state eligibility guide
Nevada CPA exam requirements
Nevada requires bachelor's degree and 120 semester hours, including 15 accounting hours for CPA exam eligibility. Nevada State 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 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: 15 semester hours
- Business coursework: 3 semester hours
- Upper-level accounting: 15 semester hours
- Degree field: Accounting major, or another major plus the specified 18-semester-hour course block
- Accreditation: Degree and courses must satisfy Nevada Board standards.
Required accounting subjects
- Financial accounting (6 semester hours)
- Auditing (3 semester hours)
- Federal income tax (3 semester hours)
- Cost and managerial accounting (3 semester hours)
Required business subjects
- Business law (3 semester hours)
The 15 accounting and 3 business-law hours shown are the specified alternative for candidates whose bachelor's major is not accounting. The courses must be above introductory level where the regulation so provides.
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
How to apply
Apply through Nevada State Board of Accountancy Nevada Board application.
Documents commonly required for this application
- Board examination application
- Official transcripts
- Required fee
Nevada establishes its initial-examination charge annually, subject to the regulatory maximum; use the live Board application for the amount currently due.
Published exam fees
- Initial exam application: $100.00 Qualifying military applicants may receive the Board's published conditional waiver.
- CPA exam section fee: $268.59 per section Charged for each exam section selected.
- Re-examination application: $50.00 Use this instead of the initial application fee when applying again.
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 Board application is not considered filed until official transcripts show that the required education has been completed.
Foreign education
- Foreign education accepted: Yes, with the jurisdiction's conditions
- Credential evaluation: A credential evaluation is required
- NIES: Not confirmed in the current official sources
- Certified translation: A certified translation is required when applicable
Candidates with foreign education should obtain the Board's current evaluator instructions before ordering a report.
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.
Conditional credit expires after 30 months; the Board may grant an extension for good cause. The NTS expiration shown on the issued document controls scheduling.
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
The master's and bachelor's-plus-30 routes require at least 2,000 hours over one year; the bachelor's-only route requires at least 4,000 hours over two years.
Special rules and recent changes
- alternative pathway: Master's plus one year, bachelor's plus 30 semester hours and one year, or bachelor's plus two years. Effective date: 2026-02-27. Read the official change source.
Official sources used
- Nevada State Board of Accountancy — Nevada State Board of Accountancy (accessed 2026-08-07)
- Nevada CPA Exam — National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (accessed 2026-08-07)
- Nevada Administrative Code Chapter 628 — Accountants — Nevada Legislature (accessed 2026-08-07)
- Approved Regulation R054-25 — Nevada Legislature (accessed 2026-08-07)
- Assembly Bill 510 — Nevada Legislature (accessed 2026-08-07)
- CPA Exam Candidate Guide — National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (accessed 2026-08-09)
- CPA examination instructions — Nevada State Board of 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.