state eligibility guide
Wisconsin CPA exam requirements
Wisconsin requires 120 semester hours, including 24 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
- No completed degree required to sit
- Passed-section credit window
- 30-month passed-section credit window
Education requirements to sit
- Degree: No completed degree required to sit
- Minimum education to sit: 120 semester hours
- Accounting coursework: 24 semester hours
- Business coursework: 24 semester hours
- Accreditation: Credits must be earned at an institution accredited by an agency recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education, or transferred to such an institution.
Required accounting subjects
- Financial accounting
- Cost or managerial accounting
- Taxation
- Auditing
Required business subjects
- Economics
- Finance
- Statistics or data analytics
- Business law
Other required coursework
- Candidates using the standard degree route need 24 undergraduate accounting hours or 15 graduate accounting hours and 24 undergraduate business hours or 15 graduate business hours; qualifying accredited accounting or business programs have alternative course structures under Accy 2.202
Wisconsin permits exam eligibility after either 120 semester hours or a bachelor's degree, with the accounting and business content required by Accy 2.202 and 2.303. The displayed 24/24 totals describe the standard general-degree route; qualifying AACSB, ACBSP, or IACBE degree routes may use the alternative course structures in the code. CPA-review courses do not count.
Personal eligibility rules
- Minimum age: 18
- 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 credit-transfer or evaluation documentation when applicable
Only one examination section may be selected per section application; apply only when ready to test within six months.
Published exam fees
- Education evaluation application: $96.00 Charged once for a first-time candidate.
- Exam section application: $146.00 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: A completed degree is not part of this jurisdiction's sitting rule
- Sit before the degree is awarded: A completed degree is not part of this jurisdiction's sitting rule
A degree is not required under the 120-semester-hour exam route, but all required education and coursework must be complete before application.
Foreign education
- Foreign education accepted: Yes, with the jurisdiction's conditions
- Credential evaluation: A credential evaluation is not listed as required
- NIES: NIES is not specifically required
- Certified translation: Not confirmed in the current official sources
Coursework completed outside the United States must be transferred to and accepted by an accredited U.S. bachelor's-degree-granting institution before it can count. Wisconsin does not publish a separate NIES evaluation route for exam eligibility.
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 NTS is valid for six months; apply only when ready to take the selected section within that period.
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: 1 year required under the current pathway
- Ethics exam: Required
- Alternative pathway: enacted and effective
Effective April 4, 2026, Wisconsin pairs post-baccalaureate or 150-hour education with one year of experience, or a bachelor's degree and qualifying coursework with two years.
Special rules and recent changes
- education requirement: Exam eligibility after either 120 semester hours or a bachelor's degree, with updated accounting and business subject requirements; three education-and-experience licensure combinations. Effective date: 2026-04-04. Read the official change source.
Official sources used
- 2025 Wisconsin Act 166 — Wisconsin Legislature (accessed 2026-08-07)
- Wisconsin CPA Exam — National Association of State Boards 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.