CPA Eligibility Requirements: Education, Experience and Credit Windows
By SimplyCPA · 11 October 2026
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- To sit for the exam: Most states require a bachelor's degree or 120 semester hours, with minimum accounting and business credits.
- To be licensed: Traditionally 150 semester hours plus experience. A growing number of states also accept a bachelor's degree plus two years' experience.
- Experience: Usually at least one year of accounting work verified by a licensed CPA.
- Ethics: Most states require an ethics exam after you pass.
- Credit window: Most jurisdictions now give you 30 months to pass the remaining sections after your first pass.
- For Indian candidates: Your degree must first be converted to US semester hours by a credential evaluator.
"Am I eligible?" is really two questions: eligible to sit for the exam, and eligible to be licensed. The rules differ — and they differ by state.
Eligibility to sit for the exam
- Most states require a bachelor's degree, or being close to finishing one, or at least 120 semester hours of college credit.
- Most also want a minimum number of accounting and business credits — commonly around 24–30 accounting hours and 24 business hours, though some states ask for more and some count only upper-level courses. NASBA's state-by-state pages list the exact rules for each board.
Eligibility to be licensed
Licensure has traditionally required 150 semester hours — about one year beyond a typical bachelor's degree. In recent years a growing number of states have also opened an alternative route: a bachelor's degree in accounting plus two years of experience, in place of the extra 30 hours. Whether your state offers this, and from when, varies — check your board directly.
Experience
Expect at least one year of accounting work verified by a licensed CPA. Some states ask for more, and those offering the bachelor's-degree route require two years. Some measure experience in hours rather than years.
Ethics exam
Most states require an ethics exam — usually the AICPA's self-study exam, often with a high minimum score — within a set period after you pass. A few states run their own state-specific ethics course, and a few require none. Check your board's rules.
The credit window
Once you pass your first section, a clock starts. You must pass the remaining three before credit for the first one expires. Historically this was 18 months; most jurisdictions have now moved to a longer window (commonly 30 months). Confirm the figure for your state before you plan your exam sequence.
For Indian candidates
Your degree has to be converted into US semester hours by a credential evaluation agency first. A three-year B.Com usually falls short of 120 hours on its own — see CPA after B.Com and our guide for Indian candidates for how people close the gap.