state eligibility guide
Ohio CPA exam requirements
Ohio requires Eligibility depends on Ohio's bachelor's- or master's-degree pathway and required coursework 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
- Eligibility depends on Ohio's bachelor's- or master's-degree pathway and required coursework
- Degree rule
- bachelor's or master's degree required to sit
- Passed-section credit window
- 30-month passed-section credit window
Education requirements to sit
- Degree: bachelor's or master's degree required to sit
- Minimum education to sit: Eligibility depends on Ohio's bachelor's- or master's-degree pathway and required coursework
- Accounting coursework: 30 semester hours
- Business coursework: 24 semester hours
- Accreditation: Degree and courses must be from an accredited or Board-recognized institution.
Qualifying education pathways
- Bachelor's-degree route: Bachelor's degree plus 30 accounting and 24 business semester hours.
- Master's-degree route: Master's degree plus 30 accounting and 24 business semester hours.
- 180-day student provision: Courses listed on the Certificate of Enrollment must be completed within 180 days after applying for the first exam section.
Requirements shown reflect the Ohio examination-eligibility rule effective January 1, 2026.
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
- Enrollment confirmation when applying provisionally
Published exam fees
- Education evaluation application: $96.00 Charged once for a first-time candidate.
- Exam section application: $101.00 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: Yes, subject to the conditions below
- Sit before the degree is awarded: Yes, subject to the conditions below
- Days before graduation: 180 days
- Completion window: 180 days
- Final transcript deadline: After completing the courses listed on the Certificate of Enrollment
Ohio permits a Certificate of Enrollment route when the listed courses will be completed within 180 days after applying for the first exam section.
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
Published evaluation services
- NASBA International Evaluation Services (NIES)
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.
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
Published licensure pathways
- College degree plus an accounting concentration and four years of qualifying experience. Effective 2026-01-01.
- College degree plus an accounting concentration and 150 semester hours plus one year of qualifying experience. Effective 2026-01-01.
- Graduate degree plus an accounting concentration and one year of qualifying experience. Effective 2026-01-01.
Traditional licensure comparison only.
Special rules and recent changes
- education requirement: Bachelor's or master's degree route with 30 accounting and 24 business hours, plus updated provisional enrollment rules. Effective date: 2026-01-01. Read the official change source.
Official sources used
- Ohio CPA Exam — National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (accessed 2026-08-09)
- Ohio Revised Code section 4701.06 — Ohio Laws and Administrative Rules (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.