Georgia CPA requirements
Georgia 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
Georgia 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 | Georgia | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Total semester hours to sit | 120 | Bachelor’s degree with required coursework |
| Upper-level accounting | 30 semester hours of accounting coursework, required under all pathways | |
| Upper-level business | 18 semester hours of general business coursework, 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-educated candidates need their transcripts evaluated by NASBA International Evaluation Services, or may qualify via the International Qualification Examination if applying under a foreign reciprocal credential.
Sitting versus licensing
Georgia 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 a master’s degree or 150 total hours. Qualifying settings include public accounting, industry, government, or college teaching; self-employment doesn’t count.
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 a board-approved ethics exam (in practice, the AICPA Ethics exam) before initial licensure. Ongoing CPE also requires 4 ethics hours every 2-year renewal period, 1 of which must cover Georgia-specific board rules.
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 Georgia State Board of Accountancy. Unofficial or self-submitted transcripts are not accepted.
Filed with Georgia 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 (4,000 hours) of supervised experience with just a bachelor's degree, or 1 year (2,000 hours) with a master's degree or 150 total hours. Qualifying settings include public accounting, industry, government, or college teaching; self-employment doesn't count. This can run before, during, or after your exam sections.
You need to pass a board-approved ethics exam (in practice, the AICPA Ethics exam) before initial licensure. Ongoing CPE also requires 4 ethics hours every 2-year renewal period, 1 of which must cover Georgia-specific board rules.
With your experience verification and ethics requirement on file, submit the final application and initial license fee.
Fees
| Fee | Amount | When |
|---|---|---|
| Application | $140 (individual license application, approximate) | Before anything else |
| Exam fee, per section | $268.59 | Paid to NASBA (national rate) |
| Initial license | Included in the application fee | On approval |
| Renewal | $100 every 2 years (approximate) | Ongoing |
After you’re licensed: staying current
Getting licensed is not the end of the paperwork. Georgia 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 period, with a minimum of 20 hours each year, at least half in technical subjects, and 4 ethics hours (1 of which must be Georgia-specific). Up to 15 hours may carry forward.
What changed recently
Effective January 1, 2026, Georgia replaced its flat 150-hour rule with three pathways: a bachelor’s degree plus 2 years of experience, a bachelor’s degree plus 150 total hours plus 1 year, or a qualifying master’s degree plus 1 year. The same reform reduced the exam-sitting bar to just 24 semester hours of accounting coursework, letting candidates sit before finishing their degree.
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 Georgia if I studied out of state?
Usually yes — most states, including Georgia, 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 Georgia?
No Georgia residency requirement for an original license. You must affirm US citizenship, lawful permanent residency, or qualified-alien status under federal immigration law.
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 Georgia, 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 Georgia's process?
Georgia’s exam-sitting bar is unusually minimal — just 24 semester hours of accounting coursework, with no requirement to have finished a degree at all. Self-employment experience never counts toward licensure, regardless of pathway, and individual license renewal runs on an unusual December 31 (odd years) cycle.
Next step
Georgia State Board of Accountancy — 200 Piedmont Avenue SE, Suite 1604, West Tower, Atlanta, GA 30334 — (404) 463-0365.
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