CPA Exam Credit Expiration: The 30-Month Rule and What Happens If Credit Expires
Passing one section does not normally give you unlimited time to finish the other three. Your Exam credit remains valid for the period established by your jurisdiction.
The short answer
Most U.S. jurisdictions currently use a 30-month rolling credit window. Some use 36 months, and a few use a different calculation or period.
What is CPA Exam credit?
Once you pass a section, you receive credit for it. You generally do not need to retake that section while the credit remains active. The goal is to have all four required section credits active at the same time.
The clock is rolling
If your jurisdiction uses 30 months, your first active pass creates a real deadline. Later passes receive their own active credits, and the oldest credit can eventually expire if the remaining sections are not completed in time.
Most jurisdictions now use 30 months
This is substantially longer than the old 18-month rule that appears in a lot of older CPA advice.
Some jurisdictions use 36 months
The September 2026 NASBA Candidate Guide currently identifies Washington, Indiana, and South Carolina as 36-month jurisdictions based on score-release date.
Score date vs Exam date matters
Some jurisdictions measure the credit period from score release, while others can use the Exam date. Thirty months from June 1 is not exactly the same as thirty months from a June 16 score release.
How do you find the expiration date?
Use your official candidate portal and jurisdiction guidance. Do not rely only on your own spreadsheet calculation if the deadline matters.
What happens if credit expires?
You may lose credit for that passed section and need to retake it.
For example, if FAR is your oldest credit and it expires before you earn the fourth active credit, FAR can become a required section again.
Your first pass creates a real deadline
Before the first pass, you can delay the process indefinitely. Once you have an active credit, the clock matters. That does not mean panic. Thirty months is substantial time. It means keep moving.
What if credit expires while you wait for a final score?
Rules can depend on the jurisdiction and whether you sat for the section by the required date. If you are operating close to expiration, verify directly with the Board rather than relying on a general article.
How should expiration affect your Exam order?
It should make you think about section order, study time, Discipline windows, work obligations, and buffer. It should not make you choose a section you are not ready to pass.
A practical credit-window strategy
After each passing score, write down the section, score date, and official expiration date. Then plan the remaining sections with buffer.
Why you need buffer
Busy season, illness, Prometric availability, a failed section, travel, and family obligations happen. If the plan requires four perfect first-attempt passes with no delays just to avoid expiration, the plan is too tight.
You do not need to copy Grace's speed
I passed FAR 83, ISC 82, AUD 81, and REG 91 on my first attempts over a compressed study period. The useful lesson is momentum, not racing someone else's calendar.
What if you fail during the window?
Your other active credits remain active under the applicable rules. Diagnose the failed section, re-register, repair the weakness, and retake.
What if one credit is about to expire?
Confirm the exact rule and date, identify the remaining section, check Prometric availability, check Discipline windows, and build the shortest realistic plan. Do not guess.
Discipline windows can matter
If BAR, ISC, or TCP is the remaining section, testing-window availability can become more important as an expiration date approaches.
Can you get an extension?
Possibly in limited circumstances such as documented hardship or medical situations, depending on the jurisdiction. Approval is not guaranteed.
Do not build a normal study plan around receiving an exception.
What about the old 18-month rule?
It appears in a lot of older resources. CPA credit rules changed, and jurisdictions adopted longer periods at different times. Check the date of any advice you read.
Exam credit vs license requirements
Exam credit controls whether a passed section remains active while you finish the other sections. Licensure requirements control whether you qualify for the actual CPA license.
Credit expiration checklist
- Save every Score Notice.
- Confirm the credited section.
- Confirm the official expiration date.
- Update your CPA plan after every pass.
- Check Discipline windows if relevant.
- Leave buffer before the oldest credit expires.
Common credit-window mistakes
- Assuming every jurisdiction uses exactly 30 months.
- Assuming every jurisdiction starts the clock the same way.
- Using the old 18-month rule.
- Planning the last section at the end of the window.
- Assuming an extension will be approved.
- Ignoring Discipline testing windows.
- Confusing Exam credit expiration with licensure requirements.
CPA Exam credit FAQ
How long are scores good for?
It depends on the jurisdiction. Most currently use 30 months.
Which states currently use 36 months?
Washington, Indiana, and South Carolina in the September 2026 Candidate Guide.
Does the window start on the Exam date or score date?
That depends on jurisdiction.
What if a credit expires?
You can lose that section credit and may need to retake it.
Can credit be extended?
Some Boards may allow extensions for qualifying circumstances.
The takeaway
Most candidates have more time than under the old system, but the exact rule still depends on the jurisdiction.
Check the length → check the start date → confirm the oldest expiration → leave buffer.
Keep going
Your CPA credits give you time. Use it.
Use Summit CPA Review's original notes, MCQs, mnemonics, and targeted weak-area review to keep moving toward four active passes.