CPA Requirements by State in 2027

To become a CPA you need three things. They are an education that meets your state’s standard, a passing score on the Uniform CPA Exam and a set amount of general accounting experience. Your state board of accountancy decides the details.

The traditional education route is 150 semester hours of college coursework, which is 30 more than a usual bachelor’s degree. Many states now also offer a path with a bachelor’s degree and more experience.

CPA Requirements by State

Here’s where each state stood on October 12, 2026. Of the 51 jurisdictions, 36 have a license route that pairs a bachelor’s degree with work experience, in place of 150 credit hours. Eight more have one scheduled to start, and three have one proposed. Pick your state to see every route, the exam rules and the board’s own sources.

What Are the Basic CPA Requirements?

The National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) puts it this way for the CPA license. You are “required to demonstrate knowledge and competence by meeting high educational standards, passing the CPA exam and completing a specific amount of general accounting experience.”

That gives you three pieces:

1. Education that meets your state’s standard.
2. A passing score on the Uniform CPA Exam.
3. General accounting experience, in an amount your state sets.

NASBA also says the two most important parts of becoming a CPA are passing the exam and meeting the licensing requirements in the state where you want to practice. Those are separate steps, and your board manages both.

A CPA, in NASBA’s words, is a certified public accountant licensed by a state board of accountancy. So the board is the authority, and everything below is a way to get ready for what it asks.

Who Decides What the Rules Are?

Each state board does. NASBA’s exam FAQ says “The eligibility requirements vary by jurisdiction. Each jurisdiction has specific requirements regarding education, experience, and residency.”

It adds that you can apply to any jurisdiction as long as you meet that jurisdiction’s eligibility requirements. So think about where you want to be licensed and where you plan to practice before you choose a degree.

NASBA also provides licensing services to seven jurisdictions: Colorado, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Georgia, New Hampshire, Puerto Rico, Montana and the Virgin Islands. If you live somewhere else, your own board runs the process.

Rules can change. Treat any list of requirements you read online, including this one, as a starting point, and confirm it on your board’s own pages before you act.

What Is the 150-Hour Rule?

The traditional route to a CPA license is 150 semester hours of college coursework, which is 30 hours more than the usual four-year bachelor’s degree. NASBA lists it as a bachelor’s degree in accounting plus 30 additional semester credits, one year of experience and a passing exam score.

There’s a second path now. NASBA’s December 2025 update lists a bachelor’s degree in accounting (120 semester hours) plus two years of professional experience and a passing exam score. NASBA says each jurisdiction has to formally enact it, so it isn’t available everywhere. Its pathways page lists the jurisdictions that have signed new pathways into law, and the map was current as of Oct. 1, 2026.

The hours you need to sit for the exam can differ from the hours you need to be licensed. NASBA says the education requirements to sit for the exam “are different for every state.” It also says some states require 150 total semester hours to qualify while some require less.

The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) says most candidates can take an exam section with only 120 college credits, but you should verify with your jurisdiction. Some candidates sit first and finish the licensing hours later.

A typical bachelor’s degree runs 120 credits, and most of the bachelor’s programs we list run 120 to 125. On the master’s side, 28 of our 50 programs run 30 credits. A 120-credit bachelor’s plus a 30-credit master’s gets you to 150.

That sum is just arithmetic, not a rule. Your board decides which credits count and what mix of accounting and business courses it wants. Two students who both hold 150 credits can be told different things.

Ask your board two questions before you plan:

• How many semester hours of accounting courses do I need, and in which subjects?
• Does it accept credits from the school I’m considering, and from an online program?

Does the Format of Your Degree Matter?

Your board looks at your credits, not whether you earned them in a classroom. What it cares about is the coursework and the school’s accreditation. Programs on this site are on campus, hybrid or online, and each program card shows which.

On their own pages, 94 programs in our selection say they prepare students for the CPA exam: 58 bachelor’s and 36 master’s. That’s the school describing its curriculum. It isn’t a guarantee that your board will accept it.

If you already hold a bachelor’s degree in another field, a master’s in accounting can add the missing coursework. Southern Utah University’s Master of Accountancy and UMass Lowell’s M.S. in Accounting both name CPA preparation, and both are 30-credit programs.

Our list for CPA candidates and our master’s list show more programs side by side.

What Should You Check on Accreditation?

Business accreditation is one more thing worth confirming. We check accreditation from three bodies. They are the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), the Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP) and the International Accreditation Council for Business Education (IACBE).

We check each accreditor’s official list, program by program. We don’t count candidacy or accreditation that has expired. In our selection, 134 programs carry confirmed AACSB accreditation, 9 carry ACBSP and 3 carry IACBE.

Ask your board whether it cares about a specific accreditor, or about regional accreditation of the school. Boards differ on what they accept, so don’t assume.

You can browse programs with confirmed AACSB status on our AACSB accredited list.

What About Experience and Residency?

NASBA lists a specific amount of general accounting experience among the requirements for licensure, and your state sets the amount. NASBA’s licensure page also links to an experience verification page, so ask your board how it wants your experience documented.

Residency can matter, too. NASBA says each jurisdiction sets its own residency requirements, so if you plan to move after you pass the exam, raise it with the board early.

Entry-level roles in public accounting are one way to build this experience. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) says entry-level public accountants may advance to senior positions as they gain experience. For ideas, see our guide to entry-level accounting jobs.

Can You Use Credits You Already Have?

Maybe, and it changes the math on 150 hours. Many programs accept transfer credit. Among our bachelor’s programs, 12 state a transfer limit, and 7 of them cap it at 90 credits. Across the full selection, 10 programs say they accept credit for prior learning.

If you earned credits years ago, ask the school for an unofficial evaluation. Then ask your board whether those older credits count toward the accounting coursework it requires. A credit can transfer to a school and still not satisfy a board’s subject list.

If you hold a bachelor’s degree in a different field, you may not need to start over. A master’s in accounting can add the accounting courses without repeating general education.

Some programs set admission rules around this. Southern Utah University’s Master of Accountancy, for example, asks for a bachelor’s degree with a 2.7 GPA. It also asks for foundation courses in undergraduate business and 24 credits of accounting that you finish before you start.

What Are the Common Mistakes?

• Paying for a degree before you’ve read the board’s rules. Check first.
• Assuming a program’s CPA language means you’re eligible. It doesn’t.
• Mixing up the exam and the license. You need both, plus experience.
• Forgetting residency and timing rules when you plan to move.
• Treating 150 as a one-size-fits-all number. Your state may offer the 120-hour path, and your board has its own list of required accounting courses.

What Does the Process Cost?

Exam and application fees are separate from tuition, and your state board sets its own. Ask for the current schedule.

Tuition is the bigger piece. Our bachelor’s programs have a median price of $447 a credit, and our master’s programs have a median of $930 a credit. Median total tuition comes to $54,360 for the bachelor’s and $28,320 for the master’s.

Where Should You Start?

1. Open your state board of accountancy’s website and read its education and experience pages.
2. Take NASBA’s Pathway to CPA Exam Quiz if it fits your situation.
3. Compare two or three programs on price, credits and accreditation.
4. Email the board with any question the website doesn’t answer.

For a deeper walk through the exam, see our CPA exam guide. If you’re weighing a master’s, read our master’s in accounting vs. MBA guide.