state eligibility guide
California CPA exam requirements
California requires bachelor's degree or higher and 120 semester hours, including 24 accounting hours for CPA exam eligibility. California Board of 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 or higher required to sit
- Passed-section credit window
- 30-month passed-section credit window
Education requirements to sit
- Degree: bachelor's degree or higher required to sit
- Minimum education to sit: 120 semester hours
- Accounting coursework: 24 semester hours
- Business coursework: 24 semester hours
- Accreditation: The degree and coursework must be from an institution acceptable to the California Board or documented by a Board-approved foreign credential evaluator.
The additional accounting-study and ethics-study units required under the current traditional licensure route are not requirements to sit for the exam.
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: A character requirement applies before sitting
California examination applicants must not have committed acts or crimes constituting grounds for license denial.
How to apply
Apply through California Board of Accountancy online through the California Board of Accountancy.
Documents commonly required for this application
- California examination application
- Official transcripts or approved foreign evaluation
- Application fee
- Certificate of Enrollment for Option C applicants
After California approves eligibility, section selections and section fees are handled through NASBA. A section selection must be made within one year of approval.
Published exam fees
- Initial exam application: $100.00 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: Yes, subject to the conditions below
- Sit before the degree is awarded: Yes, subject to the conditions below
- Days before graduation: 180 days
- Final transcript deadline: Proof of completing the education requirements must be submitted within 240 days after the application is submitted.
Option C applicants must be enrolled and within 180 days of completing the degree and both 24-unit subject requirements. Missing the 240-day proof deadline can result in loss of exam credit.
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
- California Board-approved foreign credential evaluation services
Use an evaluator on the California Board's approved list; NIES is not the sole required evaluator.
NTS and passed-section credit
- NTS issuer: NASBA
- NTS validity: 9 months
- Passed-section credit: 30-month passed-section credit window
- Continuous testing: Available subject to current AICPA scheduling windows
- California's 30-month rolling credit window applies to sections passed on or after January 1, 2024.
- Discipline sections follow AICPA testing windows.
The expiration printed on the NTS and the credit dates in the California candidate account control.
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 traditional 150-hour and one-year experience route remains current through 2026; the new alternative becomes operative January 1, 2027.
Special rules and recent changes
- exam credit window: 30-month rolling examination-credit window. Effective date: 2024-01-01. Read the official change source.
- alternative pathway: An additional accounting-concentration and two-year experience route becomes operative in 2027; an advanced accounting-related degree may replace one experience year.. Effective date: 2027-01-01. Read the official change source.
Official sources used
- California Application for the CPA Examination — California Board of Accountancy (accessed 2026-08-07)
- CPA Examination Application Important Notice — California Board of Accountancy (accessed 2026-08-07)
- AB 1175 — Accountants — California Legislative Information (accessed 2026-08-07)
- CBA Update Issue 100 — California Board of Accountancy (accessed 2026-08-07)
- CPA Exam FAQs — California Board 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.