state eligibility guide
Mississippi CPA exam requirements
Mississippi requires bachelor's degree and 120 semester hours, including 24 accounting hours for CPA exam eligibility. Mississippi 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: Not confirmed in the current official sources
- Upper-level accounting: 24 semester hours
- Accreditation: Degree and coursework must meet Mississippi Board accreditation standards.
Required accounting subjects
- Financial accounting (at least 3 semester hours)
- Auditing (at least 3 semester hours)
- Taxation (at least 3 semester hours)
- Accounting information systems (at least 3 semester hours)
The curriculum must include at least 48 upper-division or graduate semester hours in accounting and business combined, with at least 24 of those hours in accounting. The rule does not publish a separate minimum business-hour subtotal.
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 required
- Character review before sitting: A character requirement applies before sitting
Mississippi's residence or place-of-business rule applies to licensure, not admission to the CPA Exam.
How to apply
Apply through Mississippi State Board of Public Accountancy online through the Mississippi Board portal.
Documents commonly required for this application
- Board examination application
- Official transcripts
- Required fee
Board application charges are nonrefundable; third-party portal transaction charges may also apply.
Published exam fees
- Initial board administrative application: $150.00 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
The baccalaureate degree, 120 hours, and accounting concentration must be complete before the initial examination application.
Foreign education
- Foreign education accepted: Yes, with the jurisdiction's conditions
- Credential evaluation: A credential evaluation is required
- NIES: NASBA International Evaluation Services is required
- Certified translation: A certified translation is required when applicable
Published evaluation services
- NASBA International Evaluation Services (NIES)
NIES is the only foreign credentialing service 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
- Discipline sections follow AICPA testing windows.
The examination application and NTS are valid for six months. Exam credit is retained for 30 months from score release, measured through the sit date of the final section.
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 and effective
The required education and experience depend on the selected pathway: bachelor's plus two years; 150 hours plus one year; or postgraduate degree plus one year.
Special rules and recent changes
- alternative pathway: Three licensure routes: postgraduate degree plus one year; 150 hours plus one year; or bachelor's degree plus two years. Effective date: 2026-07-01. Read the official change source.
Official sources used
- Mississippi State Board of Public Accountancy — Mississippi State Board of Public Accountancy (accessed 2026-08-07)
- Mississippi CPA Exam — National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (accessed 2026-08-07)
- Mississippi Public Accountancy Statutes and Rules and Regulations — Mississippi State Board of Public Accountancy (accessed 2026-08-07)
- Fees — Mississippi State Board of Public Accountancy (accessed 2026-08-09)
- New CPA Pathway Effective 7/1/2026 — Mississippi State Board of Public Accountancy (accessed 2026-08-07)
- 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.