Colorado CPA requirements
Colorado lets you sit for the exam at 120 credit hours, but you still need 150 hours and 1 before the board will license you.
Education
You need a bachelor’s degree or higher and 150 total semester hours to be licensed in Colorado. You can sit for the exam earlier, at 120 hours.
| Requirement | Colorado | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Total semester hours | 150 | Required to be licensed; 120 to sit |
| Upper-level accounting | 33 hours for licensure (27 of which must be advanced, including a required auditing course); 27 hours to sit | |
| Upper-level business | 27 hours for licensure (no more than 9 hours in any one subject); 21 hours to sit | |
| Degree level | Bachelor’s minimum | Regionally accredited institution |
Community college credits generally count toward the total but not toward the upper-level accounting requirement. Get a transcript evaluation from the board before you pay for extra coursework.
Foreign-educated candidates
Foreign-educated candidates need their transcripts evaluated by NASBA International Evaluation Services or another NACES-member evaluator, along with a copy of the original transcript.
Sitting versus licensing
Colorado is one of the states that has adopted the newer 120-hour pathway: you can sit for the exam well before you finish your degree’s final 30 hours, then complete the rest while you work toward licensure. That timing flexibility is real, but don’t mistake “eligible to sit” for “eligible to be licensed” — plenty of candidates finish all four sections and then wait months to hit the full 150-hour threshold.
Plan the extra hours into your degree rather than bolting them on afterwards. A fifth-year master's or an integrated program is almost always cheaper than taking individual courses later, and it keeps you eligible for student course pricing.
Experience
1,800 hours of qualifying experience, completed over 1 to 3 years, verified by an actively licensed CPA. Work can be earned in public accounting, industry, government, or academia.
The experience can typically be earned before, during, or after you pass the exam sections. Your supervisor submits the verification directly to the board, so keep the relationship intact — chasing a signature from a former manager years later is the most common avoidable delay at this stage.
Ethics
You need to pass the AICPA Professional Ethics Exam with a 90% or better score. Ongoing CPE also requires 4 hours of ethics every 2-year renewal period, up to 2 of which may come from a Colorado-specific Rules & Regulations course.
How to apply, step by step
The order matters less than it looks — experience and exam sections can overlap — but this is the sequence that avoids the most common delays.
At least 120 semester hours, including the required upper-level coursework, to sit.
Have your school send official transcripts directly to Colorado State Board of Accountancy. Unofficial or self-submitted transcripts are not accepted.
Filed with Colorado State Board of Accountancy along with the application fee. This is the board's first review of your eligibility.
Once the board approves your application, it notifies NASBA, which issues your Authorization to Test (ATT).
NASBA issues one NTS per section you've paid for. Schedule promptly — an expired NTS means paying the exam fee again.
Schedule at a Prometric test center. All four sections must be passed within a rolling 30-month window that starts when you pass your first section.
1,800 hours of qualifying experience, completed over 1 to 3 years, verified by an actively licensed CPA. Work can be earned in public accounting, industry, government, or academia. This can run before, during, or after your exam sections.
You need to pass the AICPA Professional Ethics Exam with a 90% or better score. Ongoing CPE also requires 4 hours of ethics every 2-year renewal period, up to 2 of which may come from a Colorado-specific Rules & Regulations course.
With your experience verification and ethics requirement on file, submit the final application and initial license fee.
Fees
| Fee | Amount | When |
|---|---|---|
| Application | $96 | Before anything else |
| Exam fee, per section | $268.59 | Paid to NASBA (national rate) |
| Initial license | $160 | On approval |
| Renewal | $108 every 2 years | Ongoing |
After you’re licensed: staying current
Getting licensed is not the end of the paperwork. Colorado requires ongoing continuing professional education to keep your license active, and it is easy to lose track of once you’re working full time.
80 hours of CPE every 2-year reporting period, with credit accruing at 10 hours per quarter your license is active, including 4 hours of ethics (up to 2 of which may be Colorado-specific Rules & Regulations content).
What changed recently
Colorado enacted SB26-076 in May 2026, which will create three new licensure pathways — including a bachelor’s degree (120 hours) plus 2 years of experience — alongside the traditional 150-hour route. Those new pathways take effect January 1, 2027; until then, the current 120-to-sit/150-to-license structure remains in force. The same law will grant automatic mobility to out-of-state CPAs in good standing once effective.
Most states have also aligned their credit window with the national thirty-month rule, which gives candidates six more months than the old eighteen-month window to finish all four sections. If you were planning around the old rule, replan.
Common questions
Can I sit in Colorado if I studied out of state?
Usually yes — most states, including Colorado, don’t require residency to sit for the exam. Your transcripts still have to satisfy the upper-level accounting and business hours, which is where out-of-state applicants most often fall short.
Do online courses count toward the credit hours?
They typically do, provided the institution is accredited and the course is genuinely upper-level. Get it confirmed in writing by the board before enrolling — this is one of the most expensive assumptions candidates make.
Do I need to be a US citizen or a resident of Colorado?
No Colorado residency or US citizenship requirement to sit for the exam or be licensed.
What happens right after I pass all four sections?
Passing the exam doesn’t license you on its own. You still need your experience requirement on file and the ethics requirement satisfied before you can submit a license application. You may be able to complete the experience requirement in parallel with the exam, so there’s often little or no extra wait.
Should I license in a state with easier rules instead?
Rarely worth it. Mobility means a license from another state generally lets you practice in Colorado, but if you live and work here you will eventually want a local license anyway, and transferring adds cost and paperwork.
Is there anything unusual about Colorado's process?
Colorado’s current experience requirement (1,800 hours) is lower than the 2,000-hour standard most states use, and qualifying work can be earned in public accounting, industry, government, or academia. A major reform is already law but not yet in effect — the 120-hour full-licensure pathway arrives January 1, 2027, so this page will need updating again around that date.
Next step
Colorado State Board of Accountancy — 1560 Broadway, Suite 1350, Denver, CO 80202 — (303) 894-7800.
Five courses compared, with entry prices and access lengths.
See the best CPA courses