state eligibility guide
Arkansas CPA exam requirements
Arkansas requires 18 upper-level accounting semester hours with a grade of C or better; no completed degree required for CPA exam eligibility. Arkansas 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
- 18 upper-level accounting semester hours with a grade of C or better; no completed degree required
- Degree rule
- No completed degree required to sit
- Passed-section credit window
- 30-month passed-section credit window
Education requirements to sit
- Degree: No completed degree required to sit
- Minimum education to sit: 18 upper-level accounting semester hours with a grade of C or better; no completed degree required
- Accounting coursework: 18 semester hours
- Business coursework: Not confirmed in the current official sources
- Upper-level accounting: 18 semester hours
- Accreditation: The 18 hours must be upper-level accounting courses documented on official transcripts.
Other required coursework
- A grade of C or better is required in each qualifying upper-level accounting course.
Effective March 5, 2026, no degree, total-college-hour, business-hour, or Arkansas nexus requirement is necessary to sit.
Personal eligibility rules
- Citizenship: U.S. citizenship is not listed as an absolute requirement; review any lawful-presence rule
- U.S. residency: No U.S. residency requirement is listed
- Jurisdiction residency: No jurisdiction-residency requirement is listed
- Social Security number: An SSN is not required to apply
- Character review before sitting: No pre-exam character requirement is listed
The Board's March 2026 notice states that no requirement other than the qualifying 18 accounting hours is necessary to sit.
How to apply
Apply through Arkansas State Board of Public Accountancy online through the Arkansas Board's AccessGov application.
Documents commonly required for this application
- Online examination application
- Official transcripts sent directly to the Board
- Required fees
The current exam-eligibility change took effect March 5, 2026. The Board collects the separately listed provider fee for each exam section.
Published exam fees
- First-time exam application: $50.00 Charged once for a first-time candidate.
- Board application tier: $75.00 for 1 section Choose the tier matching the number of exam sections selected.
- Board application tier: $90.00 for 2 sections Choose the tier matching the number of exam sections selected.
- Board application tier: $105.00 for 3 sections Choose the tier matching the number of exam sections selected.
- Board application tier: $120.00 for 4 sections Choose the tier matching the number of exam sections selected.
- 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: A completed degree is not part of this jurisdiction's sitting rule
- Sit before the degree is awarded: A completed degree is not part of this jurisdiction's sitting rule
A degree is not required to sit; the qualifying 18 upper-level accounting hours must already be completed.
Foreign education
- Foreign education accepted: Yes, with the jurisdiction's conditions
- Credential evaluation: A credential evaluation is required
- NIES: NIES is not specifically required
- Certified translation: A certified translation is required when applicable
Published evaluation services
- National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (NACES) member
- Other evaluator approved by the Arkansas Board
Foreign or otherwise nonaccredited education requires an evaluation accepted by the Board.
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 30-month period begins on the score-release date for the first passed section.
- The Board may extend credit for hardship or circumstances beyond the candidate's control.
- Discipline sections follow AICPA administration windows.
Schedule every section listed on the NTS before its six-month expiration.
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.
- Experience: Experience is required
- Ethics exam: Required
- Alternative pathway: adopted and effective
Education and experience depend on the selected route; the one-year routes require a master's degree or 150 hours, while the bachelor's route requires two years.
Special rules and recent changes
- hours to sit: 18 upper-level accounting semester hours with a grade of C or better; no other requirement is necessary to sit. Effective date: 2026-03-05. Read the official change source.
Official sources used
- Revised Board Rules Now in Effect — Arkansas State Board of Public Accountancy (accessed 2026-08-07)
- Arkansas State Board of Public Accountancy Rules — Arkansas State Board of Public Accountancy (accessed 2026-08-07)
- CPA Exam Application Instructions (2025 fee schedule) — Arkansas State Board of Public Accountancy (accessed 2026-08-08)
- Rule 9.4 Examination Fees — Arkansas State Board of Public Accountancy (accessed 2026-08-08)
- Rule 12 Fees — Arkansas 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.