For December 2026, ACCA's UK fees are £160 per Applied Skills exam, £208 for SBR and each option and £282 for SBL at standard entry. Late entry costs £409 (Applied Skills) or £467 (Strategic Professional). Remote Applied Knowledge exams cost £134.25. Registration is £89 and the 2026 subscription £140.
Last checked: November 2026, against ACCA's UK (GBP) fees and charges page and its remote on-demand CBE fees page. Fees are shown in pounds sterling. ACCA sets different prices in some countries and regions, so check ACCA for your country before you budget.
How much are ACCA exam fees in 2026?
For the December 2026 session, ACCA's UK price list charges £160 per Applied Skills exam, £208 for Strategic Business Reporting and each Strategic Professional option, and £282 for Strategic Business Leader if you enter in the standard window. Enter late and every one of those papers costs far more: £409 for Applied Skills and £467 for any Strategic Professional exam.
The Applied Knowledge exams are priced differently because you book them on demand. Taken remotely, BT, MA and FA cost £134.25 each in most locations. If you sit them at a computer-based exam centre, the centre sets its own price.
ACCA exam fees for every paper
| Level | Exam | Standard entry (Dec 2026) | Late entry (Dec 2026) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Applied Knowledge | Business and Technology (BT) | On demand: £134.25 remote, or centre's own price | |
| Applied Knowledge | Management Accounting (MA) | On demand: £134.25 remote, or centre's own price | |
| Applied Knowledge | Financial Accounting (FA) | On demand: £134.25 remote, or centre's own price | |
| Applied Skills | Corporate and Business Law (LW) | On demand: £148.25 remote (ENG or GLO), or centre's own price | |
| Applied Skills | PM, TX, FR, AA, FM (each) | £160 | £409 |
| Strategic Professional (Essential) | Strategic Business Leader (SBL) | £282 | £467 |
| Strategic Professional (Essential) | Strategic Business Reporting (SBR) | £208 | £467 |
| Strategic Professional (Options) | AFM, APM, ATX, AAA (each) | £208 | £467 |
Two things stand out. First, SBL is the most expensive exam in the qualification, reflecting its longer integrated case format. Second, the late penalty is steep: a late SBL entry costs £185 more than a standard one, and a late Applied Skills entry costs more than two and a half times the standard fee.
Are there early, standard and late ACCA exam fees?
Not any more. Older guides talk about three bands (early, standard and late). ACCA's current fees and dates pages list only two: standard entry, which is the cheapest, and late entry, which runs for one week after standard entry closes. For December 2026, standard entry closed on 2 November 2026 and late entry closes on 9 November 2026. For March 2027, standard entry closes on 1 February 2027 and late entry on 8 February 2027. Full timings are on my ACCA exam dates page.
When I last checked, ACCA had published fees for the December 2026 session. Fees for March 2027 onwards had not yet appeared on the UK page, so check again when March entry opens on 10 November 2026.
What other ACCA fees do students pay?
| Fee | Amount (GBP) | When you pay it |
|---|---|---|
| Initial registration | £89 | Once, when you join |
| Annual student subscription (2026) | £140 | Every year, due by 1 January |
| Exemption, Applied Knowledge paper | £86 | Per exemption awarded |
| Exemption, Applied Skills paper | £114 | Per exemption awarded |
| Ethics and Professional Skills module | £83 | Once |
| Re-registration | £89 plus unpaid fees | If removed for non-payment |
| Admission to membership | £326 | Once, when you become a member |
| Member annual subscription (2026) | £326 | Every year as a member |
The annual subscription is easy to forget. If you do not pay it, you can be removed from the student register, and coming back costs another £89 on top of what you owe.
What is the total cost of the ACCA qualification?
Here is a worked example for a UK student with no exemptions who sits every exam once, at standard entry, takes the Applied Knowledge exams and LW remotely, and finishes the exams in three years. These are ACCA fees only, using the 2026 prices above.
| Item | Calculation | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Registration | One-off | £89.00 |
| Applied Knowledge (BT, MA, FA) | 3 x £134.25 | £402.75 |
| Corporate and Business Law | 1 x £148.25 | £148.25 |
| Applied Skills (PM, TX, FR, AA, FM) | 5 x £160 | £800.00 |
| Strategic Business Leader | 1 x £282 | £282.00 |
| Strategic Business Reporting | 1 x £208 | £208.00 |
| Two options | 2 x £208 | £416.00 |
| Ethics and Professional Skills module | One-off | £83.00 |
| Exam-related fees | £2,429.00 | |
| Annual subscriptions | 3 x £140 | £420.00 |
| Total ACCA fees | £2,849.00 |
Your real total will differ. Exemptions reduce it, each resit adds another exam fee, late entries add a lot, and subscriptions rise if you take longer. Tuition and study materials are separate and usually cost more than the exam fees themselves. Admission to membership (£326) comes at the end, once your exams and practical experience are complete.
