How to Become a CPA in Ohio 2024

To meet the Ohio requirements to sit for the CPA exam, the Ohio CPA education requirements must be attained first. For Ohio applicants, you must be at least 18 years old, have completed at least 120 semester hours from an accredited educational institution, OR earned a minimum score of 670 on the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT). Have completed 24 semester hours in accounting courses with one course each in financial accounting, management accounting, taxation, and auditing with coverage of GAAS (Internal auditing may not be used for auditing, but may be used as an elective). You will also need 18 hours in accounting to be graduate credit to meet the requirement. Complete 24 semester hours in business-related courses including finance, management, economics, and marketing, as well as business courses designated by the college or university.

Take note that you also need to be a Ohio resident to take the CPA exam.

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 $170 initial application fee.

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

CPA Examination Services – OH
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 Alaska 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.

After passing the Uniform CPA Examination, you must complete the appropriate education requirements to become a licensed CPA, which totals 150 semester hours with a graduate degree.

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

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

Or email it at etranscript@nasba.org

The Ohio CPA experience requirement must be earned in the employment of a licensed public accounting firm, government, academia or business with at least one year of experience under the supervision of a licensed CPA.

If you’ll be applying for the license under the 670 GMAT requirement, you’ll need at least four years of accounting experience to qualify.

The supervisor will need to complete Record of Experience Form.

To meet the Ohio CPA ethics exam requirements and become a CPA, candidates must accomplish a board-approved course in Professional Standards and Responsibilities (PSR) which emphasizes Ohio accountancy law and board rules.

You can find the link here to the Board’s PSR page for the ethics exam requirement:
https://acc.ohio.gov/maintaining-your-license/psr/professional-standards-and-responsibilities-3

The Accountancy Board of Ohio requires all CPA applicants to undergo a Criminal Background Check Information. Ohio applicants are required to utilize WebCheck, Ohio’s fingerprint system, to electronically submit their fingerprints to the Attorney General’s Bureau of Criminal Investiagation (BCI) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

You must set up an appointment through the Ohio Attorney General’s website. You will also need to complete the WebCheck/Fingerprint Consent form before a background check can be done. You may complete the form prior to your arrival and bring it with you, or fill one out at the office.

Once you have met the educational requirements, work experience requirement, submitted a Criminal Background Check Information, passed the ethics exam, and passed the Uniform CPA Exam. You can apply online for your CPA license here.

Now that you have completed all the necessary steps to be a Certified Public Accountant in Ohio. You will be notified by the Accountancy Board of Ohio 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.