- What AUD Tests and Who Administers It
- AUD Exam Structure: MCQs, TBSs, and Testlets
- The Four AUD Domains You Must Master
- Registration, Fees, and Scheduling
- What It Actually Takes to Pass
- How Hard Is AUD, Really?
- A Domain-Weighted Study Timeline
- Who Values an AUD-Passed Candidate
- Mistakes That Sink First Attempts
- FAQ
- AUD has 78 MCQs and 7 TBSs across five testlets in a four-hour session under the 2026 blueprint.
- Performing Further Procedures and Obtaining Evidence carries the heaviest weight at 30-40% of the exam.
- A passing score is 75 on a 0-99 scale - not 75% of questions correct, and there's no curve.
- The Q1-Q2 2026 cumulative pass rate sits at 48.65%, so a majority of attempts still fail.
What AUD Tests and Who Administers It
The Uniform CPA Examination: Auditing and Attestation (AUD) is one of the four sections candidates must pass to become licensed CPAs in the United States. The AICPA Board of Examiners writes and scores the content, NASBA and individual state boards handle candidate eligibility and administration, and Prometric delivers the computer-based exam at testing centers. AUD is not a standalone, separately renewable credential - it's one exam section within the broader CPA licensure process, which matters when you're thinking about how it fits into your overall timeline.
If you're still getting oriented to the exam in general terms, our overview pages on What Is AUD? and AUD Meaning walk through the basics before you dive into blueprint-level detail here.
AUD Exam Structure: MCQs, TBSs, and Testlets
Under the blueprint effective January 1, 2026, AUD consists of 78 multiple-choice questions and 7 task-based simulations, delivered across five testlets during a four-hour appointment. Scoring is split evenly: MCQs contribute 50% of your score, and TBSs contribute the other 50%. That balance means you can't lean entirely on quick recall - you need to be able to work through realistic audit scenarios methodically.
The exam includes a standardized 15-minute stopped-clock break after Testlet 3. This break does not count against your four hours of testing time, so use it - stretch, hydrate, reset your focus before the simulation-heavy back half. You'll also have access to spreadsheet functionality and a four-function calculator throughout the exam, which are useful for the quantitative pieces embedded in TBSs, such as sample size or materiality calculations.
Key Takeaway
Because MCQs and TBSs each carry half the score, practice full-length simulations early rather than drilling only multiple-choice questions until the final weeks.
The Four AUD Domains You Must Master
AUD's content is organized into four domains, and their weighting tells you exactly where to spend your study hours. For a deeper breakdown of each area, see AUD Exam Domains 2026: Complete Guide to All 4 Content Areas.
Domain 1: Ethics, Professional Responsibilities and General Principles (15-25%)
Covers the AICPA Code of Professional Conduct, independence rules, quality management standards, and the legal and professional responsibilities auditors carry into an engagement.
- Independence threats and safeguards
- Firm-level quality management requirements
- Legal liability and confidentiality obligations
Domain 2: Assessing Risk and Developing a Planned Response (25-35%)
Tests your ability to understand an entity and its environment, assess risks of material misstatement, and design an audit strategy that responds appropriately.
- Internal control evaluation and walkthroughs
- Fraud risk factors and analytical procedures
- Materiality and audit risk model application
Domain 3: Performing Further Procedures and Obtaining Evidence (30-40%)
The single largest domain on the exam. It focuses on executing substantive and control testing procedures, evaluating sufficiency and appropriateness of evidence, and handling specialized audit areas.
- Substantive testing of account balances and transactions
- Sampling methods and evaluating misstatements
- Using the work of specialists and other auditors
Domain 4: Forming Conclusions and Reporting (10-20%)
Covers drawing conclusions from evidence gathered, drafting audit reports, and communicating findings appropriately to management and those charged with governance.
- Report modifications and emphasis-of-matter paragraphs
- Subsequent events and going concern evaluation
- Communications with those charged with governance
Registration, Fees, and Scheduling
Before you can sit for AUD, you need board approval and a Notice to Schedule (NTS) from your jurisdiction. Eligibility rules, credit windows, licensure requirements, and continuing education obligations are all set at the jurisdiction level, so what applies to a candidate in one state may not apply in another - check our AUD Requirements 2026: Eligibility, Prerequisites & How to Qualify guide for a structured walkthrough.
On the fee side, NASBA CPA Examination Services jurisdictions list a $268.59 exam-section fee for AUD, separate from application or board fees that vary by state. That distinction trips up a lot of first-time candidates who budget only for the exam fee and get surprised by additional jurisdiction charges. For a full cost breakdown, see AUD Certification Cost 2026: Complete Pricing Breakdown.
Once your NTS is issued, you'll schedule your Prometric appointment. Testing windows and deadlines are covered in detail in AUD Exam Dates 2026: Testing Windows, Deadlines & Scheduling - plan your NTS timeline before you lock in a study schedule, since an expired NTS means re-applying and re-paying.
| Component | Detail |
|---|---|
| Format | 78 MCQs + 7 TBSs, five testlets, four-hour appointment |
| Scoring weight | MCQs 50% / TBSs 50% |
| Passing score | 75 on a 0-99 scale (not percent correct) |
| NASBA section fee | $268.59 (jurisdiction fees separate) |
| Break policy | 15-minute stopped-clock break after Testlet 3 |
What It Actually Takes to Pass
A passing score on AUD is 75 on a 0-99 scale. This is a scaled score, not a raw percentage of questions answered correctly, and the AICPA does not curve scores against other candidates in your testing window. That means every candidate is measured against the same fixed performance standard, regardless of how the overall pool performs. For a detailed explanation of how the scaled score is calculated and weighted across testlets, read AUD Passing Score 2026: Exactly What You Need to Pass.
