CPA Exam Study Schedule: Hours Per Section and Sample Plans

CPA Exam Study Schedule: How Many Hours You Really Need

Most candidates need about 120 hours for FAR, 110 for REG, 100 for AUD, and 90 for their discipline section, or roughly 400 hours in total. At 15 hours a week, that works out to around 8 weeks per section and 7 to 9 months for all four. These are estimates from CPA review providers, not official AICPA numbers, so treat them as a starting point and adjust for your background.

A CPA exam study schedule fails for one reason more than any other: it was built on someone else’s hour count. This guide breaks down the hours section by section, gives you ready-made 12-week and 6-week plans, and shows you how to adapt them to your background and work schedule.

Table of Contents

• CPA Exam Study Schedule: The 2026 Structure
• How Many Hours Each CPA Section Needs
• Sample 12-Week CPA Exam Study Schedule
• Worked Example: The Math Behind an 8-Week FAR Plan
• CPA Exam Study Schedule for Working Professionals
• 6-Week Accelerated CPA Exam Study Schedule
• Common Scheduling Mistakes
• Frequently Asked Questions

CPA Exam Study Schedule: The 2026 Structure

Since the CPA Evolution launch in January 2024, the exam has four sections: three Core sections that everyone takes, plus one Discipline section you choose. The old BEC section was retired, and its content was redistributed across the remaining sections.

Section	Type	What it covers
FAR (Financial Accounting and Reporting)	Core	Financial statements, select transactions, state and local government accounting
AUD (Auditing and Attestation)	Core	Audit procedures, ethics, professional standards
REG (Taxation and Regulation)	Core	Federal taxation, business law, ethics
BAR (Business Analysis and Reporting)	Discipline	Advanced reporting, data analysis
ISC (Information Systems and Controls)	Discipline	IT controls, SOC engagements
TCP (Tax Compliance and Planning)	Discipline	Advanced tax, entity and personal planning

You take all three Core sections plus exactly one Discipline. Each section is scored on a 0 to 99 scale, and 75 is a pass. You can take the sections in any order, which matters more than most candidates realize: start with FAR, because it is the biggest section and its concepts feed directly into AUD.

How Many Hours Each CPA Section Needs

Review providers publish recommended study hours based on candidate surveys and course data. The widely quoted per-section breakdown looks like this:

Section	Recommended hours	Why it takes this long
FAR	~120 hours	Largest volume of material by far; heavy on calculations and task-based simulations
REG	~110 hours	Dense memorization: tax rules, thresholds, and business law
AUD	~100 hours	Conceptual rather than computational; faster if you studied FAR first
Discipline (BAR, ISC, or TCP)	~90 hours	Narrower scope; your day job can cut this significantly

Total: roughly 400 hours. That is the number to plan around.

Sample 12-Week CPA Exam Study Schedule

This is the classic one-section plan for someone studying around 10 hours a week.

Weeks	Phase	Hours	Focus
1-4	Learning	40	Work through all new material once. Take concise notes, do practice questions the same day.
5-8	Practice	40	Drill multiple-choice questions in sets of 30, then move to task-based simulations.
9-11	Review	30	Two full mock exams under timed conditions. Rework only weak areas.
12	Final review	10	Light review of summary notes. No new material in the final 48 hours.

Worked Example: The Math Behind an 8-Week FAR Plan

Say you are starting FAR and can study 15 hours a week. Target: 120 hours. Duration: 120 / 15 = 8 weeks.

Weeks	Phase	Hours	Cumulative
1-3	Learning	45	45
4-6	Practice	45	90
7-8	Review	30	120

CPA Exam Study Schedule for Working Professionals

Most candidates study while working full time. Book the exam date before you start studying. A fixed date turns “I should study tonight” into “I have 47 days left.”

Day	Study time	Session type
Monday	2 hours (7-9 pm)	New material or reading
Tuesday	2 hours (7-9 pm)	Practice questions
Wednesday	1 hour (8-9 pm)	Flashcard review only
Thursday	2 hours (7-9 pm)	New material or reading
Friday	Off	Protect this evening or you will burn out
Saturday	5 hours (9 am – 2 pm)	Deep work: simulations, long question sets
Sunday	3 hours (morning)	Weekly review, plan next week

6-Week Accelerated CPA Exam Study Schedule

Studying full time, you can compress a section into 6 weeks at about 20 hours a week.

Weeks	Phase	Hours/week	Focus
1-2	Learning	20	Two modules a day, questions the same evening.
3-4	Practice	20	100+ questions a day plus two simulations daily.
5	Mock and repair	20	Three full mock exams with repair days between.
6	Final review	15	Taper down. Two full rest days before the exam.

Common Scheduling Mistakes

1. Starting without an exam date. Book the date first, then build the schedule backward.

2. Giving every section the same timeline. FAR at 120 hours and your discipline at 90 hours are different projects.

3. Reading without practicing. If your schedule has more reading hours than question hours after week two, rewrite it.

4. Skipping full mock exams. Take at least two full mocks per section under real timed conditions.

5. Planning zero buffer. Build in one flex week per section.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does it take to study for all four CPA sections?
At 15 hours a week, roughly 7 to 9 months. Full-time studiers often finish in 4 to 6 months.

Which CPA section should I take first?
Most candidates start with FAR. Its concepts overlap heavily with AUD.

Can I work full time while studying for the CPA exam?
Yes, most candidates do. At 12 to 15 hours a week, each section takes 7 to 10 weeks.

What happens if I fail a CPA section?
You can retake it. Use the score report to identify weak areas and rebuild your schedule around those.

Build Your Personal Schedule

Try our free study timetable generator: enter your subjects, daily study hours, and exam date for a printable week-by-week plan. Then lock in what you learn with spaced repetition and active recall.