How to Become a CPA in North Dakota 2026

To meet the North Dakota requirements to sit for the CPA exam, the North Dakota CPA education requirements must be attained first. For North Dakota applicants, you must have a bachelor’s degree or higher and earn a total of 120 semester hours.

To be licensed, candidates must complete at least 150 semester hours of college education including a baccalaureate or higher degree or its equivalent conferred by a college or university acceptable to the board, the total educational program to include an accounting concentration or equivalent as determined by board rule to be appropriate.

Note: For foreign education requirements, education completed at non-U.S schools should be evaluated for equivalency with U.S standards. You may contact http://facsusa.com/ or http://nasba.org/products/nies for evaluation.

To apply for the CPA examination in North Dakota, you need to apply to the North Dakota State Board of Accountancy at https://www.ndsba.nd.gov/applications. Then you’ll need to complete your application form online, submit your transcripts, and pay the $120 application fee.

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

Once your application has been approved, you can select the CPA section that you want to take, submit your payment coupon from NASBA, and pay the necessary fees; then, you will receive the Notice to Schedule (NTS). You can schedule your actual exam(s) on the Prometric website at https://www.prometric.com/.

North Dakota exam-related fees include a $120 CPA exam application fee and $262.64 per exam section, totaling $1,050.56 for all four sections.

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 a rolling 30-month period. North Dakota retains credit for a passed section for 30 months after the score-release date.

To meet the North Dakota CPA experience requirements, candidates are required to have 2,000 hours and one calendar year of qualifying experience before licensure. The experience must be gained within four or fewer calendar years and must consist primarily of services or advice involving accounting, attest, management advisory, financial advisory, tax, or consulting skills. The experience must be verified to the Board’s satisfaction.

To meet the North Dakota CPA ethics exam requirements, exam passers must provide proof of completion of Professional Ethics: The AICPA’s Comprehensive Course before licensure.

Once you have met all the requirements, and passed the CPA exams and ethics exam, you may apply for your CPA license through the North Dakota State Board of Accountancy.

North Dakota requires that continuing professional education (CPE) must be completed in the three calendar years prior to the year in which the license will be renewed. You must complete no less than 120 hours of acceptable CPE credits including six hours of professional ethics experience. A minimum of 20 credit hours is required in each calendar year and must meet the applicable three-year minimum, including ethics content, two years after the end of the first full continuing education reporting year.

North Dakota CPA licenses renew annually. Renewals and CPE must be completed by June 30. The current renewal fee is $85 from April 15 to June 30; beginning July 1, a $100 late fee applies, making the July 1–July 31 renewal amount $185. Licenses not renewed by July 31 are involuntarily relinquished.