Age Requirement: None

Citizenship Requirement: No

Residency Requirement: No

Social Security Number Requirement: Yes

California CPA Exam Education Requirements

Education Requirement for Licensure Until Jan. 1, 2014: Pathway 1: Complete B.A. degree; or Pathway 2: Complete 150 hours (including B.A. degree). After Jan. 1, 2014: Complete 150 hours (including B.A. degree) and fulfill specific course requirements outlined here. Education requirement will change effective Jan. 1, 2014 to 150 hours (including B.A.), essentially eliminating Pathway 1.

Participates in International Examination Program:  No

Hours in accounting:  Pathway 1 & 2: 24 semester hours or equivalent quarter hours in accounting and 24 hours of business-related courses

Exam sitting requirements:  Four-year B.A. degree or higher from a nationally or regionally accredited U.S. degree-granting educational institution or the equivalent foreign education. Experience requirements: Pathway 1: 2 years Pathway 2: 1 year Both are general experience which includes any type of service or advice involving the use of accounting, attest, compilation, management advisory, financial advisory, tax or consulting skills. For those wishing to sign attest reports, the experience shall include 500 hours of attest.

Ethics exam: Must pass California Professional Ethics Exam.

Creating an Online Application

You must apply either by creating the online application or by requesting that a hardcopy application be mailed to you. For faster application processing, it is recommended that you create an application online. After you create an online application, an Application Remittance Form will be displayed and a copy of the form will be e-mailed to you.

Please print the Application Remittance Form, sign the form, and mail along with your fee to:

California Board of Accountancy Examination

Unit 2000 Evergreen Street,

Suite 250 Sacramento, CA 95815-3832

Please write your Remittance Number, located on the Application Remittance Form, or UID, or both, on the front of your check. The CBA is not responsible for applications lost in the mail. Therefore, it is recommended that you obtain a Certificate of Mailing with return receipt from the Postal Service as proof of mailing. To expedite delivery, you may wish to use a company that guarantees a delivery date and tracks the item.

Reminder: You are required to have all transcript(s) and/or a foreign credentials evaluation mailed directly from the educational institution(s) or CBA-approved foreign evaluation service to the CBA. To avoid delays in processing your application, the CBA recommends that you ensure that all educational documents have been mailed prior to the submission of your application.

Important: All required coursework and degree(s) conferred MUST be shown on official transcripts and/or CBA-approved foreign credential service evaluations. If you are enrolled in a program that results in the conferral of a baccalaureate degree upon completion of either a master's degree or the 150 semester units required for CPA licensure, you may be approved to sit for the CPA Exam prior to conferral of the required baccalaureate degree if certain conditions are met. In order to qualify you must have completed all baccalaureate degree requirements, including 24 semester units each in accounting and business-related subjects. You also must have your college or university mail your official transcript, or its equivalent, together or separately with a letter signed by the institution's registrar, or its equivalent, directly to the CBA. The letter must include all of the following information:

1. A statement that you are enrolled and in good standing in a program that will result in the conferral of a baccalaureate degree upon completion of either a master's degree or the required 150 semester units.
2. A statement that you have completed all requirements, including general education and elective requirements, for a baccalaureate degree and the only reason the college or university has yet to confer the degree is because you are enrolled in a program that confers a baccalaureate degree upon completion of either a master's degree or the required 150 semester units.
3. The date on which you met all of the college or university's requirements for conferral of a baccalaureate degree.

California CPA Exam Fees

The CBA will implement a temporary 50% reduction in CPA Exam application fees, for a two-year period effective July 1, 2014 and ending June 30, 2016. The application fees effective during this time period are listed below.
Fee for Applications Postmarked prior to July 1, 2014:
Initial Application $100 (Applicants seeking to qualify to sit for the CPA Exam as a California Candidate for the first time.)

Reapplication $50 (Applicants previously approved to sit for the CPA Exam as a California Candidate.)
Fee for Applications Postmarked July 1, 2014 – June 30, 2016:
Initial Application $50
Reapplication $25
Please note: the CPA Exam section fees paid directly to NASBA are not included in this temporary fee reduction.

Fees to be paid to NASBA (Current)
Auditing and Attestation $192.03
Financial Accounting and Reporting $192.03
Regulation $172.51
Business Environment and Concepts $172.51

Total fees paid to NASBA for all four sections $729.08

California CPA Education Foundation

Kasey O'Connor

Phone Number: 916-441-5351

Address: 1201 K Street Suite 1000, Sacramento, CA 95814

Email: Kasey.OConnor@calcpa.org

California Board of Accountancy

Phone Number: 916-263-3680

Fax Number: 916-263-3674

Address: 2000 Evergreen Street, Suite 250, Sacramento, CA 95815-3832

Email: pbowers@cba.ca.gov