CPA Exam 2027: An 11-Day Blackout, a New Platform and Slower Scores

If you are planning a CPA sitting in 2027, three things have changed and one of them will cost you time.

No testing at all from 1 to 11 July 2027

The AICPA has confirmed a blackout from 1 July to 11 July 2027. No exam appointments are available in that window while the old system is closed down and candidate data is processed. Testing resumes on 12 July 2027 on the new platform.

If you were planning to sit in early July 2027, you cannot. Move it to either side of that gap.

A new delivery platform from 12 July 2027

From that date the exam runs on what the AICPA calls a new technology delivery platform, with a redesigned interface. The stated aims are better accessibility, a faster processing cycle and a more modern exam experience.

The content is not changing. This is how the exam is delivered, not what it tests.

Scores get slower for twelve months

This is the part worth planning around. Because the interface changes, exam items have to be recalibrated using real candidate data before scores can be released. The AICPA has confirmed an adjustment to the score release schedule for the 12 months following launch.

In practice that means long testing windows with a single score date at the end, instead of the current rolling cadence.

Core sections

•    Test 12 Jul – 30 Sep 2027 → scores 19 Oct 2027

•    Test 1 Oct – 15 Dec 2027 → scores 28 Dec 2027

•    Test 1 Jan – 15 Mar 2028 → scores 28 Mar 2028

•    Test 1 Apr – 15 Jun 2028 → scores 27 Jun 2028

Discipline sections

•    Test 12 Jul – 12 Aug 2027 → scores 28 Sep 2027

•    Test 1 – 31 Oct 2027 → scores 17 Dec 2027

•    Test 1 – 31 Jan 2028 → scores 17 Mar 2028

•    Test 1 – 30 Apr 2028 → scores 16 Jun 2028

Sit a Core section on 15 July 2027 and you wait until 19 October for the result. That is about three months, against roughly two to three weeks today.

What this means for your plan

If you can finish before July 2027, do. The current schedule returns scores far faster and you avoid the transition entirely.

If you will still be sitting after the switch, build the wait into your sequence. A failed section discovered in late October leaves you retaking in a window that does not score until December. Two such loops and you have lost most of a year.

Check your own state board rules on credit expiry against those score dates before you commit to a sitting, as these vary by jurisdiction.

Sources: AICPA & CIMA, CPA Exam user-interface changes coming in 2027 and CPA Exam score release dates.