How to Become a CPA in Virginia 2026

To meet the Virginia CPA education requirements to sit for the CPA exam, you’ll need to have a bachelor’s degree with an accounting concentration or equivalent and a total of 120 semester hours. 24 semester hours of accounting courses above the introductory/foundational level including courses in Auditing, Financial Accounting, Managerial/Cost Accounting, and Taxation. 24 semester hours of business courses with no more than six semester hours of what could be considered upper-level accounting courses.

Virginia now has three licensure pathways after passing the CPA Exam:
Pathway 1 is a master’s degree plus 1 year of experience,
Pathway 2 is a bachelor’s degree plus 30 credit hours plus 1 year of experience,
and Pathway 3 is a bachelor’s degree plus 2 years of experience.

Once you have verified that you meet the education requirements, the first step is to set up a VBOA account.

After you have created an account, log in to submit the Initial Application and the fee of $120.

You would need to have your college or university send your official transcripts through mail to VBOA at 9960 Mayland Drive, Suite 402, Henrico, VA 23233.

Once your initial application has been approved, within three to five days you will receive a payment coupon in the NASBA Candidate portal that you’ll use to pay for the exam. The payment coupon is valid for six months.

Click here to see a breakdown of the Virginia 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.
The NTS is valid for 12 months.

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 30 months of the score release date of your first passed section.

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

To meet the Virginia CPA experience requirements, you must complete at least 2,080 work hours, or equivalent to one year of full-time employment. Whether other skills are relevant shall be determined by the VBOA on a case-by-case basis. Self-employment does not meet the definition of experience.

You must also have been employed in academia, a firm, government, or industry in any capacity involving the substantial use of accounting, financial, tax, or other skills that are relevant.

Under the current VBOA licensure pathways, one year is still required for Pathways 1 and 2, but Pathway 3 requires two years of experience.

The supervisor must complete the Experience Verification Form and be submitted by email at boa@boa.virginia.gov, fax to (804) 527-4409, or mail to the VBOA at 9960 Mayland Drive, Suite 402, Henrico, VA 23233.

After passing the CPA exam, the candidate must also meet the Virginia CPA ethics exam requirements by taking one additional test: the AICPA’s Ethics exam.

Virginia licensure applicants must complete the AICPA self-study Professional Ethics: AICPA’s Comprehensive Course (For Licensure) and earn a score of 90% or better.

The Professional Ethics course can be found here.

You would also need to sign a CPE Requirements Certification form confirming that you’re agreeing to complete the required CPE hours moving forward.

After you have completed your professional education, passed the exams, and retain the necessary work experience, you have fulfilled a majority of the CPA license requirements. You’ll need to complete the online application at VBOA and after paying the $75 initial licensure fee, applicants submit a CPE Requirements Certification Form, an Experience Verification Form, the AICPA ethics-course certificate with a score of 90% or better, and proof of the applicable degree / hours for the chosen pathway. Also, if the candidate did not pass the CPA Exam in the current calendar year, Virginia may require 40 CPE hours for each year since passing, up to 120, plus the current year’s VBOA-approved ethics course.

All CPA license applications must provide a U.S. Social Security number or control number issued by the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles. Applicants without a U.S. SSN or control number issued by the Virginia DMV are not eligible for a Virginia CPA license.

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

Virginia CPA licenses renew annually by June 30. The renewal fee is currently $60. Active CPAs must complete 120 CPE hours over a rolling three-year period, with at least 20 hours each year and a two-hour VBOA-approved ethics course annually.