How to Become a CPA in Puerto Rico 2026

To meet the Puerto Rico requirements to sit for the CPA exam, the Puerto Rico CPA education requirements must be attained first. For Puerto Rico applicants, you must earn a total of 120 semester hours. The 120 hours need to include 24 semester (or equivalent) credits in accounting subjects with a grade of “C” or higher in all accounting courses. And 24 semester (or equivalent) credits in general business with an average grade of “C” or higher.

To qualify for the CPA license, applicants must earn a bachelor’s degree or higher with 150 semester hours of general college-level education, 32 semester hours in accounting courses, and 32 semester hours in business courses with a grade of “C” or higher.

To apply for the CPA Examination online, you need to create an account through NASBA’s current CPA Exam portal/dashboard and complete the Puerto Rico application there.

You’ll need to complete your application form online, and then submit your official transcripts. You will also pay the education evaluation application fee of $96.

Once your application has been approved, you can select the CPA exam section that you want to take and pay the necessary fees using NASBA’s CPA Central website. Once you receive a Notice to Schedule (NTS), you may visit www.prometric.com/CPA or call Prometric at 1-800-580-9648 to schedule your exam(s). As part of scheduling your exam(s), there is an exam application fee of $146.00, and the exam section fees of $262.64 per section.

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

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. You must pass each section with a score of 75 or higher within 18 months.

To meet the Puerto Rico CPA experience requirements, you need one year of full-time experience, must include at least 1,820 qualifying hours, in one or more of the following areas: public accounting, industry or private practice, or academia working under a licensed CPA in good standing. Three years of part-time experience is also acceptable.

Once you have met all requirements, you may apply for your CPA license through NASBA’s Online Licensing Application System.

While most states require ethics before licensing, Puerto Rico candidates can become a CPA without it as there are no Puerto Rico CPA ethics exam requirements.

To maintain your Puerto Rico CPA license, you will need to renew your license every three years, by completing the required amount of continuing professional education (CPE) hours. Puerto Rico requires 120 CPE hours every renewal period, and they must include 40 credit hours in accounting, audit, and tax, which can either be 28 credits in accounting & auditing, with 12 credits in tax, or 28 credits in tax and 12 credits in accounting & auditing. It also requires three credits in professional ethics. The remaining credits can be taken in the subjects of finance, management, economics, commercial law, labor law, quantitative methods, statistics, information systems, practice management, communication, behavioral sciences, public relations, and sales of securities. The credit hours in the fields of communication, behavioral sciences, public relations, and sales of securities may not exceed 24 credit hours.

Current NASBA licensing fees include $207 for an initial individual license and $225 for individual renewal.