling to study for the AUD section of the CPA exam. 2. Which one has the lowest pass rate? If we look at the latest, 1Q2011 data, REG has the lowest pass rate — which is surprising to me because REG has the least changes in the new 2011 CPA exam format. But if we look at a longer horizon, BEC, the shortest and perceived to be the easiest exam, has the lowest pass rate. I suppose many candidates underestimate BEC and got a nasty surprise. 3. The CPA exam passing rate is improving – Until 2011 Another intriguing discovery is that the CPA exam pass rate is actually increasingly year after year, but then we see a disappointing drop from the latest quarter: 
There can be many reasons behind the drop :
- The most apparent being the new format and content change in the exam itself, and the fact that we are going seeing the first quarter results instead of an average of the full year.
- You may also be somewhat relieved that the pass rate is actually a bit seasonal, with 1st quarter traditionally in the low range.
The good thing is that the CPA exam administrator has mentioned before that we aim to keep the pass rate more or less the same as in previous years. So hopefully after the treaking the pass rate will go back to the normal 50% range. When You Look Back In History, This Quarter’s Passing Rate Isn’t That Bad…Before you get too scared of the recent pass rate decline, I’d like to point out that the CPA exam pass rate used to be as low 38.5% in first quarter 2005. Since then, there has been improvement and here is my own reasoning:
- Since the Uniform CPA exam turned computerized, the flexibility of when to take the exam increased greatly and so candidates can more easily schedule the exam one at a time and at their own pace, resulting a marked increase in success rate in passing the CPA exam.
- Given that the number of CPA in the US is at a standstill since 2003, and that 75% of existing CPAs are going to retire in 15 years according to AICPA’s own estimate , there is every intention for AICPA to make the Exam less difficult. Again, this is just my own speculation…
Let’s keep our fingers crossed for a return of an increasing trend.
The CPA Exam Passing Rate Is Seasonal?!
I am very surprised at the following trend: the CPA Exam pass rate is highest during third quarter (i.e. the July-August window) and lowest in the first and fourth quarters (i.e. January-February, and October-November windows). I can’t imagine that AICPA is making things easier for the third quarter exams. Instead, the trend is possibly due to the fact that candidates are generally less busy during the summer days, either it is a summer break for those who are at school, or a slower season for audit and in financial industry in general. Similar argument is valid for the January-February window when junior auditors are very busy for the December fiscal year-end audits. I can’t really think of a reason for the 4th quarter slump in pass rate… any ideas?
Should I Time My CPA Exam Based On These Pass Rate Trend?
I don’t think so. While the difference between the highest and lowest quarters are statistically significant (~5%), you simply can’t only take the exam in the summer given the 18-month time limitation. But it does tell us that when people have more time to study, the passing rate is higher. So, please make the effort to pick a CPA exam review course that suits your background, schedule and learning style. 
Did you know that some of these courses boast a pass rate as high as 88%, i.e. almost double the national average? You can find a summary of the pros and cons of the major CPA exam review courseshere (our most visited page on this site!)
Let Me You Plan, Study And Pass The CPA Exam!
I know the passing rate doesn’t sound encouraging, but every year tens of thousands of candidates continue to pass the exam, some of those in one go. In other words, the CPA exam is doable, and I am more than happy to help you along the way! If you find this article helpful, please consider signing up to my mini-course which is completely free. I have two versions designed for candidates with different background: 
For US candidates (US citizens/residents with US degrees, living or working in the US) who want to learn about how to study for the CPA exam, please click on this US flag. 
For other candidates who wants to learn about how to pick the right state and how to apply, please click on the United Nations flag. Action is the key to success. Join us now and see you there!
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{ 12 comments }
Dear Stephanie,
THanks for the great work… it really makes a difference to many people. I had a few queries and hoped if you could help:
Firstly, I had purchased a couple of year back Yaeger home study along with the Wiley 2008 books to attempt the CPA exam but due to some personal issues I had to put that off and have never attempted the exams. I have decided to take FAR, AUD & BEC exams this fall – Are those materials any good? if not do you know how much an update will cost me on Yaeger.
Secondly, I will be shifting soon to Virginia and I was hoping to attempt the exams there. Since graduating from university with a Bachelor’s in Accounting/Finance I had worked for 6 years as a full-time accountant – does any of this experience count? Although I am not planning to work in an audit firm, I am hoping to take the exams and get licensed. Currently I have 120 hours but once I am done with the exams I will work on getting a Master’s degree – in VA will I be able to be licensed after the 150-hr requirement is fulfilled or do I need to work under a CPA to be licensed. Is taking the exam in VA a good idea or should I choose another state?
