LACPA Exam Dates, Fees and Registration: How the Process Works
Short answer: LACPA exam dates are set by the Lebanese Association of Certified Public Accountants and published on lacpa.org.lb, not on a fixed public calendar you can plan years ahead from. What is fixed is the rule that decides when you may sit: a trainee member sits the professional exam after completing the first year of traineeship and must pass it within five years of that first year. Fees are set by LACPA and paid to LACPA: a file-opening fee and a trainee membership fee at registration, then examination fees per sitting. Check the current amounts on the association's site before you budget, because they are revised.
This guide explains how the LACPA exam process actually works from registration to results, so you can plan a sitting instead of waiting for one.
When is the LACPA exam held?
LACPA runs the professional examination in scheduled sessions announced by the association, and its published past papers show that sittings have been held in December: the association's own archive includes an IFRS paper from the December 2020 session [Source: LACPA, IFRS December 2020 exam]. Treat a winter sitting as typical, but confirm the current year's dates with LACPA directly, because the association sets and can move them.
The practical consequence is that your preparation should be planned backwards from the announced date, not forwards from when you feel ready. Most candidates need several months of structured work across the subjects, and a December sitting means the serious study starts in late spring or summer. Our LACPA exam requirements guide covers the full path; this article is about the calendar and the paperwork.
Who is allowed to register for the LACPA exam?
Only LACPA trainee members who have completed the first year of their traineeship. Under the association's internal bylaws, trainee members who have completed the first year of traineeship sit an exam decided by the LACPA Council and adopted by the Exams Committee. Trainees may sit it within a maximum of five years from the first year of their traineeship [Source: LACPA Internal Bylaws].
To become a trainee in the first place you need a university degree in accounting and a training position under the supervision of a LACPA member. IFAC's profile confirms the entry route: a university degree, practical experience under the supervision of a LACPA member, and LACPA's professional examinations [Source: IFAC, Lebanon profile]. The bylaws set the standard traineeship at three years, and one year for holders of a licensed CPA [Source: LACPA Internal Bylaws].
Two clocks therefore run at once: the traineeship clock towards membership, and the five-year exam window that opens after year one. Register as a trainee as early as your degree allows, because every month you delay registration is a month you cannot get back on either clock.
How much does the LACPA exam cost?
There are three kinds of fee, all payable to LACPA: a one-time file-opening fee when you apply, a trainee membership fee once your application is approved, and examination fees for each sitting. The trainee membership fee falls due once LACPA approves the application, within the period its bylaws set [Source: LACPA Internal Bylaws]. The amounts published in older versions of the bylaws are in Lebanese pounds and predate the currency's revaluation, so do not rely on a figure you find in an old document: ask LACPA for the current schedule.
Budget separately for preparation. That is a cost you control, and it is where most of the difference between passing and resitting is made. A coordinated program that covers all four coached subjects, such as the LACPA Certification Program, is priced as one package and costs about 20% less than taking the four subjects one at a time. Resitting a single paper is cheaper still, because each subject, such as Law and Taxation for the LACPA Exam, can be taken on its own.
How does LACPA exam registration work, step by step?
The process has five stages, and the first two happen before you ever think about an exam date.
- Finish an accounting degree. A university degree is a stated requirement for the profession in Lebanon [Source: IFAC].
- Apply for trainee membership. Open a file with LACPA, pay the file-opening fee, and once approved pay the trainee membership fee within the period the bylaws set. Your traineeship must be supervised by a LACPA member.
- Complete the first year of traineeship. This is the gate to the exam. Nothing about your study plan changes the date it opens.
- Register for a sitting. When LACPA announces the session, submit the exam application and pay the examination fees. The exam content is decided by the LACPA Council and adopted by the Exams Committee.
- Sit, pass, and complete the traineeship. Passing the exam and finishing the supervised experience together qualify you for full membership. Members then owe at least 40 hours of continuing professional development every year [Source: IFAC].
Holders of a CPA certificate from an international association follow a shorter route: LACPA's bylaws subject them to an exam on the relevant Lebanese laws according to a determined curriculum, rather than the full examination [Source: LACPA Internal Bylaws].
What should you do in the months before the exam date?
Work the four coached subjects as one plan, weakest paper first. LACPA's professional examinations are the gate IFAC's profile describes, alongside the degree and the supervised practice [Source: IFAC, Lebanon profile], and the association's published past papers show what is examined, including a stand-alone IFRS paper [Source: LACPA, IFRS December 2020 exam]. Candidates prepare four coached subjects: managerial accounting, IFRS, auditing, and Lebanese law and taxation. In our experience the paper candidates most often carry is Lebanese law and taxation, because it is the one that generic accounting study never prepared them for.
A workable rhythm is two subjects at a time, each with a weekly block of past-style questions, then a final month of mixed practice under time. The IFRS subject and the auditing subject pair well because audit evidence questions lean on reporting knowledge. The managerial accounting subject can run alongside law and tax. Whatever the order, the study calendar has to end at least two weeks before the date LACPA announces, not on it.
How Balance Brightness plans your sitting with you
Balance Brightness has prepared LACPA candidates in Beirut since 1997. Every enrolment in the LACPA Certification Program starts with your target sitting and works backwards to a weekly plan across all four subjects, taught by Mahmoud Chehade, who has practised Lebanese accounting, audit and tax for 30 years. Sessions run in person on Hamra Main Street in Beirut or live online, in English or Arabic. If you are not sure whether your traineeship year has opened the exam window yet, ask us and we will check it with you before you pay anyone a fee. The FAQ answers the most common enrolment questions.
Frequently asked questions
How many times a year is the LACPA exam held?
LACPA announces its sessions each year rather than publishing a permanent schedule, and its archive of past papers shows December sittings. Do not assume a second session exists in a given year unless LACPA has announced it. The safest plan is to prepare for the next announced date and treat any additional sitting as a bonus, not a fallback. If you miss a session, the five-year window from your first traineeship year keeps running.
Can I sit the LACPA exam before finishing my traineeship?
You can sit it before finishing the full traineeship, but not before completing the first year. The bylaws open the exam to trainees who have completed the first year of traineeship, and many candidates sit in their second or third year while the experience clock continues. You cannot, however, become a full member until both the exam and the supervised experience are complete.
What happens if I fail one LACPA paper?
You prepare for that paper and sit it again at a later session, within the five-year window. This is where single-subject preparation earns its place: a candidate carrying Lebanese law and taxation prepares for that one subject rather than repeating the whole program. Ask LACPA to confirm the current rules on partial passes, because the association's regulations govern how results carry between sessions.
Are LACPA exam fees refundable if I withdraw?
Refund rules are set by LACPA, so confirm them with the association at the time you register. Membership fees in particular are tied to your status as a trainee rather than to a specific sitting. The practical advice is simple: do not register for a session you are not prepared for. Withdrawing costs money and, more importantly, a session inside a window that does not pause.
The bottom line
You cannot pick your LACPA exam date, but you can control everything around it: when you register as a trainee, when your first year ends, and how prepared you are when the association announces the session. Register early, confirm the current fees and dates with LACPA rather than an old document, and plan the four subjects backwards from the date as one program. That is the difference between candidates who sit once and candidates who use up their five years. When you know your target sitting, the LACPA Certification Program is built to get you there.
This article describes the LACPA process in general terms and is not legal or professional advice. Dates, fees and rules are set by LACPA and change; confirm current details on lacpa.org.lb before you act on them.
