state eligibility guide
Alabama CPA exam requirements
Alabama requires bachelor's degree and 120 semester hours, including 24 accounting hours for CPA exam eligibility. Alabama State Board of Public Accountancy makes the final eligibility decision.
Published by Kesler CPA Review, a commercial CPA exam preparation company. This page is educational, not legal advice. The Board or application authority makes the final eligibility decision.
- Minimum education to sit
- 120 semester hours
- Degree rule
- bachelor's degree required to sit
- Passed-section credit window
- 30-month passed-section credit window
Education requirements to sit
- Degree: bachelor's degree required to sit
- Minimum education to sit: 120 semester hours
- Accounting coursework: 24 semester hours
- Business coursework: 24 semester hours
- Upper-level accounting: 24 semester hours
- Accreditation: The baccalaureate degree must be from a college or university accredited by a regional accreditation board.
The 24 accounting hours must exclude introductory courses and be upper-division undergraduate or graduate work. The 24 non-accounting business hours may come from the subject areas listed in Rule 30-X-4-.02. The 150-hour certification curriculum is broader than the 120-hour examination threshold.
Personal eligibility rules
- Minimum age: 19
- Citizenship: U.S. citizenship is not listed as an absolute requirement; review any lawful-presence rule
- U.S. residency: A U.S. residency or presence rule applies
- Jurisdiction residency: No jurisdiction-residency requirement is listed
- Social Security number: An SSN is required
- Character review before sitting: A character requirement applies before sitting
- Applicant must be a United States citizen or, if not a citizen, legally present in the United States with appropriate federal documentation.
Citizenship is not mandatory when the applicant can document lawful presence in the United States. The current Board application requests an SSN and separate citizenship or immigration documentation.
How to apply
Apply through Alabama State Board of Public Accountancy online through the Alabama Board application system.
Documents commonly required for this application
- Completed Board application
- Official transcripts
- Required fee
- Proof of identity
- Citizenship or lawful-presence documentation
The Alabama Board determines examination eligibility. NASBA handles downstream NTS, payment-coupon, and score functions designated by the Board.
Published exam fees
- Initial exam application: $120.00 Charged once for a first-time candidate.
- CPA exam section fee: $268.59 per section Charged for each exam section selected.
Before you pay: These figures were verified on 2026-08-09, but fee schedules can change. Confirm the current official fee schedule.
Can you apply or sit before graduation?
- Apply before the degree is awarded: No; the education requirement must be completed first
- Sit before the degree is awarded: No; the education requirement must be completed first
Rule 30-X-4-.02 requires the 120 hours and baccalaureate degree to be completed before the candidate first sits.
Foreign education
- Foreign education accepted: Not confirmed in the current official sources
- Credential evaluation: Not confirmed in the current official sources
- NIES: Not confirmed in the current official sources
- Certified translation: Not confirmed in the current official sources
The current public Board rules and exam instructions do not publish an approved foreign-credential evaluator list. Candidates with non-U.S. education should obtain written Board direction before purchasing an evaluation.
NTS and passed-section credit
- NTS issuer: NASBA
- NTS validity: 6 months
- Passed-section credit: 30-month passed-section credit window
- Continuous testing: Available subject to current AICPA scheduling windows
- The authorization to test is valid for six months after approval.
- The rolling 30-month credit period begins on the score-release date for the first passed section and concludes on the date the candidate sits for the final passed section.
- The Board may extend conditional credit for circumstances beyond the candidate's control.
- Core sections are generally available year-round; Discipline sections follow AICPA administration windows.
Purchase only sections you intend to schedule and sit for within the six-month authorization period, and follow the expiration printed on the issued NTS.
Sitting for the exam is not the same as licensure
These examination rules answer whether you can apply and sit. A CPA license can require additional education, experience, ethics, and administrative steps.
- Education for licensure: 150 semester hours under the current pathway
- Experience: 1 year required under the current pathway
- Ethics exam: Not confirmed in the current official sources
- Alternative pathway: enacted not yet effective
The 150-hour certification requirements must not be applied as the examination sitting threshold. Act 2026-16 becomes effective October 1, 2026, with implementing Board rules following separately.
Special rules and recent changes
- alternative pathway: Act 2026-16 changes the statutory CPA pathway framework and delegates implementing details to Board rule. Effective date: 2026-10-01. Read the official change source.
Official sources used
- Exam Information — Alabama State Board of Public Accountancy (accessed 2026-08-07)
- Alabama Administrative Code Chapter 30-X-4 — Alabama Legislative Services Agency (accessed 2026-08-07)
- Examination Fees — Alabama State Board of Public Accountancy (accessed 2026-08-07)
- HB59 Enrolled - Pathways to CPA Act — Alabama Legislature (accessed 2026-08-07)
- Fees — Alabama State Board of Public Accountancy (accessed 2026-08-09)
- Implementing Candidate Fee Changes — National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (accessed 2026-08-09)
Before you apply: Confirm the current application, fees, NTS terms, and testing availability with the Board. This guide only includes details we could verify from published sources, and the licensing section is a starting point—not a complete licensing checklist.
Your application plan
Turn this page into a checklist
Check off each research step as you complete it. This is a planning aid; finishing the checklist does not mean the Board has approved your eligibility.