How to Become a CPA in India, Canada, Australia, Nepal or Bangladesh

NASBA states that the first step to becoming a CPA is determining where you plan to take the exam and completing that state's specific requirements, because education requirements to sit for the exam differ by state (NASBA). This applies identically whether the candidate is in India, Canada, Australia, Nepal, Bangladesh or elsewhere — there is no separate 'international eligibility' rule published by NASBA or AICPA. Some states require 150 total semester hours, while others require fewer, and states may also apply narrower rules on specific accounting or business course hours, plus other conditions such as age or residency (NASBA).

AICPA's ThisWayToCPA confirms that each state and territory board independently sets its own rules for education, exam eligibility, work experience, ethics and residency, and it directs international candidates to a dedicated section on CPA licensure for non-US citizens (AICPA). Neither source states which specific states accept which foreign degrees, so a candidate from any of these countries needs to identify a state board and check its published rules directly, or use US CPA Registration as a starting reference point before contacting the board.

The general CPA licensure process described by NASBA involves demonstrating educational standards before applying to sit for the exam (NASBA), and candidates must be declared eligible before applying to take any exam section (NASBA). For a candidate whose degree was earned outside the US, this eligibility determination typically involves converting a foreign transcript into US semester-hour equivalents, but the NASBA and AICPA extracts reviewed for this article do not specify which credential evaluation agencies are accepted, what documents they require, or what they cost.

Because this step is state-specific and evaluator-specific, the only reliable way to confirm the current process is to check directly with the state board you intend to apply through, or use NASBA's Accountancy Licensing Library, which offers unlimited searches for one day for $10 to find matching state requirements (NASBA). If you hold an Indian CA qualification alongside a degree, Can Indian CAs Get CPA Licensure Without a US Degree? covers that specific credential question in more depth.

What NASBA does confirm is that where you take the exam is not tied to where you intend to practice: CPA Exam scores can be transferred to any state for the purpose of obtaining a CPA license (NASBA). This means the exam location and the licensing state are two separate decisions. NASBA CPA Examination Services (CPAES) provides application processing, credential evaluations and score reporting to state boards (NASBA), which suggests a formal application and eligibility process exists for candidates outside the US, but the specific testing locations available to candidates in these countries are not detailed in the sources used here.

For current international testing center availability, candidates should check directly with NASBA or Prometric-linked resources referenced by their state board rather than relying on general guidance. Where to Study for the US CPA Exam is a useful next reference for planning around this uncertainty, and CPA Exam Testing Windows explains how exam scheduling works once eligibility is confirmed.

NASBA states plainly that education requirements to sit for the CPA Exam differ by state, with some states requiring 150 total semester hours and others requiring less, alongside narrower state-specific rules on accounting or business course hours (NASBA). This is true regardless of whether the underlying degree was earned in India, Canada, Australia, Nepal, Bangladesh or the US — the state board applies the same semester-hour framework, though how a foreign degree converts into semester-hour equivalents is a separate evaluation step not detailed in the sources reviewed here.

Candidates who hold a three-year bachelor's degree common in several of these countries, or a two-year master's, often ask whether that combination meets a 150-hour threshold. NASBA and AICPA sources confirm the 150-hour figure exists as a state-level requirement in some jurisdictions but do not state how any specific foreign degree structure maps onto it. Can You Take the CPA Exam Without an Accounting Degree? addresses the related question of non-accounting degrees, and confirming the exact course-hour breakdown with the chosen state board remains the only reliable path.

AICPA's ThisWayToCPA confirms that each of the fifty US states and territories has its own board of accountancy setting independent rules for education, exam eligibility, work experience, ethics and residency (AICPA), and separately confirms that a section exists specifically addressing CPA licensure information for non-US citizens. NASBA separately notes it provides direct licensing services to a limited set of jurisdictions — Colorado, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), Georgia, New Hampshire, Puerto Rico, Montana and the Virgin Islands (NASBA) — though this refers to which boards NASBA administers services for, not which boards are most accessible to international candidates.

Neither source ranks or recommends specific states for international applicants. AICPA advises confirming licensure details directly with the state board of accountancy before applying, because requirements can change over time (AICPA). NASBA vs State Boards explains how these two layers of authority relate to each other, which is useful background before comparing individual state requirements.

NASBA describes the first step as determining where you plan to take the exam and completing that state's requirements (NASBA). Before applying to take any section, a candidate must first be declared eligible (NASBA), and NASBA CPA Examination Services (CPAES) handles application processing, credential evaluations and score reporting on behalf of state boards (NASBA). After passing all four sections, the next stage is completing the remaining education and work-experience requirements for licensure in the state where the candidate plans to practice, and these also vary by state (NASBA).

What the sources do not provide is a distinct, documented workflow specifically for candidates applying from India, Canada, Australia, Nepal or Bangladesh — no separate international application form or country-specific checklist is described. US CPA Registration walks through the general registration mechanics in more detail, and CPA Exam Format explains what the four sections themselves involve once you're eligible.

NASBA's Accountancy Licensing Library (ALL) is described as a tool for finding matching state requirements, priced at $10 for unlimited searches over one day (NASBA). Beyond that single figure, the sources used for this article do not state application fees, exam section fees, credential evaluation charges, or licensing fees for any state board. These costs are set independently by each state board and by whichever credential evaluation agency a candidate uses, and they change over time.

Candidates planning a budget from India, Canada, Australia, Nepal or Bangladesh should treat any fee figure found outside an official state board or NASBA page as unverified until confirmed on the board's own site. CPA Course Fees and Duration in India and the exam cost calculator are useful starting points for estimating the full cost picture, though the underlying state and evaluation fees should still be checked against the relevant board.

The process NASBA describes has clear sequential stages — determining a state, meeting education requirements, being declared eligible, passing all four sections of the Uniform CPA Examination, and then completing further education and work-experience requirements for licensure (NASBA) — but no overall timeframe is attached to these stages in the sources used here. Work experience alone can add meaningfully to the timeline: many states require at least one year of public accounting experience, though some accept teaching, self-employment or part-time work instead (NASBA).

For an international candidate, additional time may be needed for credential evaluation before exam eligibility is even confirmed, though the sources do not quantify this. Rather than relying on a generic estimate, candidates should map their own timeline against CPA Exam Testing Windows and the specific work-experience rule of their chosen state board, since both directly determine how long the full path to licensure actually takes.