ACCA Pass Rates: What the Latest Results Say, Exam by Exam
ACCA's June 2026 pass rates ranged from 39% (AAA) to 89% (BT). Here's every exam, the last four sittings side by side, and how to use the numbers when you plan.
The latest ACCA pass rates are from the September 2026 exam sitting, published on 19 October. That announcement covers the 11 session-based Applied Skills and Strategic Professional exams, which ranged from 41% for Advanced Performance Management (APM) to 54% for Taxation (TX). The most recent results for all 15 ACCA Qualification exams are from June 2026, when they ranged from 39% for Advanced Audit and Assurance (AAA) to 89% for Business and Technology (BT). In June the two compulsory Strategic Professional exams came in at 51% (Strategic Business Leader) and 47% (Strategic Business Reporting), and Performance Management (PM) was the lowest Applied Skills exam at 41%. ACCA says December 2026 results will be released on 18 January, so check back then for the newer figures.
Key takeaways
- The latest ACCA pass rates, for September 2026, ran from 41% for APM to 54% for TX; the last full set, from June 2026, ranged from 39% for AAA to 89% for BT.
- Performance Management was the lowest Applied Skills exam in June 2026, at 41%.
- AAA or APM had the lowest pass rate of the session-based exams in each of the last four sittings.
- Every ACCA exam has the same 50% pass mark; the exams themselves test different things.
- Use pass rates to plan a resit buffer and watch the seven-year Strategic Professional limit, not to predict your own result.
What were the ACCA pass rates in June 2026?
June 2026 is the most recent sitting with results for every exam. These are the figures ACCA published in its June 2026 results announcement. The pass mark is the same everywhere: ACCA's exam FAQs give it as "50 per cent for all exams".
| Level | Exam | June 2026 pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| Applied Knowledge | BT – Business and Technology | 89% |
| Applied Knowledge | FA – Financial Accounting | 71% |
| Applied Knowledge | MA – Management Accounting | 65% |
| Applied Skills | LW – Corporate and Business Law | 82% |
| Applied Skills | TX – Taxation | 55% |
| Applied Skills | FR – Financial Reporting | 52% |
| Applied Skills | FM – Financial Management | 48% |
| Applied Skills | AA – Audit and Assurance | 47% |
| Applied Skills | PM – Performance Management | 41% |
| Strategic Professional (Essentials) | SBL – Strategic Business Leader | 51% |
| Strategic Professional (Essentials) | SBR – Strategic Business Reporting | 47% |
| Strategic Professional (Options) | AFM – Advanced Financial Management | 47% |
| Strategic Professional (Options) | ATX – Advanced Taxation | 47% |
| Strategic Professional (Options) | APM – Advanced Performance Management | 42% |
| Strategic Professional (Options) | AAA – Advanced Audit and Assurance | 39% |
Two things to know before you read too much into the table.
First, the Applied Knowledge and Law figures don't come from a single exam week. ACCA notes that its results "also include those delivered via ACCA's on-demand offering for Foundation Diplomas, Applied Knowledge and Law exams". All Applied Knowledge exams and some LW variants are offered as on-demand computer-based exams, so you book them when you're ready rather than waiting for a session.
Second, the volumes are large. ACCA reports that 119,662 students entered the June sitting and 136,544 exams were completed, and that 4,690 students finished all their exams and moved to affiliate status. A pass rate at that scale is a fair summary of how the whole cohort did. It tells you very little about how you will do.
How have ACCA pass rates moved over the last four sittings?
ACCA runs four exam sessions a year, in March, June, September and December, and publishes pass rates after each one. Here are the last four, taken from ACCA's announcements for December 2025, March 2026, June 2026 and September 2026. The September and March announcements list only the Applied Skills (excluding LW) and Strategic Professional exams, so those cells are blank.
| Exam | Dec 2025 | Mar 2026 | Jun 2026 | Sep 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BT | 87% | – | 89% | – |
| FA | 68% | – | 71% | – |
| MA | 64% | – | 65% | – |
| LW | 82% | – | 82% | – |
| TX | 55% | 53% | 55% | 54% |
| FR | 51% | 50% | 52% | 49% |
| PM | 40% | 45% | 41% | 42% |
| FM | 48% | 50% | 48% | 47% |
| AA | 46% | 43% | 47% | 45% |
| SBL | 50% | 52% | 51% | 53% |
| SBR | 48% | 50% | 47% | 50% |
| AAA | 38% | 42% | 39% | 42% |
| AFM | 45% | 44% | 47% | 47% |
| APM | 41% | 40% | 42% | 41% |
| ATX | 50% | 50% | 47% | 53% |
Over these four sittings most exams moved by a few percentage points either way, with no steady climb or fall. Four data points isn't a trend, so treat any "pass rates are rising" or "falling" claim with suspicion unless it comes with a much longer run of data. ACCA keeps a longer history of Applied Knowledge and Applied Skills pass rates if you want to look further back yourself.
Which ACCA exams have the lowest pass rates?
