How to Become a CPA in Nevada 2025

To meet the Nevada requirements to sit for the CPA exam, the Nevada CPA education requirements must be attained first. For Nevada applicants, candidates will have to finish a bachelor’s degree with 120 semester hours with a Major in Accounting. If a candidate does not have a Major in Accounting, 18 semester credits in Accounting courses above the introductory level which you will need to provide evidence of completion of the following courses: 6 credits in financial accounting, 3 credits each in cost accounting, auditing, federal Income tax, and business law.

However, to proceed with the CPA licensing, the requirement is 150 semester hours which should include 30 semester hours in introductory-level accounting courses, 3 semester hours in business law and 24 semester hours in undergraduate business courses. More information on exam requirements can be found here.

After meeting the education requirements, candidates can now apply for the exam through the Nevada board’s online CPA exam application page.

When NASBA receives confirmation from the board, they will send you a payment coupon to pay all examination fees. Once payment is received, NASBA will issue your Notice to Schedule (NTS) for the exam.

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

Upon receiving the NTS, schedule your exam online through Prometric. You are able to apply for one or more sections of the examination at a time. The NTS is valid for one testing event or six months and must be presented for entry at the testing center.

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.

After passing the exam, to be able to apply for a license and become a CPA, the requirement for licensing are meeting the 150 education credit hours, meeting the minimum experience requirements and completing an ethics exam within the last three years before licensure.

To meet the Nevada CPA experience requirements, candidates must have at least 2,000 hours of work with increasing levels of complexity and diversity, performed over a period of not less than 1 years in industry, public practice, government or a nonprofit organization, where the applicant provides any type of professional service or advice using accounting, attestation, compilation, management advisory services, financial advisory services or tax consulting.
To satisfy the requirements for experience all work must have been performed under the direct supervision of a person engaged in active practice as a certified public accountant.

A list of approved and tasks not allowed experience will be found on the Nevada Board of Accountancy website.

Applicants must complete and submit a form verifying the experience requirements to the board as proof. These must be signed by one or more CPAs who supervised the applicant’s work and can certify their character, extent and nature of work.

After passing the CPA exam, the candidate must also meet the Nevada CPA ethics exam requirements by completing 4 continuing education hours in the area of professional ethics every other year. The Nevada board will not require a specific ethics course and the course may be taken through a live seminar or self/independent study. You may find a brief list of courses offered here.

Make sure to double check on the guidelines for the application and see if you have completed all requirements for the official license certificate. To apply for the license, complete the application form and submit all necessary documents to the Nevada board. Further requirements are indicated in the form.

Nevada requires candidates to obtain 40 hours of continuing education to be completed each calendar year. Of the required 40 hours, 2 must be in the area of ethics. Continuing education must be completed in the calendar year from January 1st to December 31st. There are no carryover or carryforward hours. If you obtain more than 40 hours of CPE in one calendar year, you will still owe 40 hours the next calendar year.

Nevada CPA’s annual permit to engage in the practice of public accounting expires every year on December 31st. The permits must be renewed and postmarked by January 31st. To renew, complete the renewal form and submit it online via the board’s website.