A candidate who does not appear for the scheduled testing appointment and has not contacted Meazure Learning to cancel or to reschedule with at least four (4) business days’ notice will be considered a no-show. No refunds will be given.

Americans With Disability Act And Special Accommodations

COPAS, Meazure Learning, and any contracted testing center will make every effort possible to offer special accommodation for candidates with visual, sensory, physical, or other disabilities that would prevent a candidate from taking the examination under standard conditions. According to the Americans with Disability Act (ADA), documentation of the disability must be submitted by a professional qualified to diagnose the disability. Requests for special accommodations, including the description of the accommodation desired, must be included with the required registration information. COPAS, Meazure Learning and/or the testing facility reserves the right to determine if the requested accommodation is reasonable.

Candidates requesting special testing accommodations should contact the APA® Administrator directly for assistance in the registration process no later than sixty (60) days prior to the preferred examination date because the special accommodation request will require the approval through the contracted testing facility. The confirmation process for special accommodation registrations may result in the confirmation email to candidates being received within three (3) business days after the registration is initially processed. On occasion, special accommodations cannot be made on the requested exam date or at the requested location. In this instance, the APA® Administrator will contact the candidate directly for alternate testing locations, dates or times. NOTE: The APA® Certification Examination is currently offered in English only. If English is not a first language, no special accommodations will be made.Are There APA® International Certification Exams?

All exam fees will be received by COPAS through the registration process for the certification exam.

Retail Exam Pricing – Us And Canada

Retail Exam Pricing – International

If a candidate is unable to sit for an examination on the date for which they registered, the candidate may cancel or reschedule a testing session up to four (4) business days in advance of the testing appointment. The candidate must submit the request through Meazure Learning’s online scheduling system to cancel or reschedule the session. The fee to reschedule an exam is $50 in the U.S. and Canada, and $50 from country to country. If the original testing site was scheduled in the US or Canada and the request is made to move to an international test site, a rescheduling fee of $50 will be charged AND the $150 International Surcharge will apply. If the original test site was scheduled as an international site and the request for, reschedule is made for a US or Canada testing site, a reimbursement of one half of the International Surcharge, or $75, will be refunded to the candidate.

Candidates may only reschedule their examination appointment once. Candidates rescheduling to a later date will receive an approval or unavailability email notification within 2–3 business days of submitting a request for a new testing session. If the candidate’s preferred date/location is unavailable, the candidate will be prompted to make a new selection.

Exceptions to the reschedule fee will be considered on a case-by-case basis only for documented cases of serious illness, bereavement, natural disasters, and other true emergencies. In these instances, candidates must contact the APA® Administrator prior to or the day of the exam date. Candidates must then provide proper documentation verifying the reason for missing the scheduled APA® examination. Candidates must work with the APA® Administrator for assistance in rescheduling their exam date.

If a cancellation or rescheduling request is made fewer than four (4) business days in advance of the scheduled testing appointment, no refunds will be provided and the No Show Policy will apply.

Should it be determined that a candidate is ineligible to take the Exam or no further action is taken to continue the registration process, a refund of the Exam Fee will be made, less an Administrative Fee of $50.

The disciplinary procedures of the APA® Board of Examiners are intended to ensure that APA® Certified Professionals and candidates for certification uphold the principles of professional conduct set forth in the APA® Code of Ethics. The discovery or report of the following actions by a certificate holder or candidate will initiate disciplinary proceedings by the APA® Board of Examiners. This list is not all-inclusive and other actions may also be considered appropriate for investigation.

1. Falsely claiming eligibility for certification.
2. Irregularity in connection with any certification examination.
3. Unauthorized possession, use, access, or distribution of certification examinations, examination items or questions, score reports, trademarks, logos, written materials, answer sheets, certificates, certificate holder or applicant files, or other confidential or proprietary APA® documents or materials (registered or otherwise).
4. Material misrepresentation or fraud in any statement to the APA® Board of Examiners or to the public, including but not limited to statements made to assist the applicant, certificate holder, or another to apply for, obtain, or retain certification.
5. Negligent and/or intentional misconduct in professional work, including, but not limited to, a breach of ethical standards or the APA® Code of Ethics or the unauthorized release of confidential information.
6. The timely conviction, plea of guilty, or plea of nolo contendere in connection with a felony or misdemeanor.

