How to Become a CPA in Michigan 2024

To meet the Michigan CPA education requirements to sit for the CPA exam, you’ll need to have at least 120 semester hours and a bachelor’s degree with a concentration in accounting OR a bachelor’s degree with 3 semester hours in Auditing. 21 semester hours in accounting including Financial Accounting and Accounting Theory, Managerial Accounting, including Cost Accounting, Accounting Systems and Controls, U.S. Federal Taxation, and Governmental/Fund Accounting.

The first step to determining your eligibility is to register an account at CPA Central.

Then submit the necessary educational requirements to NASBA Advisory Evaluation at CPA Central and pay the $180 initial application fee.

You would need to have your college or university send your official transcripts through mail at:

CPA Examination Services – MI
PO Box 198469
Nashville, TN 37219

Or email it at etranscript@nasba.org

Once your educational requirements have been approved by NASBA advisory evaluation, NASBA will then send you an email notifying you that your payment coupon is ready for payment. You have 90 days to pay the fee.

Click here to see a breakdown of the Michigan 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.
You will have six months to apply and sit for your first portion of the 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. You must pass each section with a score of 75 or higher within 18 months.

If you haven’t completed a master’s degree in accounting or business administration with a 12 semester hour concentration in accounting, you must complete the 150 Hour Educational Analysis form found in the online License Application Portal

To meet the Michigan CPA experience requirements, you must earn 2,000 hours of qualifying experience gained over a one-to-five-year period which can be achieved in government, industry, academia, or public practice. Candidates who get academic instruction experience will meet the work experience requirement after teaching four semesters of at least six credit hours per semester. If experience is gained in academia, you must be an instructor in accounting for at least four academic semesters and teach at least six credit hours per semester of accounting subjects above the elementary level

You must include competency/skill areas in auditing financial statements, reviewing financial statements, compiling financial statements, and Attestation.
For more detailed information, you can find it on the MICPA website.

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’ll need to complete the Michigan Initial CPA license form.

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

Now that you have completed all the necessary steps to be a Certified Public Accountant in Michigan. You will be notified by Michigan’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. Your certificate will be sent to you through the mail.