If you’re looking for the easiest state to get your CPA license, the table below lists 28 states with the easiest requirements to become a licensed CPA:
How to Save Yourself MONTHS of Time and Frustration
Keep in mind that the CPA exam is the one part of getting your CPA license that you can control how long it takes. The education and experience requirements take as long as they take, but the CPA exams can take you as little as 6 months, or as long as multiple years… depending on how effective your study process is from the beginning.
Learn how to study strategically so you can save yourself tons of time and retake fees with this free training…
| State | Credits to Sit | Accounting Credits to Sit | Business Credits to Sit | Experience Required | Ethics Exam | Residency Required |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 120 | 24 | 24 | 1 year | No | No |
| Arizona | 120 (B.S.) | 24 | 18 | 2,000 hours | Yes | No |
| Arkansas | 120 (B.S.) | 30 | 30 | 1 year | No | No |
| California | 120 (B.S.) | 24 | 24 | 1 year | Yes | No |
| Colorado | 120 (B.S.) | 27 | 21 | 1 year (1,800hrs) | Yes | No |
| Delaware | 120 (B.S.) | 24 | 0 | 1 year | Yes | No |
| District of Columbia | 120 | 24 | 3 | 1 year (2,000hrs) | No | No |
| Florida | 120 | 30 | 36 | 1 year (2,000hrs) | No | No |
| Georgia | 120 (B.S.) | 20 | 0 | 1 year (2,000hrs) | No | No |
| Idaho | 120 (B.S.) | 20 | 10 | 1 year (2,000hrs) | Yes | No |
| Iowa | 120 (B.S.) | 24 | 24 | 1 year | Yes | No |
| Maryland | 120 | 30 | 0 | 1 year (2,000hrs) | No | No |
| Massachusetts | 120 | 21 | 9 | 1 year (2,000hrs) | No | No |
| Missouri | 120 | 24 | 24 | 1 year | Yes | No |
| Montana | 120 | 24 | 24 | 1 year | Yes | No |
| New Hampshire | 120 (B.S.) | 30 | 24 | 1 year | No | No |
| New Jersey | 120 (B.S.) | 24 | 24 | 1 year (1,750hrs) | Yes | No |
| New Mexico | 120 (B.S.) | 30 | 0 | 1 year | Yes | No |
| New York | 120 (B.S.) | 24 | 21 | 1 year | No | No |
| Ohio | 120 | 24 | 24 | 1 year | No | No |
| Pennsylvania | 120 | 24 | 0 | 1,600 hours | No | No |
| South Carolina | 120 | 24 | 24 | 1 year | Yes | No |
| Tennessee | 120 (B.S.) | 18 | 0 | 1 year (2,000hrs) | Yes | No |
| Utah | 120 | 24 | 24 | 1 year (2,000hrs) | Yes | No |
| Vermont | 120 | 30 | 0 | 1 year | Yes | No |
| Virginia | 120 | 24 | 24 | 1 year (2,080hrs) | Yes | No |
| West Virginia | 120 (B.S.) | 30 | 27 | 1 year | No | No |
| Wisconsin | 120 | 24 | 0 | 1 year | Yes | No |
What Determines the Easiest State to Get Your CPA License?
If you’re working to become a CPA, there are a few factors that can make getting your CPA license in a certain state “easier” or “harder”.
How Many Accounting Credits and Business Credits Are Required?
The first factor is the number of accounting and business credit hours required to take the exam. If you can take the CPA exams after getting your bachelor’s or before hitting the 150 credit hours, then you can get a head start on passing the CPA exam while still working towards the 150-hour requirement.
What Are the CPA Experience Requirements?
The second factor is whether or not you need to have a certain number of years of experience before you can apply for the exam. Most states require roughly one year of experience, but some states require two years of experience. If your state requires two years of experience to get your CPA license, then it will obviously take you an entire year longer than someone in a state that only requires one year of experience.
Do You Need to Be a State Resident?
The third factor is whether or not you need to be a resident of that state. If you are required to be a resident of the state, then it’s not even an option to get your CPA license if you’re not a state resident. This makes any state that has a residency requirement to be considered a “hard” state to get your CPA license.
Does Your State Require You Pass an Ethics Exam?
Another factor is whether your state requires an ethics exam as part of getting your CPA license. That being said, the ethics exams are nothing close to the level of difficulty of the CPA exams. So a state that requires you pass an ethics exam to get your CPA license shouldn’t intimidate you.
Not all states require the same amount of education or experience before they’ll let you take the CPA exams and get your CPA license. Some states have fairly strict requirements, while others will allow you to sit for the exam after just finishing an undergraduate degree program. You can’t just assume that all states are the same — each state has its own policies and procedures regarding who can take its examinations and when those individuals can take them. Your best bet is always to get in contact with the state board of accounting in your state to get the most accurate requirements.
The Universal CPA License Requirements
There are a few CPA license requirements that are the same no matter what state you’re applying in.
These would be the 150 credit hour requirement and then passing the Uniform CPA examination. The CPA exam is “uniform” and is exactly the same no matter what state you’re taking the exams in. The specific number of accounting and business classes required will vary by state, but
Should You Get Your CPA License in a Different State?
There might be some specific situations when it can make sense to get your CPA license in another state that has “easier” requirements, but then you will usually still need to transfer your license to your state, which will mean eventually fulfilling your state’s specific requirements.
So in general, the overall “easiest” path with the least amount of hassle is to just get your CPA license in the state where you’ll be working and practicing as a CPA.
How to Save Yourself MONTHS of Time and Frustration
Keep in mind that the CPA exam is the one part of getting your CPA license that you can control how long it takes. The education and experience requirements take as long as they take, but the CPA exams can take you as little as 6 months, or as long as multiple years… depending on how effective your study process is from the beginning.
Learn how to study strategically so you can save yourself tons of time and retake fees with this free training…