I would really appreciate your help with this.
Many thanks,
Nasra
Hi Nasra,
Thanks very much for your kind words. I will continue to work hard on this site!
In terms of whether the old Yaeger/Wiley books are still good… there’s always some changes here and there every year. I would think that if you do the practice exam and get a very good score (like 85+) then the extra points *should* be able to cover any new materials that weren’t covered in the old version. Otherwise, you might want to get a new version just in case.
I think if it is a couple of years back (vs last year) you will not get a discount for an update of the books (but please double check to make sure).
One alternative for you is to get the CRAM course from Yaeger, which is a nice summary for you to cover any gaps.
On which state to sit for the exam, if you are going for a Master’s degree, then there can pretty much sit for the exam anywhere.
For Virginia, you can take the exam now with the 120 credit hours but you’ll need the 150 hours to get the license. The state requires 1 year of working experience — and this experience does NOT need to be supervised by a CPA (although it needs to be verified by an active CPA). So looks like you should be able to fulfill this requirement as well.
So I guess you don’t need to worry about the licensing issue and let’s focus on passing the CPA exam. Best of luck to you!
Stephanie
Thanks a million for your great advice
You are most welcome Nasra! Just come back if I can be helpful again. Stephanie
what about annual passing rates for all 4 sections, meaning finishing the exam in total? I cant find those stats anywhere…
Hi Stephanie,
Your information on different cpa review material really helped a lot to choose the right study material for me .
This year i am going for my first attempt. Would you please recommend me some tactics for passing the BEC,FAR,REG,AUD.??
What are the best ways and technique to be followed to prepare each section ??
thanks .
I am writing a report for my Business Communications class about different trends in accounting. I was wondering if I could use your chart as a visual in my report.
Thanks
Katherine White
Dear Stephanie,
I am doing research of how to start studying for CPA exam after 12 yrs. I am scared and what material do I need? Should I borrow text books from school or buy review material for the exam. My experience in accounting was with pricewaterhousecoopers, doing taxes for ony tax season- does that count. Rest in health care field. I am in michigan. Any suggestions please….
Hello Stephanie,
I am so glad I have subscribed your email. Your information is absolutely helpful.
I am a student who is currently studying MSA in one of the universities in Michigan. I wish I could pass my CPA exams before I graduate. However, the requirements to sit for the exam in Michigan are too many, which will delay my exam time.
I am looking for an “easy” state to register for the exam, and transfer the licence issued from that state to Michigan in the future. If I choose to work in Michigan in the future, will my working experience in Michigan fulfill the working requirements of that state and get the licence?
Thank you in advance for your response!
Sincerely,
Rebecca
Hi Sonia,
Sorry to reply late as I am still sorting out the best way to reply to the comments.
I would say that you first check whether you are qualified to sit for the exam — because the rules have changed drastically (become stricter) in the last 5-10 years.
You can first start from here:
http://ipassthecpaexam.com/how-to-become-a-cpa/
Then, if you are qualified (for Michigan or other states), then you can check out this page on top 10 CPA exam review courses — I try to objectively list out the pros and cons. If you have absolutely no clue, I do have a recommendation but generally the candidates themselves should the one to know the best study style for yourself.
Hi Rebecca,
Yes you can certainly apply for other states first and see. As long as the state you registered for is a substantially equivalent state, Michigan will recognize your CPA qualification from that state.
But the catch is, the “easy” states are generally not considered “substantially equivalent” (for obvious reason) so your strategy might not work
In any case, these are the “easy” states I identified — this page is written mostly for international students who don’t care to get the CPA title in any state, but I think it is also helpful for you.
Hope it helps! Stephanie
Dear all,
I am implementing a new commenting system so hopefully I won’t keep checking the hundreds of pages for new comments.
**Note** If you would like to use any charts in this page, you are most welcome to do that but I would appreciate if you can either send a backlink to this page (for online publications) or state the source (i.e. IPassTheCPAExam.com) for offline publication. Thanks.
For other questions please scroll back up to the end of the article where you will see a Facebook-powered commenting box. Feel free to drop a note there. Cheers, Stephanie
Stephanie