Hawaii CPA requirements
Hawaii 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 3 years (36 months), of which the final year must be specifically in public accounting practice of supervised experience, or take the traditional route with a graduate degree and a shorter 2 years (24 months) of experience instead.
Education
Hawaii 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 | Hawaii | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Total semester hours to sit | 120 | Bachelor’s degree with required coursework |
| Upper-level accounting | 24 semester hours, at least 18 of which must be upper-division or graduate-level, required under both pathways | |
| Upper-level business | 24 semester hours of upper-division or graduate-level business coursework, required under both 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 credentials evaluated by NASBA International Evaluation Services.
Sitting versus licensing
Hawaii 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 3 years (36 months), of which the final year must be specifically in public accounting practice of supervised experience, or a graduate degree plus a shorter 2 years (24 months) 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
3 years of supervised experience with just a bachelor’s degree — 2 years of general qualifying experience plus 1 additional year specifically in public accounting practice — or 2 years total with 150 total hours. Supervision must come from someone who held a Hawaii permit to practice (or equivalent) during that time.
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
Hawaii doesn’t require a separate ethics exam. Ongoing CPE requires 4 hours of ethics per 2-year renewal period.
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 Hawaii Board of Public Accountancy. Unofficial or self-submitted transcripts are not accepted.
Filed with Hawaii Board of Public 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.
3 years of supervised experience with just a bachelor's degree — 2 years of general qualifying experience plus 1 additional year specifically in public accounting practice — or 2 years total with 150 total hours. Supervision must come from someone who held a Hawaii permit to practice (or equivalent) during that time. This can run before, during, or after your exam sections.
Hawaii doesn't require a separate ethics exam. Ongoing CPE requires 4 hours of ethics per 2-year renewal period.
With your experience verification and ethics requirement on file, submit the final application and initial license fee.
Fees
| Fee | Amount | When |
|---|---|---|
| Application | $25 | Before anything else |
| Exam fee, per section | $268.59 | Paid to NASBA (national rate) |
| Initial license | $139 to $215 depending on where you fall in the 2-year renewal cycle, plus a separate permit-to-practice fee | On approval |
| Renewal | $152 every 2 years (plus separate permit-to-practice fees if you hold one) | Ongoing |
After you’re licensed: staying current
Getting licensed is not the end of the paperwork. Hawaii 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 for a permit to practice, with a minimum of 20 hours each year and 4 hours of ethics.
What changed recently
Effective April 10, 2025, Hawaii added a full-licensure pathway using just a bachelor’s degree (120 hours) plus 3 years of experience, alongside the existing 150-hour-plus-2-years pathway.
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 Hawaii if I studied out of state?
Usually yes — most states, including Hawaii, 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 Hawaii?
No Hawaii residency requirement. You must be a US citizen, national, or authorized to work in the US.
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 Hawaii, 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 Hawaii's process?
Hawaii separates a CPA “license” from a “permit to practice” — you need both to actually work as a CPA, though a license alone (with lighter CPE) is available for those who don’t need to practice. Its 120-hour pathway requires 3 years of experience rather than the 2 years most other reform states use.
Next step
Hawaii Board of Public Accountancy — 335 Merchant Street, Room 301, Honolulu, HI 96813 — (808) 586-3000.
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