New York

Eligibility for Examination

To be eligible to take the Uniform CPA Examination, you must meet one of the following requirements:

Option 1 (120 licensure requirement): If you applied for licensure and completed your education prior to August 1, 2009, you must meet one of the following:

1. Completed a registered 120 program approved by NYSED (CPA Examination Services reviews education. Complete Registered Program Form), or
2. Completed a bachelor’s degree with a major in accounting from a school accredited in accounting by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB). (CPA Examination Services reviews education,) or
3. Completed a bachelor’s or higher degree and a minimum of 120 semester hours in the following areas:

• 24 semester hours in accounting to include each of the following:
  • Financial accounting, at the upper division and beyond introductory level,
  • Cost accounting,
  • Taxation,
  • Audit and attestation, at the upper division, and
• 21 semester hours in business and accounting,
  • 6 semester hours (or 4 semester hours at the graduate level) in business law,
  • 6 semester hours in finance,
  • 3 semester hours in statistics, and
  • 6 semester hours in economics.

Option 2 (120 sit rule): If you did not apply for licensure prior to August 1, 2009, or if you completed your education after August 1, 2009 and want to sit before completing 150 semester hours, you must meet each of the following:

• 120 semester hours of college level education;
• A course covering each of the following:
  • Financial accounting, at the upper division and beyond introductory level,
  • Cost or management accounting,
  • Taxation,
  • Audit and attestation, at the upper division.

Note: The curriculum must also include, either as stand-alone courses or integrated into other courses, the study of business or accounting communications, ethics and professional responsibility, and accounting research.

Option 3: Fifteen years of public accounting experience acceptable to the State Board for Public Accountancy may be substituted for education for the admission to the examination. This experience must be earned under the direct supervision of a U.S. certified public accountant or a New York State public accountant, involve the application of U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) and generally accepted auditing standards(GAAS), and contain substantial exposure to auditing and financial statement preparation. For additional information and online application, visit https://www.op.nysed.gov/professions/certified-public-accountants/initial-license-requirements under “15-year Experience Pathway.”

All official transcripts and/or foreign evaluations must be submitted to CPAES at the time of application.

Applicants who have submitted a licensure application, licensure fee and completed their education prior to August 1, 2009, but do not apply for the examination until after this date, can still sit for the examination under the 120 hour rule.

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.
• Your official transcript(s) must be submitted directly from the institution(s).
• 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 completed education requirements at institutions outside the U.S., you must:

• Have your international education credentials evaluated by NASBA International Evaluation Services to determine qualification for examination.
• NASBA International Evaluation Services will review your international education to determine your eligibility for the examination only (option 2 listed above). Evaluations for the purpose of licensure eligibility will be completed by the board’s office when you submit your license application.
• 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; and
    • Total accounting 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.

If you have 15 years of public accounting experience, you must:

• contact the New York State Education Department to review your experience. See the instructions in your licensure application packet.

Course Requirements

• A maximum of 6 semester hours in internships may be accepted toward the education requirements provided credit is awarded on an official transcript by an accredited college or university. These credits are only accepted as electives and cannot be used to cover any required subject area.
• Photocopies of transcripts or “Issued to Student” transcripts are not acceptable.
• Since Taxation can be accepted from a local community college, education earned at a regionally accredited community college or two-year degree granting institution is acceptable except for those in auditing, attestation, and advanced accounting.
• Commercial CPA Review courses are not acceptable.
• Credits for CPA Review courses cannot be accepted toward the accounting requirement. These credits will only be counted toward the business and general education requirements.
• Upper-division courses mean courses usually taken at the junior or senior undergraduate level.
• Courses in auditing and advanced accounting must be taken either on the upper-division level (junior or senior year) of an undergraduate program or on the graduate level. Taxation courses may be taken at a community college. For further clarification, please visit NYSED’s website.
• Correspondence, CLEP credit, CPA Review courses and online courses are acceptable when you receive credit for the courses at a regionally accredited college or university. These courses must appear on an official transcript.
• Pass/fail grades are acceptable when you receive credit for the courses at a regionally accredited college or university. These courses must appear on an official transcript.
• Duplicate courses are not acceptable. This includes courses from different schools that cover the same material.
• Courses in Communications and Business Law courses are not accepted toward the Accounting requirement regardless of the department in which they were offered. Courses in these subjects may be counted toward the Business requirement.

Residency

There is not a residency requirement for the state of New York.

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. Directly from evaluation agency to CPAES.
3. NY State Registered Program Form, if applicable. Directly from academic institution to CPAES.
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.

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.