How CPA score release dates work for Core and Discipline

Two schedules, not one

The CPA Exam has three Core sections that everyone takes and three Discipline sections, of which each candidate picks one. AICPA tests them differently, so it releases their scores differently:

• Core sections are tested continuously, and AICPA says Core scores are released throughout the year on a rolling basis.
• Discipline sections are given in the first month of each quarter, and each testing window has its own score release date.

Core sections: AUD, FAR and REG

AICPA says your exam cannot be scored until it has received your file from Prometric, the company that delivers the exam. Each Core target date therefore covers exam files AICPA received by a deadline, not tests taken by a date.

To find your Core date:

1. Start from your test date.
2. Find the first deadline on or after it in the schedule below.
3. The target date next to that deadline is the one that most likely applies to you.

For example, a file AICPA receives by September 30, 2026 is covered by the October 9, 2026 target date. A file received after September 30 but by October 23 moves to November 10, 2026. Because you cannot see when your file was received, an exam taken right before a deadline can fall on either side of it.

Discipline sections: BAR, ISC and TCP

Discipline sections are simpler. Every test taken in the same window shares one target date. If you took ISC in October 2026, for example, your target date is December 15, 2026, no matter which day in October you tested.

Current target dates

This is AICPA's regular schedule as currently published, from August 2026 to July 2027.

After July 2027 the schedule changes while the exam moves to a new platform. See the 2027 platform change guide for those dates.

Why they are called target dates

AICPA's schedule says its dates "are target dates and can be subject to change." A target date is when AICPA plans to release scores for files received in time, not a promise for every candidate. NASBA adds that a delayed score is not a sign of a problem with your exam.

AICPA does not publish a time of day for CPA score releases, so any specific hour you see elsewhere is not from AICPA.