How the totals are built

Every calculator calls one engine of pure functions, fed by one parameter file of fees, rules and pass rates. No amount is typed into a page. Each value was read by hand on the official page named in the file, on November 7, 2026. Updates are made by hand when a body publishes new figures; nothing is fetched automatically and no update schedule is promised.

Expected sittings

If a candidate passes an exam with probability p at each attempt, independently, the number of attempts until a pass follows a geometric distribution with mean 1 ÷ p, and the chance of having passed within n attempts is 1 − (1 − p)ⁿ. Example: CFA® Level I, ten-year pass rate 40.5% (CFA Institute, CFA® exam results 1963-2026 (PDF)), gives 2.5 sittings on average.

CFP Board publishes first-time and repeat pass rates separately (CFP Board, historical CFP® exam statistics through July 2026 (PDF)). The first attempt passes with p₁; after a fail, each attempt passes with p_r. Expected sittings = 1 + (1 − p₁) ÷ p_r. July 2026: 1 + (1 − 69.0%) ÷ 57.4% = 1.5.

Expected exam fees = fee × expected sittings, for each exam, summed. Rates are pooled as total passed ÷ total sat over the sessions chosen, so a large session weighs more than a small one. A rate of zero would give no finite answer; none of the published rates is zero.

CPA: no pass rate used

The AICPA publishes cumulative pass rates for each CPA section (AICPA & CIMA, CPA Exam scoring and pass rates), but its terms of use limit its material to personal, non-commercial use. Since November 8, 2026 this site copies none of them and links to the page instead; the pass-rate figures it showed before that date were removed from every page, calculator and data file. CPA totals are built without any rate: four sections at $268.59 each, $1,074 if all pass the first time, which is the one CPA figure used across the site, plus the number of section retakes the reader types. Each retake costs the section fee again, plus the board fee charged for a new try where one was read: $50 for a California repeat application (one per retake, an estimate) and $15 for the Texas eligibility fee of each section. Until the reader types a number of retakes, the result is marked as an example. The pass-rate page has a tool where the reader types the rate read on the AICPA’s page; its default of 45% is an example, not an AICPA figure.

Fees used

• CFA® Program: early and standard registration fees for each level from February 2026 (CFA Institute, pricing changes for the CFA® Program (press release, 18 December 2024)); no enrollment fee since April 29, 2025.
• CPA: $268.59 per section as of July 4, 2026 (Virginia Board of Accountancy, CPA exam fees); board fees only where read on the board’s site or statute; the structure of the exam, three Core sections and one Discipline of 4 hours each, from AICPA & CIMA, everything you need to know about the CPA Exam.
• CFP®: exam $825, $925, $1,025; application $250; annual fee $575 (CFP Board, upcoming CFP® exam dates and registration process, CFP Board, final steps to CFP® certification (application and certification fees)).
• Enrolled agent: $317 per SEE part, of which $66 IRS user fee; Form 23 $140; PTIN $18.75 (IRS, enrolled agents frequently asked questions (SEE fee and enrollment), Federal Register, document 2026-07681: enrolled agent SEE user fee update (20 April 2026), IRS, PTIN requirements for tax return preparers).
• CIA: member and non-member prices for 2026 and from January 4, 2027 (The IIA, Certified Internal Auditor (CIA) program and 2026 fees, The IIA, certification pricing for 2027). FRM®: $400 enrollment, $600 or $800 per part (GARP, FRM® exam fees and payments).

Licensure routes

For each state the engine holds the routes the board or the statute describes, with their hours, years of experience and the dates they open or close. A route fits when it is in force on the application date chosen and the hours and years typed reach its thresholds. Course content rules (accounting and business hours), age and character requirements are described on the state pages but not checked by the tool.

Tests

Run on every build: expected sittings for p = ½ and for the CFP® two-rate formula recomputed by hand; the CFA® first-try total equal to the $3,520 to $4,570 range stated by CFA Institute; the four-section CPA price and one retake at the section fee plus the Texas board fee; the CPA routes of New York and California before and after their dates; the EA, CIA and FRM® totals. A failing test stops the build.

What is left out

• review course, book and practice exam prices, which the reader types;
• CFA Institute and society dues (typed), the CFP® education program (typed);
• fees not confirmed on an official page: California license fees, Florida board fees, the Texas application of intent, the New York and Pennsylvania exam application fees;
• pass rates for the SEE, the CIA and the FRM®, which were not read, and the AICPA’s CPA pass rates, which are linked but not copied; retakes there are typed;
• travel, time off work, rescheduling, and the earnings a credential may bring.

The pass rates used, those of CFA Institute and CFP Board, are facts reported by each body, linked to their source. No chart, table layout or text of theirs is reproduced. The AICPA’s terms restrict reuse of its material to personal, non-commercial use, so no AICPA pass rate is shown: its page is linked only.