CPA exam and license
CPA exam cost: four sections, your retakes and your state board
The CPA (Certified Public Accountant) exam has four sections at $268.59 each: $1,074 if all four pass the first time, before state board fees. Each section you retake is paid again. Type how many retakes you expect and pick your state to add its fees.
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CPA exam and license: your total
Example, not your result yet· change a figure to see yours
No retake counted yet: CPA exam fees if all four sections pass the first time, prep not included
$1,074
| Four sections, $268.59 each | $1,074 |
| Retakes you expect: 0 × $268.59 | none typed |
| Your review course and books | not included: type it above |
Type how many sections you think you will retake to add them. Exam fees only: pick your state to add its board fees. One retake costs $268.59, the same in every state. Pass rates for each section are published by the AICPA (American Institute of Certified Public Accountants), which writes the exam; this site does not copy them, so retakes are the ones you type.
The Uniform CPA Examination has four sections: three Core sections that every candidate takes (Auditing and Attestation, AUD; Financial Accounting and Reporting, FAR; Taxation and Regulation, REG) and one Discipline section the candidate chooses among Business Analysis and Reporting (BAR), Information Systems and Controls (ISC) and Tax Compliance and Planning (TCP). Each section is paid separately, at the same price whichever Discipline you choose. As of July 4, 2026, the examination fee is $268.59 per section, according to the Virginia Board of Accountancy, so four sections passed at the first sitting cost $1,074 in exam fees alone. That is the CPA figure used across this site. A failed section is paid again at the same fee, so every retake adds $268.59, plus a board fee in some states. Pass rates for each section are published by the AICPA; this site does not reproduce them, so the retakes counted are the ones you type. State boards add application, eligibility and license fees on top, and the review course you buy is usually the largest line of all.
Fees read and totals checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Method and sources
Section by section
Each section is a 4-hour exam and costs the same. A sitting is one attempt at a section: you pay for three Core rows and one Discipline row, and again for any section you retake.
| Section | Part | Length | Fee for each try |
|---|---|---|---|
| AUD, Auditing and Attestation | Core, everyone | 4 hours | $268.59 |
| FAR, Financial Accounting and Reporting | Core, everyone | 4 hours | $268.59 |
| REG, Taxation and Regulation | Core, everyone | 4 hours | $268.59 |
| BAR, Business Analysis and Reporting | Discipline, pick one | 4 hours | $268.59 |
| ISC, Information Systems and Controls | Discipline, pick one | 4 hours | $268.59 |
| TCP, Tax Compliance and Planning | Discipline, pick one | 4 hours | $268.59 |
Four tries, one per section, come to $1,074. Pass rates for each section are published by the AICPA on its scoring and pass rates page; this site does not copy them. If you expect to need a second try at one or two sections, type that number in the calculator: one retake brings the exam fees to $1,343, two to $1,612.
What the five state boards add
The exam is the same everywhere; the fees around it are not. The table counts the four sections passed the first time and adds only the board fees we read on the board’s own site or in its statute. The fourth column is what one retake costs in that state: the section fee again, plus the board’s fee for a new try where it charges one. The calculator starts with no state chosen, so its first total leaves board fees out.
| State | Section fees, first try | Board fees counted | One retake | Not counted: ask the board |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| California | $1,074 | $100 | $318.59 | California board, license fees |
| Florida | $1,074 | none confirmed | $268.59 | Florida board, exam application and license fees |
| New York | $1,074 | $427 | $268.59 | New York, exam application fee |
| Texas | $1,074 | $110 | $283.59 | Texas board, application of intent and license fee |
| Pennsylvania | $1,074 | $65 | $268.59 | Pennsylvania, exam application fee |
California charges $100 for a first exam application and $50 for each repeat application. Texas charges $15 per section in eligibility fees and $50 to issue the certificate. New York’s licensure fee, which includes the first registration, is $427; Pennsylvania’s initial license is $65. The state pages, from California to Pennsylvania, give the rules behind each figure.
The lines you type: retakes and prep
Two figures depend on you, and the calculator asks for both. The first is the number of sections you think you will retake. It starts at zero and the result says “Example” until you type it, because nobody can know it in advance: read the AICPA’s rates, weigh them against your own preparation, and set aside the fee for the sections you are least sure of. The second is the review course, which often costs more than all the exam fees together, with prices that vary widely between providers and packages. This site sells no course and loads no price. Type what you plan to spend, once, and the calculator adds it as it is. If you expect to buy more material for a retake, include it in the amount you type.
The section fee is the same in every state. It is collected by NASBA (the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy), not by your board; we read the amount, $268.59 as of July 4, 2026, on the Virginia board’s fee page, which lists it. If your board shows a different amount when you pay, the board’s figure is the one that counts.
Compared with the other credentials
At the first try, the CPA exam fees are close to the enrolled agent’s three SEE parts, set out on the enrolled agent page. The comparator sets the six credentials side by side with the same CPA figure as the calculator above, $1,074 for four sections passed the first time; type your retakes there too and it adds $268.59 for each.
A last check before you budget: the fee schedule of your own board, which may differ from the five states shown here.