Candidates are expected to provide accurate and verifiable information regarding eligibility to register for and take the APA® Examination for Certification. Any person who applies to sit for the APA® Exam using fraudulent information will be subjected to denial or suspension of eligibility to sit for the examination. 

If a complaint is filed or discovery is made regarding any activity, infraction, or violation against any APA® policy or the APA® Code of Ethics, upon receipt, the APA® Administrator will forward the complaint, accusation, infraction, or violation to the Chair of the APA® Board of Examiners (BOE). The Chair of the BOE will form a special committee of current BOE members to conduct an investigation. The special committee will review the accusation, infraction or violation to determine merit within fifteen days (15) of receipt. If the complaint, irregularity, or discovery is determined to have merit, the chairperson of the BOE must notify the accused of the complaint within five (5) business days of merit determination. The accused will have fifteen (15) business days to respond to the accusation.

Once the response is received from the accused, the information will be reviewed by the special committee of the APA® Board of Examiners. If the investigation confirms the accusation, there will be a hearing of the complainant and the accused before the APA® Board of Examiners. Failure of either the complainant or the accused to attend the meeting shall not prevent the hearing from being held, the matter reviewed, and a decision made based on the evidence available at the hearing.

At the hearing, a vote shall be taken to:

• Dismiss the complaint
• Censure the credential holder or
• Suspend the certification and rights to use the credential designation

A vote to dismiss the complaint shall require a majority vote of the members of the APA® Board of Examiners. A vote to censure a certificate holder shall require a vote of 2/3 of the members of the APA® Board of Examiners A vote to suspend the certification shall require a vote of 3/4 of the members of the APA® Board of Examiners. The decision of the APA® Board of Examiners will be final and the appropriate disciplinary action will be taken.

A certificate holder who has had the credential suspended shall be eligible to have the credential and right to use the designation reinstated three years after the date of the decision to have the credential suspended under the following conditions:

1. The individual is employed in the petroleum industry as evidenced by a letter from their employer
2. Evidence of Continued Professional Education (CPE) Hours achieved as established above during the suspension period is provided, and
3. Renewal Fees are paid during the suspension period

All APA® examinations are legally defensible, proctored examinations ensuring candidates the most valid test experience. A candidate may be disqualified from taking or continuing in the examination process, or from receiving exam results, if APA® Board of Examiners, Meazure Learning, Meazure Learning proctors, or personnel at the contracted testing center have determined at any time during the exam registration, administration, or scoring process, through examiner observation or statistical analysis that a candidate was engaged in collaborative, disruptive, or other unacceptable behavior before, during, or following the administration of the APA® exam. This includes irregular behavior associated with any aspect of the examination and violations of the APA ® Code of Ethics. Any irregularity could result in denial of eligibility and/or revocation of an earned certificate.

The purpose of the APA® examination is to protect the public and other stakeholders against ineffective practices and procedures. The examination is intended to ensure minimal entry-level competency of professional petroleum accountants. Sharing of examination information with and between candidates, compromises the validity of the examination. Consequently, in order to maintain the integrity and security of the APA® examination, examination questions, answer sheets, answers, or other source materials are never released to candidates under any circumstance.

Candidates are expected to prepare and pass the examination on their own merit. Candidates who intentionally pursue examination information beyond what is legally and ethically shared by COPAS, COPAS employees, and/ or the Board of Examiners including pursuit of previous examination candidates, are considered to be engaging in unethical acts and will be disqualified from eligibility. Previous exam candidates who share exam information with future exam candidates undermine the very purpose of the exam. This action would constitute cheating and be subject to revocation and non-renewal of the certificate.

All candidates who take the APA® examination voluntarily agree to maintain examination confidentiality and are contractually obligated to uphold this agreement. Should any confidentiality agreement be violated, the culpable person or persons will be subject to the disciplinary actions noted above.