1.1 Current Exam Facts

What REG is on the CPA Evolution exam

Quick answer: Taxation and Regulation (REG) is one of three Core sections of the Uniform CPA Examination — Auditing and Attestation (AUD), Financial Accounting and Reporting (FAR), and REG — plus one candidate-chosen Discipline section: Business Analysis and Reporting (BAR), Information Systems and Controls (ISC), or Tax Compliance and Planning (TCP). The AICPA owns the exam. NASBA and the 55 boards of accountancy (50 states and five U.S. territories) run eligibility, the Notice to Schedule, and licensure. Prometric delivers every section. REG itself is four hours: 72 MCQs in two testlets of 36 and 8 TBSs in three testlets of 2, 3, and 3. A passing score is 75 on a 0–99 scale. That 75 is not a percent correct and not a curve.

CPA Evolution replaced the old four-section, one-size-fits-all model with a shared Core plus a chosen Discipline. Every candidate still sits four sections and 16 hours in total. REG is the Core tax-and-law section. The 2026 Blueprint states that REG tests U.S. ethics and professional responsibilities related to tax practice, U.S. business law, and U.S. federal tax compliance for individuals and entities with a focus on recurring and routine transactions. The Discipline counterpart, TCP, is the nonroutine and planning overlay — that split matters when you later decide whether TCP is your Discipline, but it does not change what REG itself tests.

You sit REG one section at a time. You cannot combine REG with another section on a single Notice to Schedule. After CPA Evolution, NASBA limited each NTS to one section because candidates who paid for unused extra sections routinely forfeited those fees.

Who owns what

Three organizations share the pipeline, and mixing their jobs is a common candidate error:

• AICPA writes the Blueprints, the items, and the scoring model. Prometric sends exam data files to the AICPA; the AICPA scores them and ships results to NASBA.
• NASBA processes scores, posts them through the Candidate Portal for most jurisdictions, and operates the application pipeline many boards use.
• Your board of accountancy decides whether you are eligible to sit, how long an NTS lasts, how long a passed section remains credited, what you pay, and what you still need after passing (ethics exam, experience, 150 hours) to be licensed.

Prometric is the test-center vendor, not the scoring body and not the licensing body. You must bring a valid NTS to the center; Prometric will not seat you without it.

Format at a glance

Compare REG’s 36+36 MCQ / 2+3+3 TBS split with the other Core sections so you do not memorize the wrong grid. AUD is 39+39 MCQ and 2+3+2 TBS. FAR is 25+25 MCQ and 2+3+2 TBS. REG is the only Core section with three TBSs in the fifth testlet.

Passing score 75 is not a percent and is not curved

NASBA’s Score Information page and the AICPA scoring page say the same two things candidates routinely get wrong. First, a 75 does not mean you answered 75% of the items correctly. The AICPA uses Item Response Theory: the scaled score reflects both whether an answer is correct and the relative difficulty of the item. There is no published raw-count cutoff that guarantees a 75. Second, scores are not curved. You are scored against a fixed standard of competence. The AICPA does not raise or lower scores to hit a target pass rate. When REG’s pass rate moves, that movement is candidate performance, not a quieter or louder scoring curve.

If you score a 74, you failed that section. You re-apply, pay again, obtain a new NTS, and retake. Failed sections include a Candidate Performance Report (covered in Section 1.2). AICPA quality-control reviews run before scores are released; score reviews exist in many jurisdictions as an independent check that the approved key was applied, not as a re-grade of alternative answers.

Pass rates: REG is the highest Core, not an easy exam

AICPA published these REG figures:

REG was the highest Core in both windows. For context, 2025 cumulative Core rates were AUD 48.21% and FAR 42.12%; 2026 Q1–Q2 cumulative Core rates were AUD 48.65% and FAR 42.95%. Discipline rates sit on a different population and a different testing calendar (TCP’s 2026 Q1–Q2 cumulative was 79.53%). Do not read REG’s Core-leading rate as a signal to under-study Areas IV and V. The AICPA’s own scoring article says an increase in pass rates means candidates were better prepared, not that the exam got easier that quarter.

Credit window, NTS, fees, and continuous testing

Credit window. In most jurisdictions a passed section is credited on a 30-month rolling clock that starts from the first passed section. It is jurisdiction-specific. Do not tell yourself that every state uses 30 months. NASBA’s FAQ is explicit: the board decides whether credit is granted and how long it lasts. Confirm the rule on your board’s page and in the current NASBA Candidate Guide before you sit FAR or a Discipline with a REG credit already in hand. NASBA also notes that if you take the final section before the first credit expires and that sitting is a pass, the first credit is preserved even if the score posts after the printed expiration; expiration times are Central Time, not your appointment-clock time.

NTS. The Notice to Schedule is what you use to book Prometric. It is valid for one testing event or until the expiration date, whichever comes first, and that window includes non-testing days. Boards set NTS life; NASBA’s Candidate Guide describes it as generally six months, with some jurisdictions using a longer printed life. If you cannot confirm your board’s period from the Candidate Guide or the board’s application materials, treat it as variable and read the expiration date printed on your NTS. An expired NTS is a forfeited fee. You cannot reuse a section ID after you have sat that section.

Fees. There is no single national REG price. NASBA’s recommended section fee sits in the mid-$260s (2026 published recommendations have been in the $262–$269 band as boards adopted mid-year updates). Boards then add their own application (and sometimes re-exam) fees. Budget a range of about $260–$400 per section plus a separate application fee, and verify the current invoice with your board. International seats and Guam add surcharges. Do not memorize one blog’s “$X nationwide” figure.

Continuous testing — Core only. AUD, FAR, and REG are offered year-round under continuous testing; Prometric site hours still constrain appointment supply. Discipline sections (BAR, ISC, TCP) are not on that same calendar: in 2026 they are administered in the first month of each quarter. Plan REG as a Core you can sit when you are ready; do not assume TCP is equally bookable the week after your REG score posts.

Eligibility is a board rule, not an AICPA rule

The AICPA does not decide who may sit. Education hours, residency, and experience are board rules. The 150-hour requirement is a licensure rule in most states. Several boards let candidates sit after 120 hours (or another board-defined threshold) and withhold the license until 150 hours and experience are complete. Experience is typically earned after the exam, but a minority of boards mix the order. Apply to a jurisdiction whose rules you actually meet; some boards have residency requirements, and you may not be a candidate in two jurisdictions at once.

/practice/cpa-regPractice questions with detailed explanations