Minnesota

Eligibility for Examination

As a first-time applicant, you must:

• Be a resident of Minnesota, attend a school in Minnesota in which you are seeking education designed to qualify you to sit for the CPA examination, or work in Minnesota for the purpose of obtaining qualifying experience.
  • In the case of a nonresident, the application must be supported by a statement that you are currently, or will have been within the 90 days preceding or following the date of the CPA examination applied for, a resident of Minnesota, attending a school in Minnesota in which the applicant is seeking education designed to qualify the applicant to sit for the CPA examination, or working in Minnesota for the purpose of obtaining qualifying experience.
• Be of good moral character; AND
• Meet any one of the following educational requirements on or after July 1, 2006:

1. Earned a graduate degree with a concentration in accounting from an accounting program or department that is accredited (level three accreditation) by an accrediting agency listed with the United States Department of Education.
2. Earned a graduate degree from a business school or college of business that is accredited (level two accreditation) by an accrediting agency recognized by the Board and completed:
   • at least 24 semester hours in accounting at the undergraduate level including coverage of, but not necessarily separate courses in:
     • financial accounting,
     • auditing,
     • taxation, and
     • management accounting.
   • at least 15 semester hours in accounting at the graduate level, including coverage of, but not necessarily separate courses in:
     • financial accounting,
     • auditing,
     • taxation, and
     • management accounting.
   • an equivalent combination thereof, including coverage of, but not necessarily separate courses in:
     • financial accounting,
     • auditing,
     • taxation, and
     • management accounting.
3. Earned a baccalaureate degree from a business school or college of business that is accredited (level two accreditation) by an accrediting agency listed with the United States Department of Education and completed:
   • at least 24 semester hours in accounting at the undergraduate or graduate level, including coverage of, but not necessarily separate courses in:
     • financial accounting,
     • auditing,
     • taxation, and
     • management accounting; and completed
   • at least 24 semester hours in business-related courses or additional accounting courses at the undergraduate or graduate level.
4. Earned a baccalaureate or higher degree from an accredited educational institution (level one accreditation) that included or is supplemented by:
   • at least 24 semester hours in accounting completed above the elementary level, including coverage of, but not necessarily separate courses in:
     • financial accounting,
     • auditing,
     • taxation, and
     • management accounting.

You must submit all education transcripts, Certificates of Enrollment and/or international evaluation reports to CPAES. Refer to “Materials to Be Submitted” for additional information.

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 within 180 days of your anticipated degree graduation date at the time of application, you must:

• Submit an official transcript from each school you attended.
• Submit to CPAES a completed Certificate of Enrollment (COE) form. This form is evidence that you are currently enrolled and that: you will not sit for all or part of the examination prior to 90 days of the anticipated degree graduation date; and all courses and graduation requirements will be completed no later than 120 days following the actual date you take the first section. The form must be signed by an authorized official of the college and signed by the you.

After all educational requirements have been met:

• If you took any section of the Uniform CPA Examination within 90 days prior to the anticipated degree graduation date, the final official transcript is required to be received at CPAES within 150 days after taking the first test section.
• If you did not take the Uniform CPA Examination within 90 days prior to the anticipated degree graduation date, the final official transcript is required to be received at CPAES within 150 days from the anticipated degree graduation date as stated on the COE.
• The final official transcript must display satisfactory completion of all courses and the degree graduation date.
• The official transcript may be submitted by you.

And you are advised:

• Examination scores will not be released until CPAES receives the final official transcript.
• Failure to successfully complete the courses and/or degree requirements as indicated on the Certificate of Enrollment will result in the examination score(s) being voided.
• If the required final official transcript is not received, the application will be determined to be incomplete and you will not receive examination score(s), will not receive any credit for any Uniform CPA Examination section taken, and will not be permitted to take any future examinations and will be required to reapply as a First-time applicant.

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

• Have your educational credentials evaluated by:
  • NASBA International Evaluation Services, or
  • Educational Credential Evaluators, Inc.
• 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.
• If required documentation is not received within 45 days of the submission date of your application, your application will be marked as incomplete and will not be processed further. Failure to submit all required supporting documents will result in the denial of your application, forfeiture of your application fee, and the secure destruction of all documents submitted.
• 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 are not acceptable.
• Education earned at a community college or two-year degree granting institution must be transferred to an accredited four-year degree granting institution to be acceptable. Transferred accounting credits will not be accepted unless they were transferred as upper level credit.
• Upper division is normally defined as junior or senior level. In accounting, this would be all courses taken beyond the elementary level.
• Graduate level is defined as courses that apply toward an advanced degree offered by an accredited educational institution offering bachelor’s and graduate degrees in business or accounting.
• 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.

Residency

You are required to be a resident, be regularly employed, or working in Minnesota for the purpose of obtaining qualifying experience, or will have been within 90 days preceding or following the date of the Uniform CPA Examination.

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, submitted directly from your school.
3. International Evaluation, if applicable, submitted directly by the evaluation agency.
4. 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.

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, 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.

You may take the required test sections individually and in any order, but are required to pass all four sections of the examination within a rolling 18 month period, which begins on the date the first examination section passed was taken.

Credit for any section passed shall be valid for 18 months from the actual date the examination sections were taken. Examination credit expires by section. You will lose credit for each section passed outside the 18 month period, and will have to retake those sections.