Unit guides
AP® Business with Personal Finance
Unit guides with several great videos for every topic, flashcards, and exam-style practice questions with every answer explained.
What's new for the May 2027 exam
College Board changed 4 things about the Business with Personal Finance exam. Open one to see what it means for you.
A brand-new course, with its first exam in May 2027Exam format
AP Business with Personal Finance starts in the 2026–27 school year, and its first exam is Tuesday, May 4, 2027. Since the course is new, College Board's course and exam description is the best guide to what's tested.
See College Board's announcement (opens in a new tab) (apcentral.collegeboard.org · AP Career Kickstart timeline (May 2027))
Fully digital, with a four-function calculatorExam format
The exam is 2 hours 40 minutes in Bluebook: 60 multiple choice questions in 70 minutes (60% of your score), then 4 free-response questions in 90 minutes (40%). You can use a four-function calculator, and Bluebook has one built in.
See College Board's announcement (opens in a new tab) (apcentral.collegeboard.org · Exam Overview and the calculator note)
One free-response question is about your class projectExam format
The first free-response question (25 minutes, 15% of your score) asks about the Business Canvas Project you do in class. You pitch your product idea, explain how testing an idea helped you decide something, and explain a challenge new businesses often face.
See College Board's announcement (opens in a new tab) (apcentral.collegeboard.org · Section II, Part A: Business Canvas Project Exam-Day Validation)
Unit 5 isn't on the examWhat's tested
The exam covers Units 1 to 4, and 12 to 15 of the multiple choice questions are on personal finance. Unit 5 (personal goals, budgeting and investing) can be taught before or after the exam, and it isn't tested.
See College Board's announcement (opens in a new tab) (apcentral.collegeboard.org · Course and exam description, Units (p. 16) and Exam Information (p. 239))
Updated October 5, 2026 from College Board's pages. All 2027 exam changes
5 units · 31 topics · 187 videos
Only Units 1 to 4 are on the AP exam. Unit 5 (personal goals, budgeting and investing) is part of the course, but it isn't tested. One free-response question on the exam asks about your own Business Canvas Project from class. You can practice it here with sample projects, then use your own on exam day.
Study and practice
Flashcards
190 cards with the terms and ideas you need to know cold. The ones you find hard come back sooner.
Multiple choice practice
277 exam-style questions, timed like the real exam, with every answer explained.
Practice exam
The whole multiple choice section: 60 questions in 1 hour 10 minutes, weighted by unit like the real exam. A fresh mix every time.
Must-know sheet
The facts, rules and terms to know cold on exam day, on one page. Filter it by unit, or print it.
Free-response practice
20 free-response questions like the ones on the exam. Score your answer with the rubric and a model answer, or sign in for free AI scoring.
Score calculator
Estimate your 1 to 5 score from your multiple choice and free-response points, and see what you'd need for a 3, 4 or 5.
Pick a unit
Unit 1
20–30% of examBusinesses, Competition, and New Ideas
8 topics · 46 videos
- A business creates value by solving a customer's problem, need or want
- Competitive advantage comes from being cheaper, better or harder to copy
- Outside PESTEL forces shape which business ideas can succeed
- Entrepreneurs test ideas with real customers before spending big
- Values, ownership type and supply chain choices shape how a business runs
Unit 2
20–30% of examMarketing
7 topics · 44 videos
- Know your target customer before you design anything
- Buying decisions mix careful thought, habit and social pressure
- Research turns guesses into hypotheses you can test
- Product, price, place and promotion have to fit together
- Digital tools make marketing cheaper and more personal but raise privacy risks
Unit 3
25–35% of examPersonal Saving and Borrowing; Business Finance and Accounting
9 topics · 53 videos
- Saving builds assets; borrowing creates debts repaid with interest
- Lenders judge creditworthiness from income, debt and credit history
- Subtract costs step by step to get gross, operating and net profit
- Assets = liabilities + owners' equity, and net worth works the same way for a household
- A profitable business can still fail if it runs out of cash
Unit 4
15–20% of examManagement and Strategy
4 topics · 26 videos
- Managers plan, organize, lead and evaluate people and resources
- Pay, benefits and workplace culture help attract and keep good employees
- A KPI means more when it's compared with a benchmark
- Good decisions weigh both financial and nonfinancial criteria
- Five Forces sizes up the market; SWOT sizes up the business inside it
Unit 5
Not on the AP examPersonal Goals, Budgeting, and Investing
3 topics · 18 videos
- Net pay is gross pay minus taxes and other deductions
- Deductions lower taxable income; credits cut the tax bill directly
- Insurance trades a known premium for protection from a big loss
- Starting early gives compounding more time to work
- Higher expected return comes with higher risk, so time horizon matters
About the exam
The basics of the 2027 Business with Personal Finance exam, from College Board's official exam page.
AP® Business with Personal Finance exam
- Date
- , session 1 (usually morning)
- Length
- 2 hours 40 minutes
- How you take it
- Fully digital: every answer in Bluebook
- Multiple choice
- 60 questions, 1 hour 10 minutes, 60% of your scoreSets of 3 or 4 questions about a business situation, a chart or a financial statement. 12 to 15 of them are on personal finance.
- Project question
- 1 question, 25 minutes, 15% of your scoreWritten answers about your own Business Canvas Project from class: pitch your product idea, explain how testing an idea helped you decide something, and explain a common challenge for new businesses.
- Free response
- 3 questions, 1 hour 5 minutes, 25% of your scoreA personal finance situation, a business using data to plan, and a business choosing between two options.
- Calculator
- A four-function calculator. Bluebook has one built in. Scientific and graphing calculators aren't allowed.
Guides to the exam
- What's new on the 2027 AP® exams
Every change College Board has announced for the May 2027 exams, course by course: question types, timing, scoring and digital testing, plus what's coming next.
- How AP® scores work
What each score from 1 to 5 means, how your score is worked out, when scores come out, and how to find out what credit a college gives.
- 2026 AP® score distributions
College Board's official 2026 results for every course on this site: the share of 5s, 4s and 3s, side by side, so you can see which exams students pass most and least.
- The AP® exam format
How digital testing in Bluebook works, what the multiple choice and free response sections are like, the calculator rules, and each course's exam at a glance.
- How to study for an AP® exam
A realistic plan from three months out to exam day, and how to use unit guides, videos, flashcards and practice questions to raise your score.
- The 2027 AP® exam calendar
Every 2027 exam date from College Board's official schedule, plus late testing, score release and other deadlines to put in your calendar.
- AP® exam questions, answered
Short answers to the questions students ask most: what the exams cost, whether you can retake one, who sees your scores, and how to use this site.