Because scoring blends MCQ and TBS performance equally, a strong MCQ testlet can help offset a rough simulation, and vice versa - but you can't rely on one format to carry the whole exam. Treat both halves as equally graded.
How Hard Is AUD, Really?
The cumulative Q1-Q2 2026 pass rate for AUD is 48.65%, meaning more than half of attempts in that window did not clear the passing score. That figure alone tells you this is not an exam to walk into lightly, even for candidates with solid accounting coursework behind them. Our companion piece, AUD Pass Rate 2026: What the Data Shows, breaks this figure down further, and How Hard Is the AUD Exam? Complete Difficulty Guide 2026 looks at why the difficulty tends to surprise candidates who assume audit content is "just memorization."
The difficulty tends to concentrate in two places: the sheer density of professional standards you need to internalize (not just recognize, but apply to scenario-based questions), and the task-based simulations, which require you to navigate multi-part exhibits and work through audit documentation the way you would on an actual engagement.
Key Takeaway
Don't treat AUD as a memorization exam. The 48.65% pass rate reflects how much the TBSs test applied judgment, not just recall of standards.
A Domain-Weighted Study Timeline
Generic study techniques - spaced repetition, timed drills, review cycles - only work well when they're mapped onto AUD's actual weighting. Since Domain 3 (Performing Further Procedures and Obtaining Evidence) makes up 30-40% of the exam, it deserves the largest and earliest block of dedicated study time, so you have room to revisit weak spots before test day.
Ethics & Foundations (Domain 1)
- Learn the AICPA Code of Professional Conduct and independence rules
- Review quality management standards
- Take an initial diagnostic set of MCQs to baseline your score
Risk Assessment (Domain 2)
- Practice internal control walkthroughs and risk-of-material-misstatement scenarios
- Work analytical procedure and fraud-risk MCQs
- Begin light TBS exposure to get comfortable with the format
Further Procedures & Evidence (Domain 3)
- Spend the most time here - this is the exam's largest domain
- Drill substantive testing, sampling, and specialist-reliance scenarios
- Do full-length TBS practice, not just isolated topic review
Reporting & Full Review (Domain 4 + Cumulative)
- Master report modifications, going concern, and subsequent events
- Run at least one full timed mock exam under four-hour conditions
- Revisit weak areas flagged from earlier diagnostics
Use a resource like our practice test platform to simulate the five-testlet structure under real time pressure - that's where a lot of candidates discover their pacing problems before it costs them on exam day.
Who Values an AUD-Passed Candidate
Because AUD is a required section of the CPA Exam, passing it is meaningful primarily to employers hiring for audit-track and accounting roles that require or prefer CPA licensure - public accounting firms, corporate internal audit teams, and government auditing functions among them. If you're weighing how AUD progress fits into your career plans, AUD Jobs outlines the kinds of roles where CPA Exam progress and audit knowledge get noticed, and Is the AUD Certification Worth It? Complete ROI Analysis 2026 and AUD Salary Guide 2026: Complete Earnings Analysis look at how CPA licensure factors into compensation and advancement more broadly.
Mistakes That Sink First Attempts
- Underweighting Domain 3. Candidates who split study time evenly across all four domains often run out of practice reps on the section worth up to 40% of the exam.
- Treating TBSs as an afterthought. Since TBSs contribute 50% of the score, skipping simulation practice until the final week leaves too little time to build comfort with multi-exhibit tasks.
- Misreading the passing score. A 75 is a scaled score, not "75% of questions right" - don't calibrate your target based on raw percentage correct in practice sets.
- Ignoring jurisdiction-specific rules. NTS deadlines, credit windows, and application fees differ by state board, and missing them can force costly re-registration.
- Skipping full-length mock exams. The four-hour format with a mid-exam break rewards stamina and pacing that's hard to build without at least one full timed run-through.
For a fast pre-exam refresher covering the highest-yield facts across all four domains, keep the AUD Cheat Sheet 2026: One-Page Review of Must-Know Facts on hand during your final review week, and pair it with timed sets on the practice test site to confirm you're ready before scheduling.
FAQ
Under the 2026 blueprint, AUD includes 78 multiple-choice questions and 7 task-based simulations, spread across five testlets in a four-hour appointment.
You need a scaled score of 75 on AUD's 0-99 scale. This is not the same as answering 75% of questions correctly, and scores are not curved against other candidates.
Many candidates start with Domain 1 (Ethics, Professional Responsibilities and General Principles) to build foundational vocabulary, then move into Domain 3 (Performing Further Procedures and Obtaining Evidence) early since it's the largest domain at 30-40% of the exam.
The NASBA exam-section fee is $268.59. Application or board fees are set separately by your jurisdiction, so total cost varies by state.
No. AUD is one required section of the Uniform CPA Examination rather than a separately renewable credential; it's part of the broader path to CPA licensure managed by NASBA and state boards.