Georgia

Eligibility for Examination

As a first-time applicant who has not previously taken the examination in accordance with Georgia’s requirements, you must:

• be of good moral character; and
• have earned a baccalaureate degree or higher with 20 semester hours or 30 quarter hours in accounting subjects above the introductory level at a four-year accredited college or university that offers a baccalaureate degree as defined by the Board.

Educational requirements must be met at the time of application. All educational transcripts and/or foreign evaluations are required to be submitted to CPAES. You may submit official school transcripts and/or foreign evaluations separately or included with your first-time application. The complete law and rules of the Board may be obtained free online on the Georgia Board of Accountancy website.

The hours credited for each of the first two courses in accounting subjects completed by an applicant to take the CPA examination or an applicant for a license as a CPA are considered as being at the elementary level. These hours will not be counted toward the minimum hours required to take the CPA examination or to apply for license as a CPA. This shall be the case without respect to the title or number under which the course is designated by the educational institution.

Note: In order to be eligible to be licensed by the State of Georgia, candidates must be a U.S. citizen, a legal permanent resident of the U.S., or a qualified alien or non-immigrant under the Federal Immigration and Nationality Act.

Transcripts

If you who have completed the educational requirement at the time of application:

• You must submit an official transcript from each school you attended. Transfer credits are not acceptable; you must submit a transcript from each institution.
• Official transcripts are those that have been issued by the institution’s Registrar’s Office and include the Registrar’s official seal.
• The degree you have earned must be posted on your official transcript. If you are completing a dual degree program and have completed all your baccalaureate degree requirements and the accounting and business courses required for the Exam, you may submit a letter from your school in lieu of the degree conferral on the transcript.
• Transcripts may be submitted electronically provided they are official. Some schools do not offer this service. Contact your Registrar’s office for additional information. If an email address is required for electronic delivery, use [email protected]. Electronically delivered transcripts must be submitted directly from the institution(s).
• Photocopies of transcripts are not official and cannot be accepted.
• Please Note: If you have not yet applied when you submit your transcripts, your education documents will be kept on file for one year. After that time, the documents will be destroyed, and you will need to resubmit new education documents when you apply.
• If you completed courses at a campus located outside the U.S. for a school located in the U.S., the official transcript must be issued by the registrar from the U.S. campus. Transcripts issued by the registrar for the campus located outside the U.S. will not be accepted.

If you have completed educational requirements at institutions outside the U.S., you must:

• Have your credentials evaluated by NASBA International Evaluation Services.
• Require the agency to evaluate as follows:
  • An equivalency summary that indicates the analogous academic degrees in the U.S. you hold;
  • A credential analysis that specifies:
    • The name of the country;
    • The degree awarded;
    • The year the degree was awarded; and
    • The entity that awarded the degree;
  • A course-by-course listing; and
  • A course credit analysis that includes:
    • Total credits earned toward the degree as stated on transcripts submitted;
    • Total accounting credits earned; and
    • Total business credits earned.
• Completed original evaluations must be received by CPAES directly from the evaluation service at the time of application. Photocopies are not acceptable.
• A copy of the international transcript must be included with the report sent to NASBA for each individual evaluation from the evaluation service. The application will be considered incomplete without these documents and the processing of the application will not move forward until transcripts are provided.
• Please Note: If you have not yet applied, education documents received will be kept on file for one year. After that time, these documents will be destroyed, and you will need to resubmit new education documents at the time of application.
• If you completed courses at a campus located outside the U.S. for a school located in the U.S., the official transcript must be issued by the registrar from the U.S. campus. Transcripts issued by the registrar for the campus located outside the U.S. will not be accepted.
• Education requirements must be met through academic coursework completed at an accredited institution. Professional training is not acceptable toward these requirements. Coursework completed as part of a Chartered Accountant or similar program is considered professional training and is, therefore, not accepted toward the education requirements for the U.S. Uniform CPA Examination.
  

Course Requirements

• CPA Review courses offered by regionally accredited institutions are only accepted provided credit is awarded for the course.
• Credits earned for FEMA courses are not acceptable. This includes credit for these courses that has been transferred.
• Commercial CPA review courses are not acceptable.
• Correspondence and online courses are acceptable when you receive credit for the courses at a regionally accredited university. These courses must appear on an official transcript.
• Credit earned for an internship is acceptable. No more than three semester hours can be accepted towards the accounting requirement for an accounting internship. Note: additional internship credit limits may apply to the education requirement for licensure.
• Upper-level accounting course credits received at the community college or junior college level are acceptable provided that the credits have been transferred to a four-year accredited university or college as credit earned toward a bachelor’s degree or higher, and appear on the official transcript from the four-year accredited institution.
• CLEP courses are not acceptable.

Residency

There is not a residency requirement for the state of Georgia.

1. An official transcript from each school listed on your application. Transcripts must be sent directly from your school to CPA Examination Services.
2. International Evaluation, if applicable. Submission by you or evaluation agency to CPAES.
3. Testing Accommodations Request Form, if applicable. Submission by you to CPAES.

Please allow two to four weeks from your file completion date (when application, fees and all additional required materials have been received) for your application to be processed. Acknowledgment of receipt of application will be sent to you via email, unless otherwise indicated. This notice is sent only as acknowledgment of receipt of application.

Applicants with Disabilities

In accordance with the provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act, examination administration accommodations are available, should you qualify. Please download the Testing Accommodations Request Form for more information.

Education Evaluation Application

Before you can apply for an exam section you must first be deemed eligible for the CPA Exam. Your Evaluation Application will determine if you meet the educational requirements needed to take the CPA Exam for your selected jurisdiction.

Education Evaluation Application Fee: $93.00

Exam Section Application

Once you have been found eligible for the CPA Exam you may then apply for a specific exam section. You can only apply for one exam section per application. You are advised to only apply for the exam section if you are ready to take it. Your Notice to Schedule will be valid for a limited amount of time, and you must take the exam section listed on the NTS within this time frame or you will lose those fees paid.

Exam Section Application Fee: $355.64

Refund Policy

There is no provision for withdrawing from the examination and/or requesting an extension of your current Notices to Schedule (NTS). Application and/or examination fees are not refundable. If you have an extreme circumstance, you may request an NTS extension or a partial refund of your examination fees under specific circumstances utilizing the Exception to Policy Form.

Candidates are allowed to sit for each section of the examination individually and in any order. Candidates retain credit for any section(s) passed for thirty (30) months, without having to attain a minimum score on failed sections and without regard to whether they have taken other sections. Candidates must pass all four sections of the examination within a “rolling” thirty (30)-month period that begins on the date of the score release. In the event all four sections of the examination are not passed within the rolling thirty (30)-month period, credit for any section(s) passed outside the thirty (30)-month period will expire and the section(s) must be retaken.

Written requests for exceptions to the requirements set forth above may be granted at the discretion of the Board for individual hardship or other good cause demonstrated in a timely manner.