Based on the four sittings above, a few patterns hold.
Strategic Professional: AAA and APM
AAA or APM had the lowest pass rate of all the session-based exams in each of the four sittings. AAA was at 40% or below in two of them, and APM never rose above 42%. The Essentials sit higher: SBL stayed between 50% and 53%, and SBR between 47% and 50%.
Applied Skills: PM, then AA and FM
PM had the lowest Applied Skills pass rate in three of the four sittings, and AA was lowest in the other (43% in March 2026). TX was the steadiest, at 53% to 55%. LW sits well above the rest, at 82% in both sittings where it was reported.
Applied Knowledge: the highest rates
The three Applied Knowledge exams have the highest pass rates in the qualification. BT was 87% in December 2025 and 89% in June 2026. MA was the lowest of the three each time, in the mid-60s.
Why do pass rates differ between ACCA exams?
ACCA's results announcements give the numbers without explaining the gaps between exams, so be careful with anyone who tells you exactly why PM is lower than TX. What you can say from ACCA's own material is this.
The bar is the same, the exams aren't. Every exam needs 50%, but the levels test different things. At FR, for example, ACCA's FAQs say candidates "only need to achieve 50% overall to pass", not 50% in each section.
Strategic Professional rewards application, not recall. The AAA examining team's September/December 2025 examiner's report says "generic or high level responses which do not build on the detail provided in the scenario will gain little to no credit." It also describes a gap between candidates who apply their knowledge to the scenario and "those who approach the examination as a factual exercise."
Later exams build on earlier ones. The same report says AAA question practice "must build upon both the Applied Skills level audit and financial reporting examinations" and the SBR syllabus. If your AA or FR knowledge has faded, AAA will find the gap.
Different exams, different groups of students. At Strategic Professional you take both Essentials and choose two of the four Options, so each Option is sat by a self-selected group. Comparing AAA with ATX isn't comparing like with like.
What do ACCA pass rates mean for planning your exams?
A pass rate is a planning input, not a prediction. Here's how to use it.
- Plan a buffer for the harder papers. With AAA, APM and PM passing at around 40% in recent sittings, a resit is a realistic possibility for a lot of people. Leave room in your timetable rather than booking your next exam for the very next session.
- Mind the Strategic Professional clock. ACCA gives you seven years to pass the Strategic Professional exams once you pass the first one. Passes older than that are lost and have to be retaken. Applied Knowledge and Applied Skills passes never expire.
- Don't overload a session. ACCA's exam progression rules allow a maximum of four exams per session and eight distinct exams in a calendar year. That's the limit, not a target, especially with a lower-pass-rate paper in the mix.
- Choose Options for your career, not the pass rate. If you're heading into audit, AAA is the obvious fit even though it has the lowest rate. The spread between the highest and lowest Option was 8 to 12 percentage points across these four sittings; the difference in relevance to your next job can be much bigger.
- Read the examiner's reports. For any paper you're worried about, the examiner's report tells you where marks were lost. That's more useful than the headline percentage.
One more planning point: ACCA is moving to a redesigned qualification. Its September 2026 announcement says the redesigned qualification "will be delivered in less than a year", and its transition timeline lists June 2027 as the final sitting of the current Applied Skills and Strategic Professional exams. If you're mid-way through, factor that into which exams you book and when. Our ACCA vs CIMA vs ACA comparison covers what the redesign means alongside the other qualifications.
How should you show ACCA exam progress on your CV?
Employers hiring trainees and part-qualified staff care about where you are, not about the pass rate for each paper. List the exams you've passed (or the level you've completed), the ones you're sitting next and when, and any exemptions. Keep it factual: "ACCA Applied Skills complete; sitting SBL and SBR, [session]" is clear and checkable.
If you're moving into finance from another field, a passed exam or two is real evidence of commitment. Our guide to career change into finance covers how to put that next to your previous experience without overselling it.
The pass rate tells you how hard a paper is for the cohort. Your own study plan, resit buffer and Strategic Professional clock decide how it goes for you. Once your exam progress is up to date, upload your CV to the Coffee & Excel workspace and paste in the job description for the trainee or part-qualified role you're targeting, so you can see how your ACCA progress lines up with what the employer is asking for.
Frequently asked questions
What is the pass mark for ACCA exams?
ACCA's pass mark is 50% for all exams. At FR, for example, you need 50% overall, not 50% in each section.
Which ACCA exam has the lowest pass rate?
In September 2026 it was Advanced Performance Management (APM) at 41%. In June 2026, the last sitting with results for every exam, it was Advanced Audit and Assurance (AAA) at 39%. AAA or APM had the lowest rate among the session-based exams in each of the last four sittings.
When are the December 2026 ACCA results out?
ACCA says December 2026 exam results will be released on 18 January 2027.
Are Applied Knowledge pass rates comparable with the session exams?
Not directly. ACCA's figures for Applied Knowledge and Law include on-demand exams, which you book when you're ready rather than in a fixed session.