Alaska

Eligibility for Examination

All first-time applicants must:

• be of good moral character;
• be at least 19 years of age; and
• meet one of the following requirements:

1. Degree and Accounting Concentration which includes:

• a completed bachelor’s degree, or its equivalent, conferred by a regionally accredited college or university;
• twenty-four semester hours in Accounting;
• three semester hours in Business Law;
• three semester hours in Economics; and
• three semester hours in college level math, statistics and/or computer science degree and Accounting which includes:

• a completed bachelor’s degree, or its equivalent, conferred by a regionally accredited college or university; and
• fifteen semester hours in Accounting.

2. Degree In-Progress and Accounting which includes:

• the applicant is within 18 semester hours of completing a bachelor’s degree, or its equivalent, from a regionally accredited college or university; and
• completion of 15 semester hours in Accounting.

3. Degree and Qualifying Experience which includes:

• a completed bachelor’s degree, or its equivalent, conferred by a regionally accredited college or university; and
• completion of one year of public accounting experience under the direct supervision of a Certified Public Accountant (CPA).

* To qualify based on experience, you must submit a Verification of Supervised Work Experience form and a Verification of Licensure for CPA Supervisor form as part of your application.

Please note: Advanced degrees are not accepted in lieu of a bachelor’s degree. You must provide evidence of completion of a bachelor’s degree or its equivalent.

All educational transcripts, Certificate of Enrollment Forms, foreign evaluations and/or Verification of Licensure for CPA Supervisor Forms are required to be submitted prior to the submission of the First-time Application to CPAES directly from the academic institution(s)/employer/Board.

Transcripts

If you have completed all educational requirements 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.
• 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 are currently enrolled in college at the time of application, you must:

• Submit an official transcript from each school you attended.
• Submit to CPAES a completed Certificate of Enrollment form. This form is evidence that you are currently enrolled and that all courses and degree requirements will be completed by the date indicated on the form. The form must be signed by the designee listed.
• 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.

After all educational requirements have been met, you must:

• have the academic institution(s) submit to CPAES an official transcript to confirm degree conferral and satisfactory completion of courses.
• The final official transcript must display satisfactory completion of all courses and the degree graduation date.
• The official transcript must be received directly from the academic institution(s).

If you are qualifying based on one year of public accounting experience, you must:

• Submit the Verification of Supervised Work Experience form. This verifies at least one year of public accounting experience under the direct supervision of a United States CPA.
• Submit the Verification of Licensure for CPA Supervisor form. This form is required to be received directly from the office of the State Board to CPAES. NOTE: If the supervising CPA is licensed in Alaska, this form is not required.

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

• Have your credentials evaluated by NASBA International Evaluation Services. Effective December 25, 2015, this is the only acceptable evaluation service provider.
  • NOTE: International credit transferred to University of Alaska may be accepted without an additional international evaluation.
• 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 can be accepted as general education toward the licensure requirement, provided credit is awarded for the course. These courses cannot be used to fulfill the licensure or Exam accounting or business requirements.
• Commercial CPA review courses are not acceptable.
• Correspondence, online courses and CLEP credit are acceptable when you receive credit for the courses at a regionally accredited university. These courses must appear on an official transcript.
• Education earned at a community college or two-year degree granting institution is acceptable.

Residency

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

1. An official transcript from each school listed on your application. Transcripts must be sent directly from your school to CPA Examination Services.
2. Certificate of Enrollment, if applicable. Directly from academic institution to CPAES.
3. International Evaluation, if applicable. Directly from evaluation service to CPAES.
4. International transcripts, if applicable, in your native language and translated to English. Directly from each academic institution to CPAES or as an attachment to your International Evaluation Report.
5. Testing Accommodations Request Form, if applicable. Submission by applicant to CPAES.
6. Verification of Licensure for CPA Supervisor Form, if applicable. Directly from the office of the State Board to CPAES.
7. Verification of Supervised Work Experience form, if applicable. Directly from the office of the licensed CPA 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.

If you have previously applied and sat but were currently enrolled in college at the time of application (Certificate of Enrollment form), you are NOT automatically considered a re-examination candidate.

Applicants with Disabilities

In accordance with the provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act, examination administration accommodations are available for those who 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: $118.00

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: $368.64

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.