Considering a career as a CPA in California? You’re in the right place. Below, we’ll walk you through the exam and licensure prerequisites, as well as the scheduling process and other crucial details.
Becoming a CPA in California requires passing all four parts of the CPA Exam, having accounting experience, and meeting other criteria, such as age, citizenship, and residency requirements. Below is a comprehensive overview of these requirements.
The California Board of Accountancy (CBA) determines the educational and credit requirements for a CPA candidate in California as per the standards set by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA). Candidates may apply for the CPA Exam if they fall into one of the following categories:
Visit the CBA's website to learn more about the state's accounting standards for licensure in California.
Below is a list of all the requirements you must meet to take the CPA Exam in California, according to the California Board of Accountancy (CBA).
For CPA licensure, candidates must provide evidence of 150 semester hours of college education with 24 semester hours each in accounting and business-related subjects.
The CBA requires you to gain work experience before getting your CPA license. Although the prerequisites are pretty simple, they change based on the kind of work you will do. Your work experience can be either full-time or part-time. However, it is essential to note that 170 hours of part-time work is equivalent to one month of full-time work. You will need
If you apply for your first California CPA license, you must pass the Professional Ethics for CPAs ( PETH) exam. Even if you have a license from a different state, you must pass the PETH to apply for a California CPA license. To understand the ethics exam requirements, you need to know the following:
The initial application fee for the CPA Exam in California is $100. Please note that the fee specified below is subject to change as the fee for the new CPA Exam sections hasn’t been announced yet. However, the tentative fee for each section is $254.80. The application fee is paid to the state board, and the exam section fee is paid to the NASBA. The state board levies a re-application fee of $50.
| California CPA Exam Fees | |
|---|---|
| Initial Application Fee | $100.00 |
| Exam Section Fees | $1,019.20 |
| Total: | $1,119.20 |
*Pass the three core sections - AUD, FAR, and REG, and one discipline section - BAR/ISC/TCP
After passing the CPA Exam, gaining experience, and satisfying other requirements, you can apply for a CPA licensure in the state with a fee of $250 and a hard-copy fingerprint processing fee (non-California residents) of $49.
To renew your CPA license in California, you must submit the license renewal application through the CBA Connect Portal. You must pay a renewal fee of $280, as mentioned in Part B of the license renewal application. The renewal requests are processed within 24 to 48 hours. If your renewal application is found to be incomplete or requires staff review, you will be notified through your CBA Connect account. After processing the license renewal application and payment, licensees will be mailed a pocket identity card with their new license expiration date.
As a prerequisite for active status license renewal, you must have completed at least 80 hours of Continuing Professional Education (CPE) in the two years surrounding license renewal. A signed declaration appears on the renewal application and indicates that the licensee has completed the required CE, and the statement required by the CBA must be submitted.
A licensee who does public accounting must have an active license, as defined in Section 5051 of the Business and Professions Code. Continuing education credits are non-transferable from one two-year period to the next.
A licensee renewing an active license must complete a minimum of 20 hours in each year of the two-year license renewal period, with a minimum of 12 hours in specialized subject areas like
Once you meet the CPA Exam requirements, there are other important details to consider in becoming a CPA including target exam and score release dates, as well as, the scheduling process for the California CPA Exam. Here’s a brief overview to guide you through these steps.
California CPA candidates can sit for the CPA Exam based on the CPA Exam and score release dates. However, AICPA has temporarily halted the continuous testing for the 2024 CPA Exam to account for the standard-setting analyses and activities.
