How to Become a CPA in Florida 2026

To meet the Florida requirements to sit for the CPA exam, the Florida CPA education requirements must be attained first. For Florida applicants, you’ll need a total of 120 semester hours. 24 semester hours of upper-level accounting courses (At least three semester hours of financial accounting and three semester hours of U.S. Taxation), 24 semester hours of upper-level business courses (At least three semester hours of business law based on U.S. Law).

First-time Florida applicants submit the initial CPA Exam application directly to the Florida Board. After Board approval, candidates receive a Florida Jurisdiction ID, create an Okta account through NASBA’s dashboard, access CPA Portal, and apply for exam sections there.

After you have filled out the necessary details to apply for the Uniform CPA Examination. You will have to mail the completed application, application fee, and required documentation to:

Department of Business and Professional Regulation
2601 Blair Stone Rd
Tallahassee, FL 32399

The Florida CPA Exam application requires a $50 non-refundable fee. After Board approval, candidates pay applicable NASBA exam-section fees through CPA Portal.

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

Upon payment for the examination fees, you will receive a receipt of your NTS. Make sure that everything is correct as it will be used at the testing centers. If the names do not match, immediately contact the Board to request a correction. You will not be allowed to test if the name on the identification documents does not exactly match the name on the NTS.

With the NTS, then you can schedule your actual exam on the Prometric website at www.prometric.com.

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

Florida 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 Uniform CPA Examination, you must complete the appropriate education requirements to become a licensed CPA, which totals 150 semester hours. 30 semester hours of upper-level accounting courses (At least three semester hours of financial accounting and three semester hours of U.S. Taxation), 36 semester hours of upper-level business courses (At least three semester hours of business law based on U.S. Law).

To meet the Florida CPA experience requirement, you will need a minimum of 12 months of full-time employment or part-time work which consists of at least 2,000 hours of employment over a period of not more than two consecutive years where 20 hours of work per week is performed on a continuous basis.

When you have met the needed work experience, you will need to fill out the DBPR CPA 32 Verification of Work Experience form.

After you have completed your professional education, passed the exams, and retain the necessary work experience, you have fulfilled a majority of the CPA exam requirements. You will need to fill out the DBPR CPA 2 CPA Licensure Application to be a licensed CPA. The issuance of the CPA certificate costs $50. The completed application, application fee, and required documentation should be mailed to:

Department of Business and Professional Regulation
2601 Blair Stone Rd
Tallahassee, FL 32399

While most states require ethics exam before licensing, Florida candidates can become a CPA without it as there are no Florida CPA ethics exam requirements, but active Florida CPAs must complete Florida Board-approved ethics CPE as part of renewal..

Now that you have completed all the necessary steps to be a Certified Public Accountant in Florida. You will be notified by Florida’s Board of Accountancy of any missing documents in your application. If the application is complete, you’ll be issued a license allowing you to practice.

Florida active CPA licenses renew with 80 CPE hours for each re-establishment period. The 80 hours must include at least 8 hours in accounting and auditing, 4 hours in Florida Board-approved ethics, and no more than 20 hours in behavioral subjects. CPE must be completed by June 30 of the renewal year and reported by July 31. The current active renewal fee is $100.