If you are sitting for Core sections in 2026 or the first half of 2027, you are testing under the fastest score turnaround the CPA Exam is going to offer for a while. The AICPA published the schedule that takes over in July 2027 on August 31, 2026, and Core score releases drop from sixteen a year to four.
Here is what changes, what it does to a study plan, and what it does not change at all.
What the AICPA published
The AICPA states that "beginning in July 2027, the CPA Exam will transition to a new technology delivery platform, accompanied changes to the user interface," and that this requires an adjusted test administration and score release schedule. The published schedule now runs through June 2028.
Every date the AICPA publishes is a target, and the page says all dates are subject to change.
How fast scores come back now, and after
Right now your score is tied to a data file cutoff. Prometric sends your exam file to the AICPA, and your score lands on the first target release date after the cutoff your file met. There are eight of those cutoffs in the first half of 2027 alone.
| You test | Score target | Wait |
|---|---|---|
| File received by March 9, 2027 | March 17, 2027 | 8 days |
| File received by June 8, 2027 | June 16, 2027 | 8 days |
| July 12, 2027 (first day of new window) | October 19, 2027 | 99 days |
| October 1, 2027 | December 28, 2027 | 88 days |
| January 1, 2028 | March 28, 2028 | 87 days |
From July 2027 the schedule stops working on cutoffs and starts working on testing ranges, each with one release date:
| Core testing dates | Score target |
|---|---|
| July 12 to September 30, 2027 | October 19, 2027 |
| October 1 to December 15, 2027 | December 28, 2027 |
| January 1 to March 15, 2028 | March 28, 2028 |
| April 1 to June 15, 2028 | June 27, 2028 |
If you test late in a range the wait is short. Sitting on September 30, 2027 still targets October 19, which is nineteen days. The penalty falls on testing early in a range, and most candidates do not get to choose their exam date that precisely once work, an NTS expiry and test center availability are all in play.
What a failed section actually costs
This is the part worth planning around, because failing a section is common and the schedule decides how expensive it is.
Take a candidate who sits FAR on March 1, 2027. Their file meets the March 9 cutoff, so the score targets March 17. If they fail, they can re-sit in late March, meet the March 31 cutoff, and have the retake score by April 9. From first sitting to knowing the retake result is 39 days.
Now the same candidate sits FAR on July 12, 2027 instead. The score targets October 19. If they fail, the October 1 to December 15 range is already open, so they re-sit on October 20 and the retake score targets December 28. From first sitting to knowing the retake result is 169 days.
Same candidate, same failure, and the difference is more than four months.
How this hits your 30-month window
Most candidates are working against a rolling 30-month deadline. NASBA's board voted on April 21, 2023 to amend Uniform Accountancy Act Model Rule 5-7, moving conditional credit from 18 months to a rolling 30 months that starts once you pass your first section. States adopt it individually rather than automatically, so confirm what your own board applies before you rely on the number.
Under a 30-month window, that 169-day sequence above burns about 19 percent of your total time on one section you have to take twice. The same sequence under the current schedule costs about 4 percent. The rule did not change. The feedback speed did.
What has not been announced
The AICPA published when scores arrive. It has not published when you will be able to schedule or sit a Core section after July 2027.
The same page does say "with this continuous testing, you can schedule the Core sections of your exam at any time of the year," but that sentence sits in the introduction, above the tables, and describes the schedule running now. Whether Core scheduling stays open year-round after the platform changes has not been addressed either way, and there is no transition FAQ yet. NASBA's exam news page had nothing on it as of September 2, 2026.
There are also gaps in the published schedule worth knowing about. The last cutoff on the current model is June 30, 2027, and the first new testing range opens July 12, 2027. Inside the new schedule, no range covers December 16 to December 31, 2027, or March 16 to March 31, 2028.
One thing that genuinely does not change: Discipline sections. BAR, ISC and TCP candidates already wait about two and a half months, and the new schedule keeps that. A January 2028 Discipline sitting targets March 17, 2028, which is 76 days. The January 2027 window targets March 16, 74 days. If your Discipline section is what is left, this announcement barely touches you. One scheduling detail to note: the Q3 2027 Discipline window runs July 12 to August 12 rather than the usual single month. Our score release calendar carries the published dates through June 2028.
Common Questions
Q: Should I rush to finish everything before July 2027?
Rushing rarely works. What the schedule does justify is front-loading Core sections if you already had flexibility about ordering, and being more careful than usual about walking into an exam underprepared, since the cost of a retake goes up sharply after July 2027.
Q: Does this change what is on the exam?
Nothing in what the AICPA published changes exam content, scoring, or the blueprints. It addresses delivery technology, the user interface, and the resulting administration and score release schedule. Treat any claim about content changes as unconfirmed until the AICPA says so.
Q: What if I have credits expiring in late 2027?
Map your expiry date against the four release dates rather than against exam dates. If a credit expires in November 2027 and your remaining section sits in the July to September 2027 range, your score does not arrive until October 19, which leaves very little room. Talk to your state board before assuming a retake fits.
Q: Are these dates final?
No. The AICPA labels them targets and states that all dates are subject to change. This one is worth re-checking before you schedule anything in 2027.
Your Next Steps
- Write down your remaining sections and which are Core, since only Core scoring changes materially.
- Check your own state board's conditional credit rule rather than assuming 30 months.
- If you have flexibility on ordering, take Core sections while cutoffs are still every few weeks.
- Before scheduling anything from July 2027 forward, re-read the AICPA score release page, because the dates are targets and the AICPA says they can move.
Sources: AICPA & CIMA score release schedule (published August 31, 2026), NASBA UAA Model Rule 5-7 amendment (April 21, 2023). Verified September 2, 2026.
