Tax, audit and risk credentials
CIA exam cost: member and non-member, 2026 and 2027
If each of the three parts is passed the first time, the CIA (Certified Internal Auditor) costs $990 in fees at 2026 prices for a member of The Institute of Internal Auditors (The IIA) and $1,515 for a non-member. Add retakes and prep below.
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CIA: application and three exam parts
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CIA fees, prep not included
$1,515
| Application | $240 |
| Part 1 | $445 |
| Part 2 | $415 |
| Part 3 | $415 |
| Retakes (average part fee) | $0 |
| Your review course and books | not included: type it above |
You have 3 years from acceptance into the program to complete the eligibility requirements.
The Certified Internal Auditor (CIA) designation is granted by The Institute of Internal Auditors (The IIA). Candidates pay an application fee and then a fee for each of the three exam parts, and both depend on IIA membership. At 2026 prices, a member pays $120 to apply, $310 for Part 1 and $280 for each of Parts 2 and 3, $990 in all; a non-member pays $1,515. The IIA’s 2027 price list applies from January 4, 2027: $1,150 for a member and $1,540 for a non-member, so the member total rises while the non-member application fee falls. Candidates have 3 years from acceptance into the program to complete it. This site could not read a pass rate per part on The IIA’s pages, so retakes are entered by hand.
Fees read and totals checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Method and sources
The two price lists
| Fee | Member, 2026 | Non-member, 2026 | Member, from January 4, 2027 | Non-member, from January 4, 2027 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Application | $120 | $240 | $145 | $195 |
| Part 1 | $310 | $445 | $355 | $475 |
| Part 2 | $280 | $415 | $325 | $435 |
| Part 3 | $280 | $415 | $325 | $435 |
The change of January 4, 2027 raises every member price and every non-member exam part, but lowers the non-member application from $240 to $195.
Retakes
Each part retaken is paid again. The calculator values a retake at the average of the three part fees in the price list you chose, since you may not know in advance which part you will need to retake. We could not read part-by-part pass rates on The IIA’s pages, so the calculator does not assume any; type the number of retakes you want to plan for.
What the CIA covers
The CIA is the IIA’s designation for internal auditors. Its three parts move from the essentials of internal auditing to the practice of engagements and to business knowledge. The IIA publishes the syllabus of each part; this site does not summarize it because it changes with the program and the IIA’s outline is the reference.
If your plans span January 4, 2027, run the calculator with both price lists, and check with The IIA which one applies to each payment.
Compared with the other credentials
A CIA candidate who is an IIA member and passes each part at the first try spends less in exam fees than on any other credential on this site. The first-try floors of the CPA exam, the CFP® exam and the enrolled agent route are close behind. The FRM, the other risk-focused designation here, costs more per part. The comparator sets them side by side.
Member or non-member: the arithmetic
At 2026 prices, the gap between the member and non-member totals for the application and three parts is $525. On the 2027 list it is $390, because member prices rise more than non-member prices. Each retake widens the gap again, since every part costs less for a member. Membership dues are set by The IIA and by its local institutes and were not read for this site, so the calculator cannot tell you whether joining pays: subtract the dues you would pay over your exam period from the gap, and the sign of the result is the answer.
The 3 years from acceptance are the other constraint. A candidate who needs several retakes should leave room for them inside that period, and price each one at the list in force at the time.