How to Become a CPA in West Virginia 2024

To meet the West Virginia CPA education requirements to sit for the CPA exam, you’ll need to have a bachelor’s degree. 30 semester hours in accounting including 3 semester hours in ethics, 3 semester hours in business law, and 27 semester hours in business and related courses.

You may refer to this website for the specific course requirements.

Once you have determined that your education requirements are eligible to take the exam, you need to download and complete the Character Reference Form. This form must be completed by three people who know you and are competent and ready to serve as references for your personal character, but who are not relatives.

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

West Virginia Board of Accountancy
405 Capitol Street, Suite 908
Charleston, WV 25301-1744

Or email it at wvboa@wv.gov

You’ll need to complete the online application form on the West Virginia Board of Accountancy and pay the $10 processing fee.

You must have a 2″x 2″ recent (within the past year) color passport-style photograph (head and shoulders view with plain background) that you’ll be uploading with the application.

Once your online application has been approved you’ll be able to submit an Intent to Sit and a $40 fee for each part of the exam selected. The Intent allows an exam candidate to indicate which sections of the Exam he/she wishes to sit for within the current or next Exam window.

Once your Intent to Sit has been approved, usually within 24-48 hours you and NASBA will generate a Payment Coupon to your e-mail address. The Payment Coupon will expire six months after you receive it by e-mail.

Next, you will need to create a NASBA Exam Candidate account on the portal at NASBA and pay for the exam fees.

Click here to see a breakdown of the West 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.
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.

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

West Virginia Board of Accountancy
405 Capitol Street, Suite 908
Charleston, WV 25301-1744

Or email it at wvboa@wv.gov

To meet the West Virginia CPA experience requirements, you must have one year of public accounting experience in the four-year period immediately preceding your application by employment in private practice, government, industry, academia, or public practice.

Qualifying experience consists of any type of service or advice involving the use of accounting, attestation, compilation, management advisory, financial advisory, tax, or consulting skills.

Your experience must be confirmed by an active West Virginia certificate holder, a West Virginia certified public accountant, or an out-of-state certificate holder. Must complete the Experience Verification Form.

You must go to https://uenroll.identogo.com to schedule a 10-minute fingerprint appointment with the service code 228QYB for West Virginia and you must bring one identification document to your enrollment. Click here for the complete list of identification documents.

You can also schedule an appointment by calling 855-766-7746

You must print and scan the Certificate Order Form along with the Experience Verification Form in one file because that will be uploaded to your CPA license application

The Professional Ethics course can be found here.

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 West Virginia CPA Application form.

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

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