Delaware CPA requirements
Delaware 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 (4,000 hours) of supervised experience, or take the traditional route with a graduate degree and a shorter 1 year (2,000 hours) of experience instead.
Education
Delaware 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 | Delaware | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Total semester hours to sit | 120 | Bachelor’s degree with required coursework |
| Upper-level accounting | 24 hours in an accounting concentration, required under all pathways | |
| Upper-level business | No separate figure — business coursework is bundled into the overall degree and accounting-concentration requirements | |
| 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
Delaware likely follows the standard practice of requiring foreign credentials to be evaluated by NASBA International Evaluation Services or a NACES-member service, though this isn’t spelled out on the board’s own site.
Sitting versus licensing
Delaware 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 (4,000 hours) of supervised experience, or a graduate degree plus a shorter 1 year (2,000 hours) 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 (4,000 hours) of supervised experience with just a bachelor’s degree, or 1 year (2,000 hours) with 150 total hours or a graduate degree, earned after your degree and verified by an actively licensed CPA. Qualifying settings include government, industry, academia, or public practice.
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 comprehensive ethics course with a score of 90% or better before applying for your permit. Ongoing CPE also requires a 4-hour Delaware-specific ethics course every 2-year cycle.
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 Delaware Board of Accountancy. Unofficial or self-submitted transcripts are not accepted.
Filed with Delaware 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 (4,000 hours) of supervised experience with just a bachelor's degree, or 1 year (2,000 hours) with 150 total hours or a graduate degree, earned after your degree and verified by an actively licensed CPA. Qualifying settings include government, industry, academia, or public practice. This can run before, during, or after your exam sections.
You need to pass the AICPA's comprehensive ethics course with a score of 90% or better before applying for your permit. Ongoing CPE also requires a 4-hour Delaware-specific ethics course every 2-year cycle.
With your experience verification and ethics requirement on file, submit the final application and initial license fee.
Fees
| Fee | Amount | When |
|---|---|---|
| Application | $187 (combined application and permit fee) | Before anything else |
| Exam fee, per section | $268.59 | Paid to NASBA (national rate) |
| Initial license | Included in the $187 combined application fee | On approval |
| Renewal | Set by the board at the time of renewal (with a 50% late fee if missed) | Ongoing |
After you’re licensed: staying current
Getting licensed is not the end of the paperwork. Delaware 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 years, with a minimum of 20 hours each year, including 8 hours of accounting/auditing, 8 hours of taxation, and a 4-hour Delaware-specific ethics course.
What changed recently
Effective July 1, 2026, Delaware replaced its flat 150-hour 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 replaced Delaware’s old mobility framework with automatic practice privileges for any validly licensed out-of-state CPA.
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 Delaware if I studied out of state?
Usually yes — most states, including Delaware, 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 Delaware?
No Delaware residency or US citizenship requirement identified for sitting the exam or becoming 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 Delaware, 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 Delaware's process?
Delaware runs a two-tier system: a non-expiring CPA “Certificate” is separate from the renewable “Permit to Practice” that actually lets you work as a CPA. As of mid-2026 it also moved to fully automatic interstate practice privileges — any validly licensed out-of-state CPA can practice in Delaware with no notice or fee.
Next step
Delaware Board of Accountancy — 861 Silver Lake Boulevard, Suite 203, Dover, DE 19904 — (302) 744-4500.
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