Preparatory Examinations
CPA Ontario offers four preparatory examination dates per year that best meet your schedule. Ensure you attempt your examination within 12 months of your preparatory course start date.
Students are permitted three attempts to pass a CPA preparatory course successfully. Students who are unsuccessful with a course after three attempts must complete the requirements through a post-secondary institution and complete a transcript reassessment. Students can choose to pursue other CPA preparatory courses during this time.
Review the preparatory course schedule for examination dates. You can register for examinations via My Portal and select Manage My Journey.
Key information
In-person examinations
The CPA preparatory core course examinations will take place in person at writing centres across Ontario.
Refer to the following resources for information on in-person examinations:
- Examination schedules
- Examination blueprints (CPA Canada)
- In-Person Examination regulations (CPA Canada)
Remote Examinations
All non-core examinations in 2024 will be delivered remotely. These examinations will be written using a web-based examination software on students’ personal computers.
Refer to the following resources for information online examinations:
- Examination schedules
- Examination blueprints (CPA Canada)
- Online Examination regulations (CPA Canada)
March 2024 Preparatory In-Person Examination Locations
| Toronto West | The International Convention Center (Hall 5 - Entrance 78) | 6900 Airport Road, Mississauga, ON L4V 1E8 |
| Ottawa | Ottawa Conference and Event Centre | 200 Coventry Road, Ottawa, ON K1K 4S3 |
| Hamilton | Convention Centre by Carmen's | 1 Summers Ln, Hamilton, ON L8P 4Y2 |
| London | Best Western-Stoneridge Inn | 6675 Burtwistle Ln, London, ON N6L 1H5 |
| Kingston | Travelodge Kingston | 2360 Princess St, Kingston, ON K7M 3G4 |
| Sudbury | Holiday Inn Sudbury | 1696 Regent St, Greater Sudbury, ON P3E 3Z8 |
| Sault Ste. Marie | Days Inn & Suites Sault Ste. Marie | 332 Bay Street, Sault Ste. Marie, ON P6A 1X1 |
| Windsor | Quality Inn & Suites Windsor | 675 Goyeau St. Windsor ON N9A 1H3 |
| Thunder Bay | Victoria Inn Thunder Bay | 555 Arthur St. W, Thunder Bay, ON P7E 5R5 |
| Timmins | MNP Office | 2185 Riverside Dr, Timmins, ON P4R 0A1 |
Examination withdrawals
Students are no longer able to defer a preparatory examination. If you have completed the required course activities but wish to take the examination at a future offering, you must withdraw from the examination. When you are ready to take the examination within the 12-month eligibility period, you must enrol in the examination again.
Examination fees will have an 80 per cent refund if the withdrawal is more than 14 days before the examination date. Any examination withdrawals within 14 days of the examination date will have a $0 refund.
Students who withdraw from a course and are enrolled in the corresponding examination will automatically be withdrawn from that examination.
Students may withdraw from a preparatory course or examination by going to My Portal, selecting Manage My Journey ► Actions for the course or examination ► Withdraw. By completing a withdrawal, students accept the terms laid out in the refund policy.
Examination re-marks
Students who are unsuccessful at passing a core course may submit a request for re-mark of their examination results. You must request a re-mark within three business days of the final results release. Your request can be completed by logging into My Portal, selecting Obligations & Requests ► Student Requests ► Exam Re-marks and Performance Analysis Review (PAR).
A fee of $100 + HST applies for all re-marks. Re-marks take approximately 10 business days. If it is successful, the fee will be refunded.
Examination rewrites
If your minimum grade is inadequate for a successful pass (60 per cent for core courses), you may be eligible to rewrite the examination in order to increase your final grade.
Only students who receive a final grade of 49.5 to 59.4 per cent in core courses are eligible to rewrite the examination. Eligible students can enrol in the rewrite examination by logging into My Portal. The rewrite examination counts as a course attempt. Students who are unsuccessful at the rewrite examination for their second-course attempt will need to retake the full course. An examination re-write costs $200 + HST.
Note: Rewrite examinations are not deferrable. If a student does not attempt the rewrite examination in the semester immediately following the original attempt, they must attempt the entire course again.
A student who is unsuccessful on the first attempt in a core course with a mark of less than 49.5 per cent must retake the full course before a second attempt at the examination is permitted.
A student who is unsuccessful in a non-core course must repeat the entire course before attempting the examination again.