CPA Exam Eligibility: Who Qualifies and What the Requirements Are

According to NASBA, a CPA is a certified public accountant licensed by a state board of accountancy. The path to earning that license requires demonstrating knowledge and competence through three components: meeting high educational standards, passing the Uniform CPA Examination, and completing a specific amount of general accounting experience. The exact content of what a CPA is authorized to do — audit, tax, advisory, or other accounting work — is not detailed in NASBA's or AICPA's general licensure pages, and firm registration itself is also state-regulated: every accounting firm in the United States must register with the board of accountancy in the state where its professionals practice. This tells you that the CPA credential is fundamentally a state-issued license, not a single national qualification, and that both individuals and firms operate under state board oversight.

NASBA states plainly that education requirements to sit for the CPA Exam differ by state. Some states require 150 total semester hours to qualify for the exam, while others require less. States also layer on more specific rules, such as a minimum number of semester hours in particular accounting or business courses, along with separate criteria around age and residency. Work experience, by contrast, is generally a licensure requirement rather than an exam-sitting requirement: many states require at least one year of public accounting experience before a candidate can be licensed, though some states accept other experience types — teaching, self-employment, or part-time employment — in its place. A handful of states go further and require a specified amount of auditing experience specifically. Because these thresholds vary by state, a candidate cannot assume any single number applies to them and should check state-specific eligibility criteria against their chosen board before planning around it.

The 150-semester-hour figure is commonly associated with CPA eligibility, but NASBA's own guidance frames it as an example of what some states require, not a universal minimum — other states set the bar lower. For a candidate holding a degree from outside the United States, the sources reviewed here do not detail the specific credential evaluation process, so this is a point to confirm directly with the chosen state board rather than assume. What NASBA does confirm is that its Accountancy Licensing Library Research Tool can generate a report showing which states enforce a candidate's selected requirements, for a cost of $10 for unlimited searches in one day — a practical way to narrow down which states' credit-hour rules a candidate's existing education might satisfy. Readers evaluating a non-accounting or non-US background should also see the dedicated guidance on sitting for the CPA Exam without an accounting degree.

NASBA describes CPA licensure as a general three-step process: determine the state in which to establish exam eligibility, take the CPA Exam, and then meet that state's (or a chosen state's) licensure requirements. Each state board of accountancy provides its own exam requirement information on its own website, so there is no single national source that lists every state's rules side by side, other than tools NASBA itself provides. One detail that simplifies this decision: where a candidate takes the exam is not dependent on where they intend to practice, and passed exam scores can be transferred to any state for licensure purposes. This means a candidate can choose an exam-eligibility state based on which requirements they can most easily meet, without being locked into practicing there. For candidates weighing whether a US-focused or Canada-based path fits better, CPA Canada requirements compared with the US CPA is also worth reviewing.

NASBA's guidance says that once a candidate has completed the education requirements for their chosen exam-eligibility state, they should review the Candidate Guide — which covers the exam application process, scheduling, taking the exam, receiving scores, and exam content — before viewing a tutorial and sample tests on the AICPA website. NASBA CPA Examination Services (CPAES) provides services to state boards related to the Uniform CPA Examination, including application processing and credential evaluations, which suggests credential evaluation is part of the process for candidates whose education did not come from a US institution, though the specific documentation required is not detailed in the sources here. International candidates, including those from India, Pakistan or the Middle East, should treat this as a step to confirm directly with their chosen state board or with NASBA CPAES rather than a fixed checklist. See also whether Indian CAs can get CPA licensure without a US degree.

NASBA is explicit that these are two distinct stages. Before a candidate can apply to take a section of the CPA Exam, they must first be declared eligible — typically based on meeting a state's education requirements. But passing all four sections of the exam does not, by itself, grant a license. After passing, candidates must complete other requirements for obtaining a CPA license in the state where they plan to practice, and NASBA states this explicitly: these requirements, such as further education or work experience, vary from state to state and are addressed separately from exam eligibility. NASBA frames the two together as 'the two most important aspects of becoming a CPA': passing the Uniform CPA Exam, and separately meeting licensing requirements in the state where the candidate wants to practice. A candidate should therefore never assume that qualifying to sit for the exam automatically means they qualify for a license.

NASBA notes that states have educational requirements alongside 'other requirements regarding age, residency, etc.', which confirms age can be a factor in some jurisdictions without specifying what that limit is anywhere. This is a detail to verify with the specific state board a candidate chooses, since it is not standardized. On work experience, the pattern from NASBA is consistent: it is tied to licensure, not exam eligibility. Many states require at least one year of public accounting experience before granting a license, while others accept teaching, self-employment or part-time employment instead, and some states require a specified amount of auditing experience specifically. This means a candidate can typically sit for and pass the CPA Exam before accumulating the required work experience, then complete that experience requirement afterward as part of the licensure process — but the exact sequencing and accepted experience types depend on the state board involved.

NASBA lays out this sequence directly. First, complete the education requirements for the state chosen as the exam-eligibility state. Second, review the Candidate Guide, which covers the application process, scheduling, taking the exam, receiving scores, and exam content. Third, view the tutorial and take sample tests available on the AICPA website to become familiar with the exam interface and question types. NASBA CPA Examination Services (CPAES) supports state boards through this process by handling application processing, credential evaluations, and score reporting — though NASBA is clear that it does not develop the content of the exam or score it; that responsibility sits elsewhere in the CPA Exam ecosystem. NASBA also offers a 'Pathway to CPA Exam' quiz to help candidates work out which path applies to them before they start. For the practical mechanics of submitting an application, see how to register for the CPA Exam, and for what the exam itself looks like once eligibility is sorted, see the CPA Exam format guide.