Florida CPA requirements
Florida lets you sit for the exam at 120 credit hours, but you still need 150 hours and 1 year of experience verified by a licensed CPA under the traditional pathway (2 years under the newer bachelor’s-only pathways) before the board will license you.
Education
You need a bachelor’s degree or higher and 150 total semester hours to be licensed in Florida. You can sit for the exam earlier, at 120 hours.
| Requirement | Florida | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Total semester hours | 150 | Required to be licensed; 120 to sit |
| Upper-level accounting | 30 hours for the 150-hour pathway (must include auditing, cost accounting, and at least 3 hours each of financial accounting and taxation); 24 hours to sit | |
| Upper-level business | 36 hours of general business coursework, including at least 3 hours of business law | |
| 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
Florida accepts evaluations from several board-approved foreign credential evaluation services rather than requiring one exclusively; NASBA International Evaluation Services is one accepted option.
Sitting versus licensing
Florida 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 year of experience verified by a licensed CPA under the traditional pathway (2 years under the newer bachelor’s-only pathways), earned in public practice, 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
Florida does not require a separate state or AICPA ethics exam. You need a board-approved 3-hour ethics course as part of your education, plus 4 hours of board-approved ethics CPE every 2 years — Florida does not accept ethics CPE from courses it hasn’t specifically approved, even if another state does.
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 Florida Board of Accountancy (Department of Business and Professional Regulation). Unofficial or self-submitted transcripts are not accepted.
Filed with Florida Board of Accountancy (Department of Business and Professional Regulation) 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 year of experience verified by a licensed CPA under the traditional pathway (2 years under the newer bachelor's-only pathways), earned in public practice, industry, government, or academia. This can run before, during, or after your exam sections.
Florida does not require a separate state or AICPA ethics exam. You need a board-approved 3-hour ethics course as part of your education, plus 4 hours of board-approved ethics CPE every 2 years — Florida does not accept ethics CPE from courses it hasn't specifically approved, even if another state does.
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 | $50 | On approval |
| Renewal | $100 every 2 years | Ongoing |
How Florida’s process differs from most states
In Florida, the Division of Certified Public Accounting, part of the Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR), processes applications to sit for the exam and decides who is eligible. The Division says Florida’s eligibility decision is made once and covers all sections of the exam, so you do not reapply to the board for each section. NASBA then handles your section registrations and publishes your scores. You apply to sit on form DBPR CPA 1, with a $50 non-refundable fee, and later for your license on form DBPR CPA 2, also with a $50 non-refundable fee, according to the Division’s guide.
Florida also maintains its own list of accounting and business courses that its Educational Advisory Committee has reviewed, which board staff use when checking transcripts. If you studied at a Florida college, check that list before you apply, as it can settle whether a course counts toward the accounting or business hours. Before booking, plan your sections with our best order to take CPA sections guide and the CPA exam dates page.
After you’re licensed: staying current
Getting licensed is not the end of the paperwork. Florida 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 every 2-year period, including at least 8 hours in accounting and auditing subjects and at least 4 hours of board-approved ethics.
What changed recently
Effective 2026 under CS/SB 160, Florida added three new licensure pathways alongside the traditional 150-hour route: a master’s degree in accounting or finance plus 1 year of experience; a bachelor’s degree in accounting or finance plus 2 years of experience; or a bachelor’s degree in any field with board-prescribed coursework plus 2 years of experience. Florida also adopted the nationwide 30-month rolling window for passing all four exam sections.
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 Florida if I studied out of state?
Usually yes — most states, including Florida, 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 Florida?
No. Florida requires neither state residency nor US citizenship to sit for the exam or to 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 Florida, 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 Florida's process?
Florida now offers four distinct education-and-experience combinations for licensure — more flexibility than most states, which typically add just one alternate pathway. Its CPE “re-establishment period” runs July 1 to June 30, a different window than the December 31 license renewal deadline.
Next step
Florida Board of Accountancy (Department of Business and Professional Regulation) — 2601 Blair Stone Road, Tallahassee, FL 32399 — (850) 487-1395.
Five courses compared, with entry prices and access lengths.
See the best CPA coursesSources: Florida DBPR Division of Certified Public Accounting, its licensure guide for international applicants and the NASBA CPA Exam FAQ, checked October 13, 2026.