Connecticut CPA requirements
Connecticut no longer ties licensure to a fixed 150-hour credit total. You can become a fully licensed CPA with just a bachelor’s degree (about 120 hours) plus 2 years of supervised experience, or take the traditional route with a graduate degree and a shorter 1 year of experience instead.
Education
Connecticut no longer ties licensure to a fixed credit-hour total. You need a bachelor’s degree or higher (about 120 semester hours) with the required accounting and business coursework to sit for the exam, and that same degree qualifies you for full licensure once you’ve completed the matching experience requirement below — no extra 30 hours required.
| Requirement | Connecticut | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Total semester hours to sit | 120 | Bachelor’s degree with required coursework |
| Upper-level accounting | 27 semester hours in accounting, required under all pathways | |
| Upper-level business | 24 semester hours in economics and business administration, required under all pathways | |
| 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 academic credentials must be evaluated by a NACES-member organization — Connecticut doesn’t verify foreign coursework itself.
Sitting versus licensing
Connecticut is one of a small but growing group of states that has eliminated the flat 150-hour licensure rule entirely. There are now two ways to get fully licensed: a bachelor’s degree plus 2 years of supervised experience, or a graduate degree plus a shorter 1 year of experience. Neither route requires you to rack up 30 “extra” credit hours that don’t count toward a degree.
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
2 years of general accounting experience with just a bachelor’s degree, or 1 year with 150 total hours or a graduate degree, verified by a CPA who has held an active Connecticut license for at least 3 years. Experience must be no more than 10 years old when you apply.
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’s ethics self-study course with a score of 90% or better. Ongoing CPE also requires 4 hours of ethics every 3 renewal cycles.
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 Connecticut State Board of Accountancy. Unofficial or self-submitted transcripts are not accepted.
Filed with Connecticut 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.
2 years of general accounting experience with just a bachelor's degree, or 1 year with 150 total hours or a graduate degree, verified by a CPA who has held an active Connecticut license for at least 3 years. Experience must be no more than 10 years old when you apply. This can run before, during, or after your exam sections.
You need to pass the AICPA's ethics self-study course with a score of 90% or better. Ongoing CPE also requires 4 hours of ethics every 3 renewal cycles.
With your experience verification and ethics requirement on file, submit the final application and initial license fee.
Fees
| Fee | Amount | When |
|---|---|---|
| Application | $96 (education evaluation, paid to NASBA) | Before anything else |
| Exam fee, per section | $268.59 | Paid to NASBA (national rate) |
| Initial license | $150 (active practicing license) or $40 (non-practicing certificate) | On approval |
| Renewal | $565 annually (active license) or $40 annually (non-practicing certificate) | Ongoing |
After you’re licensed: staying current
Getting licensed is not the end of the paperwork. Connecticut requires ongoing continuing professional education to keep your license active, and it is easy to lose track of once you’re working full time.
40 hours of CPE per year, with up to 20 hours carried forward from the prior year, including 4 hours of ethics every 3 cycles and 8 hours of attest-specific content if you perform attest work.
What changed recently
Public Act 25-36, effective October 1, 2025, replaced Connecticut’s flat 150-hour licensure rule with three pathways: a bachelor’s degree plus 2 years of experience, a bachelor’s plus 30 extra hours plus 1 year, or a graduate degree plus 1 year. The same law eliminated the “good moral character” requirement and expanded automatic mobility for out-of-state CPAs.
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 Connecticut if I studied out of state?
Usually yes — most states, including Connecticut, 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 Connecticut?
No Connecticut residency or US citizenship requirement identified for the exam or licensure.
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 Connecticut, 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 Connecticut's process?
Connecticut runs a two-tier system: a non-practicing “CPA Certificate” (title use only) is separate from the practicing “CPA License” (full attest rights), with very different renewal fees ($40 vs. $565 a year). It also lets candidates sit for the exam at 120 hours without finishing their degree, a policy in place since 2021.
Next step
Connecticut State Board of Accountancy — 450 Columbus Boulevard, Suite 901, Hartford, CT 06103 — (860) 713-6100.
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