CPA Exam General Information

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General Information
Eligibility
Subject Areas
Scheduling and Scoring
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
Reading Materials
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Eligibility
Examination candidates must have a baccalaureate
degree from an accredited college or university
with a total of 150 semester hours in accounting
and business subjects distributed as follows
- 30 semester hours in accounting
including financial or intermediate accounting,
management/cost accounting, taxation,
and auditing (These four courses must be upper
level accounting, not introductory level
courses) and - 24 semester hours in busine
ss subjects, at the graduate or undergraduate
level. A valid Social Security Number A goo
d moral character Education requirements must be
met at the time of application.
Candidates with foreign educational credentials
may take the examination provided they have
their credentials evaluated by a Foreign
Credentials Evaluation Service.
Click here for a list of those agencies Foreign
Credentials

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Subject Areas
The subject areas and times allotted per subject
are Auditing and Attestation (AUD) 4.5 hours
Financial Accounting and Reporting (FAR) 4.0
hours Regulation (REG) 3.0 hours Business En
vironment and Concepts (BEC) 2.5 hours
Candidates may take one or more sections of the
exam during a testing window. However, a
candidate will only be allowed to take each
section once during a testing window. There are
four testing window each year. The exam is not
given during the last month of each window (dark)
to allow for maintenance of the system. The
testing windows are as follows
January February (March dark)
April May (June dark) July August (Septembe
r dark) October November (December dark) F
ailed section (s) cannot be applied for within
the same 3 month testing window

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Scheduling and Scoring
After eligibility to take the examination is
determined, an Authorization To Test (ATT) will
be sent to the National Candidate Database (NCD)
at NASBA. Once NASBA receives the NTS they will
issue a payment coupon to the candidate, once the
candidate has paid the fees NASBA will issue a
Notice To Schedule (NTS). The NTS is sent to
candidates by the method of notification
indicated on the application. Once an NTS has
been issued, an eligible candidate has one year
from the date of the NTS to schedule and take the
approved examination section (s).
Upon receipt of the NTS, candidates are required
to contact Prometric to schedule their
examination. The Virginia Board of Accountancy
does not control space availability or location
of the test centers. Candidates who need to resch
edule or cancel must contact Prometric. You may
be required to pay a penalty and/or forfeit your
examination fees, depending on when you notify
Prometric of the change or cancellation.
You must be prompt! Arriving for your scheduled t
esting appointment anytime after the scheduled
start time may result in your being denied
permission to test, and you will not receive a
refund of application or examination fees.
A scoring of 75 on each section is required to
pass the exam. No minimum score is required on
failed sections to retain a passing score.
Candidates may take the required sections
individually and in any order.
The AICPA will send grades to NASBA to be entered
into the nationwide candidate database. NASBA
will forward the scores to the Board. Upon
receipt, the Board will then immediately
distribute the scores to candidates.

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ADA
The Virginia State Board of Accountancy complies
with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.
To ensure equal opportunity for all qualified
persons, the Board will make reasonable
modifications in the administration of the exam
for candidates establishing the need for
accommodation due to a disability that limits one
or more of his or her major life activities. If a
candidate believes he or she has a specific
disability, which would require accommodation
under the ADA, the candidate must provide the
Board with appropriate information. The candidate
must also submit documentation from an
appropriately licensed health care professional
that includes a diagnosis of the disability,
along with a specific recommendation and
justification for the requested modifications.
The Board is not responsible for any costs
necessary to obtain the required diagnosis and
recommendation, but will be responsible for
reasonable costs associated with necessary and
reasonable modifications. It is in the candidates
best interests to provide recent and
appropriate documentation, which clearly defines
the extent and impact of the impairment (s) upon
current levels of academic and physical
functioning. If the information is over three yea
rs old, it may be necessary to submit it again by
the application deadline. Additional requirements
will be emailed to you upon completion of your
online application.

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Reading Materials
Information about preparing and taking the
restructured, computer-based Uniform CPA
Examination is included in the "Candidate
Bulletin. It provides guidance on the overall
Examination , all the basic information and will
help you understand the process.
You should visit the web sites below to find
reading materials http//www.aicpa.org/ htt
p//www.cpa-exam.org/ It is very important that
you read the Candidate Bulletin, Tips Flyer and
participate in the on-line tutorial. These
resources will help you understand the process
and prepare you to take the computer-based exam.
The Uniform CPA Examination is one of the "Three
Es" - Education, Examination, and Experience
that are required for licensure as a CPA.
Consequently, passing the Examination is not, in
itself, sufficient to meet requirements for
licensure. Licensure requirements vary by jurisd
iction, and are described on the websites of all
Boards of Accountancy. The link to the Virginia
Board of Accountancy website is
http//www.boa.virginia.gov