How to Become a CPA in New York 2026, 10 Critical Steps

To meet the New York requirements to sit for the CPA exam, the New York CPA education requirements must be attained first. For New York applicants, you can sit for the CPA exam with 120 credits, as long as you’ve taken at least one class each in upper-division financial accounting, upper-division audit & attestation, taxation, and cost or management accounting.

After meeting the education requirements, you will register with NASBA to apply for the CPA exam. Have all your official transcripts sent directly from your college or university to:

New York Coordinator
CPA Examination Services
PO Box 198469, Nashville
Tennessee 37219-8469

If your school offers official electronic transcripts, they may be emailed to etranscript@nasba.org.

Pay all fees at the time of application to NASBA. New York’s NASBA fees include a $96.00 education evaluation application fee, a $96.00 exam application fee, and a $262.64 exam section fee.

Click here to see a breakdown of the New York CPA exam costs.

Wait for your application to be approved and once accepted, NASBA will email or mail you the Notice to Schedule (NTS). Upon receiving the NTS, schedule your exam online through Prometric. You are able to apply for one or more sections of the examination at a time.

Only apply for an exam section when you are ready to take it within the Notice to Schedule window. The NTS is valid for a limited time, and fees are forfeited if you do not take the listed exam section within that window.

The CPA exam consists of the three core sections and candidates would need to select one of the three discipline to demonstrate deeper skills and knowledge, allowing candidates to choose a specialization. There is no set order in which the exam portions must be completed.

New York candidates must pass all four CPA Exam sections within a rolling 30-month period beginning on the score-release date of the first passed section.

After passing the CPA exams, you need to acquire sufficient work experience in order to apply for and become a licensed CPA. The New York CPA experience requirement is one-year of full-time work experience in any of the following service areas: accounting, attestation, compilations, management advisory, financial advisory, taxation, and consulting. Experience must be documented and also supervised by a U.S. certified public accountant who is properly licensed in their jurisdiction. Both applicant and supervisor must fill out a Verification of Experience form and have the supervisor forward it to the New York board.

After fulfilling the experience requirement, apply for a CPA license through New York’s website. Fill out the questions on the site and attach the necessary documents. A license fee of $427 must be paid upon submitting your application for licensure.

New York has enacted an additional CPA licensure pathway. The existing 150-credit-hour pathway with one year of experience remains available, while the new pathway will allow candidates to pursue licensure with 120 credit hours and two years of relevant work experience. NYSSCPA reports that full rollout is expected by November 2026, so candidates should verify current NYSED implementation rules before applying under the new pathway.

New York CPAs will have to renew their license every three years. Licensees are required to accomplish both a Continuing Professional Education (CPE) and an Ethics Requirement.

New York does not currently require a New York CPA ethics exam requirement for initial CPA licensure. However, licensed New York CPAs must complete 4 contact hours of acceptable professional ethics every three calendar years as part of their CPE requirement.

From January 1st through December 31st of each calendar-year, complete either 24 or 40 contact hours of acceptable formal continuing education. Twenty-four (24) if concentrated in one of the recognized subject areas or forty (40) in any combination of recognized subject areas. See approved list of CPE providers here.

It is the licensee’s responsibility to maintain all CPE records they have completed. These documentations and records must be kept by the CPA for at least 5 years.

New York CPA Licensees must renew through the state board’s website every three years. Attach all documents supporting your completion of the CPE and Ethics requirements. Access more application information here.