The Notice to Schedule for the CPA exam, usually called the NTS, is the document NASBA issues once your state board of accountancy confirms you’re eligible to test. It carries a unique Section ID for each exam part you paid for, and you use it to book a seat at a Prometric testing center. Every NTS has an expiration date printed on it, and if you don’t sit for a section before that date, the fees you paid for it are gone. No extension by default, no refund.
How You Get an NTS
You apply through your state board of accountancy or, in many jurisdictions, through NASBA’s centralized portal. You submit official transcripts showing the required accounting and business coursework, provide identifying information including your Social Security number, pay the application fee, and designate which sections you plan to take. Most states let you sit with 120 credit hours and a bachelor’s degree, though all states require 150 credit hours for full licensure.1National Association of State Boards of Accountancy. What is the Uniform CPA Examination
Once your board confirms eligibility, it transmits your authorization to NASBA’s national database. That authorization is what generates the NTS.1National Association of State Boards of Accountancy. What is the Uniform CPA Examination The NTS is not emailed to you. It becomes available in the NASBA CPA Candidate Portal, where you view and print it.2National Association of State Boards of Accountancy. What exactly is a Notice to Schedule (NTS)? NASBA recommends printing and saving it right away, since you may not be able to reach the portal from the testing center on exam day.3National Association of State Boards of Accountancy. CPA Portal
What the NTS Shows
The document lists the sections you’re authorized to take, an Examination Section Identification Number for each one, a Candidate Identification Number that tracks your progress across attempts, and the expiration date. Your name on the NTS must match your government-issued photo ID exactly. A missing middle name or suffix can get you turned away at the testing center.
How Long the NTS Stays Valid
The validity window depends on your jurisdiction. Across the states, it ranges from three months to twelve months, and your specific expiration is printed on the NTS. The NTS is good for one testing event per section or until that expiration date, whichever comes first. Non-testing months count against your window.4National Association of State Boards of Accountancy. CPA Exam FAQ
If you don’t take a section before the NTS expires, you can’t extend it and you won’t get your money back. Exam fees run about $263 per section, roughly $1,050 for all four, with state application or registration fees on top. All of it is forfeited if the NTS lapses.5National Association of State Boards of Accountancy. CPA Exam Candidate Guide NASBA’s practical guidance in the Candidate Guide is to apply only for sections you’re ready to sit for soon. Paying for all four at once feels efficient until your NTS expires and you pay again.
The Discipline Section Scheduling Trap
The three core sections (AUD, FAR, and REG) use continuous testing, so you can schedule them any time. The discipline section you choose (BAR, ISC, or TCP) is only offered during the first month of each quarter: January, April, July, and October.6AICPA & CIMA. Find out when you’ll get your CPA Exam score
This catches people. If your NTS expires in March and you still need your discipline section, you can’t schedule it, because the next window doesn’t open until April. Take the discipline section first, or make sure your validity period actually covers one of the four discipline months.
The 30-Month Credit Clock Is Separate
Beyond the NTS expiration, a second clock runs once you pass your first section. You then have 30 months to pass the remaining three, or you lose credit for that first passed section.7National Association of State Boards of Accountancy. NASBA Announces Historic Rule Amendment Following Record The NTS deadline and the 30-month credit deadline are two separate things. Getting a fresh NTS resets nothing on the 30-month clock. Candidates who stretch attempts over years sometimes have to retake an early section they already passed.
Booking Your Appointment at Prometric
With your NTS in hand, you book online through Prometric using the Section ID from the document. The system lets you search testing centers by location and pick from available dates and times within your authorized window.8National Association of State Boards of Accountancy. Exam Candidates: How to Navigate the Prometric Website
Bring two forms of ID on test day. The primary must be a government-issued document with a recent photograph and your signature, such as a driver’s license or passport. The secondary must carry your signature and can be a credit card, bank debit card, ATM card, or another government-issued ID. Social Security cards, student IDs, green cards, and draft classification cards are not accepted as secondary ID. If your passport isn’t signed, bring a signed card as the second form.9National Association of State Boards of Accountancy. CPA Exam Candidate Guide
Rescheduling and Cancellation Fees
Prometric charges more the closer you get to your appointment:
- 61 or more days before the appointment: no fee to reschedule or cancel.
- 5 to 60 days before: a rescheduling fee applies, paid to Prometric.
- 2 to 5 days before: you pay the full Prometric seat fee for that section.
- Less than 24 hours before: no changes are possible.
Canceling without rescheduling, or not showing up at all, forfeits the exam fees. No refund.5National Association of State Boards of Accountancy. CPA Exam Candidate Guide The tiers exist so you can move a date without losing everything, if you move early.4National Association of State Boards of Accountancy. CPA Exam FAQ
Hardship Extensions
Extending an active NTS is only possible in genuinely extraordinary circumstances. Standard grounds include documented medical emergencies, a death in the immediate family, or active military deployment. You file a formal petition with your board of accountancy and include supporting evidence such as hospital records or military orders. The board or a designated national committee reviews it, and approval isn’t guaranteed. How close you are to the expiration date when you file often factors in.
Routine problems don’t qualify. Work conflicts, study delays, and feeling unprepared aren’t hardship. Your realistic options in those cases are rescheduling within the existing window or letting the NTS expire and reapplying.
Reapplying After Expiration, Failure, or a No-Show
How soon you can get back into the system depends on why you’re back:
- After failing a section, you must wait at least 72 hours from score release before re-registering for that section. In practice it can take up to five days for the section to fully close out in the system.
- After an NTS expires unused, NASBA needs seven days to process the expired status before you can submit a new application.
- After a no-show, NASBA must receive the no-show status from Prometric, which also takes seven days, and then you reapply and pay again.
In every case, you pay full application and exam fees for the new NTS. There is no discounted re-examination rate.10National Association of State Boards of Accountancy. CPA Exam Candidate Guide
Testing Outside the United States
You can take the exam at Prometric centers abroad, but you still need to establish eligibility through a U.S. jurisdiction that participates in international administration. An international surcharge of $390 per section applies on top of the standard exam fee, and testing in India runs $460 per section. The surcharge applies to core and discipline sections alike.11National Association of State Boards of Accountancy. CPA Exam – International Administration
The Practical Rule
Two decisions protect the money on your NTS. Apply only for sections you can realistically sit for inside the validity window your jurisdiction gives you, and if you need to move a date, do it while you’re still in the no-fee tier. Everything else on the NTS, including the Section IDs and the expiration date, is fixed the moment NASBA generates the document.