§ 11.16. Examination completion requirement.

 (a)  Effective April 5, 2004, the four-part, paper-and-pencil CPA examination will be replaced with a four-part, computer-based CPA examination. The examination will be administered during an examination window that consists of the first 2 months of each quarter of every year beginning April 5, 2004. An examination candidate may take the four parts of the examination individually or in combination, and in any order. A candidate may take each unpassed part of the examination once during each examination window. A candidate will receive conditional credit for passing each part of the examination, without regard to the scores on the parts not passed.

 (b)  Except as provided in subsections (c) and (d), an examination candidate shall pass all parts of the examination during a rolling 18-month period that begins on the date the candidate first passes one part of the examination. If the candidate does not pass all parts of the examination within the 18-month period, conditional credit for any part passed outside the 18-month period will expire, and the candidate shall retake that part of the examination.

 (c)  An examination candidate who, as of April 5, 2004, had received conditional credit for passing at least two parts of the examination since November 1999 shall pass the remaining parts of the examination within 5 years from the date the candidate initially took the examination.

   (1)  The candidate shall be permitted to take the remaining parts of the examination during the following number of examination windows, depending on when the candidate initially took the examination:

   (2)  The candidate may take a part of the examination during any examination window between April 5, 2004, and the appropriate completion deadline.

   (3)  If the candidate does not pass the remaining parts of the examination by the appropriate completion deadline, or after exhausting the remaining examination opportunities, whichever occurs first, conditional credit for the parts of the examination passed before April 5, 2004, will expire, and the candidate shall thereafter be subject to the requirements of subsection (b). In that case, the candidate will retain conditional credit for any part of the examination passed after April 5, 2004, that is timely to the requirements of subsection (b).

 (d)  An examination candidate who initially took the examination prior to November 1990 and who, as of April 5, 2004, had received conditional credit for passing at least one part of the examination shall pass the remaining parts of the examination within 18 months from the date the candidate next takes the examination on or after April 5, 2004. If the candidate does not pass the remaining parts of the examination within the 18-month period, conditional credit for the parts of the examination passed before April 5, 2004, will expire, and the candidate shall thereafter be subject to the requirements of subsection (b). In that case, the candidate will retain conditional credit for any part of the examination passed after April 5, 2004, that is timely to the requirements of subsection (b).

 (e)  For purposes of subsections (c) and (d), an examination candidate with conditional credit under the paper-and-pencil examination will receive conditional credit under the computer-based examination based on the following equivalency between the four parts of the two examinations:

 (f)  Notwithstanding the requirements of subsections (a)—(c), the Board may extend the term of a candidate’s conditional credit upon the candidate’s showing that the conditional credit expired by reason of circumstances beyond the candidate’s control.

   The provisions of this §  11.16 issued under section 506 of The Administrative Code of 1929 (71 P. S. §  186); and section 3 of the C.P.A. Law (63 P. S. §  9.3); amended under section 812(b) and (e) of The Administrative Code of 1929 (71 P. S. §  279.3a); and sections 3(a)(3) and (12) and 6 of the C.P.A. Law (63 P. S. § §  9.3(a)(3) and (12) and 9.6).

   The provisions of this §  11.16 adopted May 2, 1980, effective May 3, 1980, 10 Pa.B. 1776; amended August 15, 1980, effective August 16, 1980, 10 Pa.B. 3354; amended November 9, 1990, effective November 10, 1990, and apply retroactively to November 1, 1990, 20 Pa.B. 5634; amended April 22, 1994, effective April 23, 1994, 24 Pa.B. 2081; amended April 2, 2004, effective April 3, 2004, 34 Pa.B. 1768. Immediately preceding text appears at serial page (271673).