CPA Exam Study Plan: Hours, Section Order, and Schedule

A CPA exam study plan should take one section at a time: about 8–10 weeks of study per section at 15–20 hours a week, starting with the section you're strongest in or FAR, and finishing all four within your state's credit window. Within each section, learn the blueprint areas in order, do multiple-choice questions daily and task-based simulations weekly, then spend the last two weeks on full-length practice and review.

Since January 2024 the exam has followed the CPA Evolution model: three core sections everyone takes (AUD, FAR, REG) and one discipline section you choose (BAR, ISC, or TCP). This guide covers how many hours to plan, which section to take first, an 8-week schedule for each section, the official resources, and how to use active recall and spaced repetition so earlier sections don't fade.

A 12-month CPA exam roadmap

This roadmap assumes you work full time and study about 15–20 hours a week: two or three weekday evenings plus a longer weekend block.

There's no required order, so adapt it. If you just finished an auditing course, start with AUD. If you chose TCP, putting it right after REG lets one block of tax study cover both. If you chose BAR, consider taking it right after FAR, since BAR extends financial reporting topics. And if you're studying full-time, you can compress each section to four to six weeks at 30–40 hours a week.

How many hours to plan per section

Review providers such as UWorld estimate 350–450 hours for all four sections. Here's how we'd split a plan in that range. Treat these as planning numbers, not official requirements, and adjust after your first few weeks.

How the CPA exam is structured

Each section lasts four hours and has five testlets: two of multiple-choice questions (MCQs) followed by three of task-based simulations (TBSs). Scores run from 0 to 99, and you need 75 to pass each section.

Question counts are from the AICPA's current testlet table and include a small number of unscored pretest items you can't tell apart from scored ones. Two things stand out. FAR has the fewest MCQs but the same number of simulations, which makes its simulations long and calculation-heavy. And in five of six sections, simulations are worth half your score, so treating them as an afterthought is the most expensive mistake candidates make.

Pass rates by section

Pass rates differ a lot between sections:

The AICPA notes that pass rates reflect how prepared candidates are, not how hard a section is, and since candidates choose their discipline, TCP's higher rate doesn't mean you'd be more likely to pass it. Pick your discipline by career interest. What the chart does tell you: FAR and AUD need serious time from almost everyone.

An 8-week plan for each section

Use this template for any section. Split the blueprint's content areas across weeks 1–5, roughly in proportion to their weight.

Book your exam appointment for the end of week 8 before you start. A fixed date keeps the plan honest. For the last two days and test morning, our guide to preparing for exams has a simple checklist.

How to use active recall and spaced repetition for the CPA exam

Active recall means answering from memory before checking. For the CPA exam, that means MCQs and simulations attempted cold, plus a deck of flashcards for the rules, criteria, and formulas the exam keeps asking about.

What to put on CPA flashcards

Cards work best for criteria, lists, and distinctions you must recall exactly:

• FAR: "What are the five criteria that make a lease a finance lease under ASC 842?" → Transfer of ownership, a purchase option reasonably certain to be exercised, a lease term for the major part of the asset's remaining economic life, present value of payments amounting to substantially all of fair value, and a specialized asset.
• AUD: "When does an auditor issue an adverse opinion instead of a qualified one?" → When a misstatement is both material and pervasive (qualified is material but not pervasive).
• AUD/ISC: "Name the five components of internal control in the COSO framework." → Control environment, risk assessment, control activities, information and communication, monitoring activities.
• REG: "What's the general basis rule for property received as a gift?" → The donor's basis carries over, with a special rule for losses when fair value is lower.

Skip cards for tax thresholds and dollar limits until you've confirmed which tax year your exam window tests; check the blueprint's guidance on when new laws become eligible for testing.

Keep finished sections alive

The core sections overlap. AUD assumes FAR knowledge, BAR extends FAR, and TCP extends REG. Once you pass a section, keep its deck in your daily reviews at a low intensity. Spaced repetition makes that cheap: well-learned cards come back only every few weeks or months, so 10 minutes a day keeps FAR intact while you study REG.

Use an error log for MCQs and simulations

On each redo date, answer the question again from scratch. If you miss it twice, the problem is understanding, not memory: go back to the lesson before drilling more questions.

Mix blueprint areas from week 4

Simulations don't tell you which rule they're testing. Once two or three areas are solid, shuffle MCQs from all of them in one session, as in week 4 of the plan above, so you practice choosing the rule as well as applying it. Our guide to interleaving covers how to set this up.

How to practice task-based simulations

Simulations look intimidating because they combine exhibits, a spreadsheet or form, and several related questions. Treat them as a skill to train weekly:

1. Start untimed in week 1 so you learn the layout: exhibits, the answer area, and the authoritative literature or research tools where provided.
2. Read the requirement before the exhibits. Know what you're looking for.
3. Time yourself from week 3. Work out a budget from your section's mix. In FAR, for example, 50 MCQs at about 1.5 minutes each use 75 minutes, leaving roughly 2.5 hours for 7 simulations, a little over 20 minutes each.
4. Review like an MCQ, but per task: which cell or entry was wrong, and why.
5. Do one full practice exam in weeks 6 and 7 to practice the switch from MCQ testlets to three simulation testlets under fatigue.

The AICPA also publishes retired simulations as free PDFs with step-by-step walkthroughs, which are good for learning how a simulation is built.

Official CPA exam resources

• AICPA sample tests (free): web-based practice with two MCQ testlets and three simulation testlets in the real exam interface, plus tutorial topics. Not scored, and the AICPA notes the content dates from July 2023, so use them for format, not content.
• Exam Blueprints (free): list every content area, sample task statements, skill levels, and item counts for each section. Updated once or twice a year; check the version for your testing date.
• Retired task-based simulations (free): PDFs of retired FAR and AUD simulations with exhibits and guidance.
• Review courses (paid): most candidates use one for the bulk of their MCQs and simulations. Pick one whose content is mapped to the current blueprints.

A weekday CPA study routine (about 2.5 hours)

On weekends, do two or three timed simulations plus an error-log redo, or a full practice exam in weeks 6 and 7. Studying in short, timed blocks helps after a workday; the Pomodoro technique with active recall is a simple structure for it. For more on fitting certification study around a job, see how to study for certifications.