1. Meet the Education Requirements to Sit for the CPA Exam.
To meet the Rhode Island requirements to sit for the CPA exam, the Rhode Island CPA education requirements must be attained first. For Rhode Island applicants, you will need a minimum of 150 semester hours for your licensure, although you can sit for the CPA exam after completing 120 hours and obtaining a bachelor’s degree.
2. Apply for the Uniform CPA Exam
According to Rhode Island’s Board of Accountancy standards, you can take the Uniform CPA Exam after earning a bachelor’s degree and 120 of the 150 total semester credit hours. Wait for the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy to send you your Notification to Schedule (NTS).
3. Pay for the Uniform CPA Exam
Rhode Island’s current CPA exam fees include a $96 education evaluation application fee, a $96 exam application fee, and a $262.64 exam section fee, totaling $1,050.56 for all four sections before licensure fees.
Click here to see a breakdown of the Rhode Island CPA exam costs.
Click here to see a breakdown of the Rhode Island CPA exam costs.
4. Notice to Schedule (NTS)
Wait for the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy to send you your Notification to Schedule (NTS). To schedule your exam, go to Prometric’s website. Warwick and Cumberland are two Rhode Island testing centers.
5. Pass the Uniform CPA Exam
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.
Candidates must pass all four sections of the examination within a “rolling” thirty (30)-month period that begins on the date of the score release.
In the event all four sections of the examination are not passed within the rolling thirty (30)-month period, credit for any section(s) passed outside the thirty (30)-month period will expire and the section(s) must be retaken.
Candidates must pass all four sections of the examination within a “rolling” thirty (30)-month period that begins on the date of the score release.
In the event all four sections of the examination are not passed within the rolling thirty (30)-month period, credit for any section(s) passed outside the thirty (30)-month period will expire and the section(s) must be retaken.
6. Gain Necessary Experience
To meet the Rhode Island CPA experience requirements, the Board requires aspiring CPAs to have one year of experience (equal to 1,820 hours). The internship must be overseen by a professional CPA or public accountant. Work in general practice, government, industry, or academia (upper-division collegiate courses only) may be combined to meet the experience requirement. More information on the Board’s experience criteria can be found on the Board’s website.
7. Ethics Requirement
After passing the CPA exam, the candidate must also meet the Rhode Island CPA ethics exam requirements by passing the AICPA ethics course and exam. This self-study course is available for purchase on the AICPA website. To satisfy license criteria in Rhode Island, an exam score of at least 90% is required.
8. Apply for a CPA License
After NASBA has forwarded the exam results to the Board, a candidate can apply for a license. Applicants should use the Board’s online licensing system unless the Board specifically requires paper documentation for part of the file.
9. CPA License Renewal
In Rhode Island, CPA licenses expire on June 30 of the renewal year and renew through the Board’s renewal system and must be renewed every three years. Renewal notices are emailed, and licenses cannot be renewed until the email is received. The current triennial renewal fee appears to be $375.
10. Continuing Professional Education (CPE)
CPAs must complete 120 hours of continuing education during each renewal cycle, including at least six hours in professional ethics.
