state eligibility guide
Colorado CPA exam requirements
Colorado requires bachelor's degree and 120 semester hours, including 27 accounting hours for CPA exam eligibility. NASBA CPA Examination Services (CPAES) 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: 27 semester hours
- Business coursework: 21 semester hours
- Upper-level accounting: 21 semester hours
- Accreditation: Degree and coursework must be from an accredited institution acceptable to the Board.
Required accounting subjects
- Accounting ethics
- Accounting information systems
- Accounting research
- Accounting theory
- Auditing
- Financial accounting
Required business subjects
- Business or accounting communications
- Business ethics or law
- Computer information systems
- Economics
- Finance
- Management or marketing
- Quantitative applications or statistics
At least 21 of the 27 accounting hours must exclude introductory courses and include a three-hour U.S. GAAS-focused audit course. Up to three internship hours may count in accounting and three in business. Community-college, correspondence, online, and CLEP credit must be accepted by an accredited baccalaureate-granting institution.
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
How to apply
Apply through NASBA CPA Examination Services (CPAES) online through NASBA CPA Portal.
Documents commonly required for this application
- Official transcripts
- Completed CPA Portal application
- Foreign evaluation when applicable
Only one examination section may be selected per section application; apply only when ready to test during the next six months.
Published exam fees
- Education evaluation application: $96.00 Charged once for a first-time candidate.
- Exam section application: $96.00 per section Charged for each exam section 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: No; the education requirement must be completed first
- Sit before the degree is awarded: No; the education requirement must be completed first
Colorado requires all examination education, including the posted baccalaureate degree, to be complete at application.
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
- NASBA International Evaluation Services (NIES)
- National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (NACES) member
- Association of International Credential Evaluators (AICE) member
Follow the evaluator and transcript directions on the Colorado NASBA page.
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
- Discipline sections follow AICPA testing windows.
Apply only for a section you are prepared to take during the next six months; the expiration printed on the NTS controls.
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: enacted not yet effective
Published licensure pathways
- Baccalaureate degree plus two years of accounting-related experience. Effective 2027-01-01.
- Baccalaureate degree plus 30 additional semester hours and one year of accounting-related experience. Effective 2027-01-01.
- Post-baccalaureate degree plus one year of accounting-related experience. Effective 2027-01-01.
Colorado licensure has additional education, experience, and ethics requirements.
Official sources used
- Colorado CPA Exam — National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (accessed 2026-08-09)
- SB26-076 Certification and Practice of Certified Public Accountants — Colorado General Assembly (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.