How can I keep my ACCA costs down?
- Always book in the standard window. Late entry is the single biggest avoidable cost.
- Cancel early if you are not ready. If you cancel or amend before the standard deadline, ACCA refunds the fee or holds it on your account. After that, fees are non-refundable and cannot be transferred.
- Pass first time. A resit of SBL at standard entry is another £282, plus weeks of extra study time. Recent pass rates were 51% in June 2026 and 53% in September 2026, so preparation matters.
- Plan around the 2027 changes. Under the redesigned qualification from September 2027, ACCA requires one option exam instead of two. ACCA says a pass in one option before the switch is credited. See my Strategic Professional guide before booking a second option.
- Use free resources well. ACCA's own SBL technical articles are free and directly relevant to the exam.
Will ACCA fees change in 2027?
ACCA has said that fees for the redesigned qualification's components will be confirmed later, and that it intends students in transition will not be disadvantaged on cost or progression. The new Essential Employability Modules will carry fees too. For Strategic Professional students, one practical point stands out: completing the Ethics and Professional Skills module (£83) before transition gives you credit for the new Ethical, Sustainable Leadership module, which ACCA describes as around 70 hours of study. Until ACCA confirms prices, treat any 2027 figure you see elsewhere as a guess.
Spending wisely on SBL
Because SBL is the priciest exam, it is worth giving yourself the best chance first time. My book, Becoming A Strategic Business Leader, is a low-cost, concise guide to the core models and frameworks across the SBL syllabus, from PESTEL and Porter's five forces through governance, risk and change management. It does not replace question practice, but it helps you learn the theory faster so you can spend more time on mocks. You can read three chapters free first, and the SBL syllabus page maps each chapter to the syllabus.
Bottom line
In the UK, a standard-entry ACCA exam costs £160 for Applied Skills, £208 for SBR and each option, and £282 for SBL, with late entry rising to £409 or £467. On-demand Applied Knowledge exams cost £134.25 remotely. Add £89 registration and £140 a year in subscriptions, and ACCA's own fees come to roughly £2,800 to £3,000 for a student with no exemptions who passes first time. Prices vary by country, so check ACCA for yours.
FAQs
How much is the ACCA SBL exam fee?
For the December 2026 session, ACCA's UK price for Strategic Business Leader is £282 at standard entry and £467 at late entry. It is the most expensive exam in the qualification. Standard entry for December closed on 2 November 2026, so the next standard-priced chance is the March 2027 session, which closes for standard entry on 1 February 2027.
Does ACCA still have an early entry fee?
No. ACCA's current fees and important dates pages list only standard entry and late entry. Standard entry is the cheapest option and lets you amend or cancel before the deadline. Late entry runs for one week after standard entry closes, applies only to centre-based exams and costs substantially more.
Are ACCA exam fees the same in every country?
No. ACCA publishes separate price lists for some countries and regions, and remote on-demand fees also vary by location, for example lower remote prices in Afghanistan and Egypt. The figures on this page are ACCA's UK prices in pounds sterling. Always check the fees page for your own country before you budget.
How much does it cost to qualify as an ACCA?
Using ACCA's 2026 UK fees, a student with no exemptions who passes every exam first time at standard entry and finishes in three years pays about £2,849 in ACCA fees: £2,429 for registration, exams and the ethics module, plus £420 in subscriptions. Tuition, books and any resits are extra, and admission to membership costs £326.
Can I get a refund on my ACCA exam fee?
If you cancel or amend a confirmed exam before the standard entry deadline, ACCA either refunds the fee or holds it on your account. After the standard deadline, exam fees are non-refundable and non-transferable. ACCA also does not refund fees if invigilators stop you starting or completing an exam for health reasons.
Will ACCA fees change with the 2027 qualification?
ACCA has said fees for each component of the redesigned qualification will be confirmed later, and that it intends no disadvantage in cost or progression for students in transition. The new Essential Employability Modules will carry fees. Under the new structure, only one Strategic Professional option is required instead of two.