"I write to express my sincere appreciation to the writers, editors, and support staff at ExamMatrix who did just what they promised by preparing me for the CPA exam. Passing the exam was a personal triumph, and my excellent scores on all four sections was icing on the cake. THANKS AGAIN"

Lisa W. Miller, CPA

Exam Background

The CPA Exam was first administered in 1917. The CPA Exam is uniform for all fifty states and four jurisdictions in which it is administered (which includes the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands). The CPA Exam is administered by individual State Boards of Accountancy.

Approximately 100,000 candidates sit for the CPA Exam each year. The Exam questions and answers are given and graded in English only. In March of 1996, the CPA Exam became a "closed" Exam, meaning the candidate's will not have access to the questions or answers to previous exams with the exception of those released by the Board of Examiners.

State Boards of Accountancy

Individual State Boards of Accountancy administer the CPA Exam. You must register with your state board to take the Exam.

Some states require you to take an ethics Exam. These Exams DO NOT affect the scores earned by candidates on the four sections of the Exam. The ethics Exam affects a candidate's ability to receive the CPA certificate as determined by that state board.

Some states use an Exam service to administer the Exam; in these cases, information should be obtained from the agency instead of the state board. The Examining Service or state board should be the ultimate source for information regarding the Exam.

Applying for the Exam

Apply to your State Board of Accountancy. You must contact your Board of Accountancy to receive an application form. An application must be completed each time you wish to sit for one or more sections of the examination. The forms must be completed and submitted, along with any required documentation and fees, to the designated address. Your Board of Accountancy will contact you once your application has been evaluated. Click here for state specific information.

Receive your Notice to Schedule. When your application has been processed and you have been determined to be eligible to take one or more sections of the exam, you will receive a Notice to Schedule (NTS). Once you receive the NTS and review it to verify that all information is correct, you may contact Prometric and begin the scheduling process.

Schedule your Examination. After you receive your NTS, you should schedule your examination appointment as soon as possible in order to secure your first choice of date and testing location.

For detailed information regarding the application process review the Uniform CPA Examination Candidate Bulletin.