US CPA in India: Complete Guide for Beginners
By SimplyCPA · 11 October 2026
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- What it is: The US CPA is a licence issued by a US state board of accountancy. You qualify through Education, the Exam and Experience.
- Eligibility: Each of the 55 US boards sets its own rules. Indian degrees are converted to US semester hours by an approved evaluator — NASBA's NIES for most boards.
- The exam: Four 4-hour sections — FAR, AUD and REG plus one of BAR, ISC or TCP — and you can sit all of them at Prometric centres in eight Indian cities.
- Cost: Roughly $3,650–$4,000 in fees for an Indian candidate who passes everything first time, before any review course; NASBA's India fee alone is $460 per section.
- Timeline: Expect 2–4 months of paperwork and 12–18 months to pass; licensure then needs verified experience.
What the US CPA is
Certified Public Accountant (CPA) is the US licence to practise public accounting. It's issued by individual state and territory boards of accountancy — 55 in total — not by a central body. The exam itself is uniform: the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) writes and scores it, the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) administers it for most boards, and Prometric delivers it at test centres. To become licensed you need the "three Es": Education, the Exam and Experience.
The exam in brief
- Three compulsory Core sections: Financial Accounting and Reporting (FAR), Auditing and Attestation (AUD), and Taxation and Regulation (REG).
- One Discipline of your choice: Business Analysis and Reporting (BAR), Information Systems and Controls (ISC), or Tax Compliance and Planning (TCP).
- Each section is four hours, in English only, with multiple-choice questions and task-based simulations. A score of 75 (on a 0–99 scale) passes.
- Core sections can be taken year-round; Discipline sections only in the first month of each quarter.
Read the full breakdown in US CPA exam format explained.
Step-by-step overview
- Check your education — most boards want a bachelor's degree or 120 US semester hours with set accounting and business credits to sit. See eligibility after B.Com and after M.Com.
- Get a credential evaluation — NASBA International Evaluation Services (NIES) charges $250 and takes about six weeks once all documents arrive. See the evaluation process.
- Choose a state board whose rules you meet — see which state is best for Indian candidates.
- Apply and pay through NASBA's CPA Portal, one section at a time, to receive a Notice to Schedule (NTS).
- Register for international testing and pay NASBA's India fee of $460 per section, then book with Prometric.
- Pass all four sections within your board's credit window — 30 months in most jurisdictions.
- Meet licensure requirements — education (often 150 hours, or 120 hours plus two years' experience in states that have adopted the new pathway), experience, and usually an ethics exam.
Testing in India
NASBA lists eight Prometric test centres in India: Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad, Mumbai, New Delhi and Thiruvananthapuram. Candidates from boards that don't take part in international testing — Alabama, Idaho, North Carolina and the US Virgin Islands — must test in the US. Read exam centres in India and booking.
What it costs
| Item | Approximate cost |
|---|---|
| NIES evaluation | $250 |
| Board education evaluation fee (one time) | $96–$146 on the boards we checked |
| Board application fees (4 × $96–$171) | About $384–$684 |
| Exam section fees (4 × $268.59) | About $1,075 |
| India international fee (4 × $460) | $1,840 |
| Total, first-time passes, before review course | About $3,650–$4,000 |
Full breakdown: US CPA total cost in India. Use our Fee Estimator for current figures.
How long it takes
- Evaluation and application: typically 2–4 months, including document collection.
- Exam: most working candidates take 12–18 months to pass all four sections.
- Licensure: one to two years of verified experience, which can often overlap with the exam period.
Passing isn't the same as being licensed
Many Indian professionals pass the exam and use "CPA exam passed" on their CV; to use the title "CPA" you must be licensed by a board. See passing the exam vs getting a licence.