Kentucky CPA requirements
Kentucky 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
Kentucky 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 | Kentucky | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Total semester hours to sit | 120 | Bachelor’s degree with required coursework |
| Upper-level accounting | 27 hours, part of a 39-hour total accounting concentration | |
| Upper-level business | 12 hours, part of the same 39-hour accounting concentration | |
| 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 or another NACES-member agency.
Sitting versus licensing
Kentucky 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 accounting or attest experience with just a bachelor’s degree, obtained within 5 years of passing the exam, or 1 year (2,000 hours) with 150 total hours or a graduate degree. Your verifying CPA doesn’t need to be your direct supervisor or work at your firm — any actively licensed CPA can verify.
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
Kentucky does not require a separate ethics exam for initial licensure. Ongoing CPE requires 2 hours of professional ethics within each 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 Kentucky State Board of Accountancy. Unofficial or self-submitted transcripts are not accepted.
Filed with Kentucky 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 accounting or attest experience with just a bachelor's degree, obtained within 5 years of passing the exam, or 1 year (2,000 hours) with 150 total hours or a graduate degree. Your verifying CPA doesn't need to be your direct supervisor or work at your firm — any actively licensed CPA can verify. This can run before, during, or after your exam sections.
Kentucky does not require a separate ethics exam for initial licensure. Ongoing CPE requires 2 hours of professional ethics within each 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 | $30 plus $30 per exam section | Before anything else |
| Exam fee, per section | $268.59 | Paid to NASBA (national rate) |
| Initial license | $100 | On approval |
| Renewal | $100 every 2 years | Ongoing |
After you’re licensed: staying current
Getting licensed is not the end of the paperwork. Kentucky requires ongoing continuing professional education to keep your license active, and it is easy to lose track of once you’re working full time.
60 CPE hours every 2 years for most licensees (80 hours if you worked 3,000+ hours at a licensed public accounting firm), with at least half in accounting and auditing subjects and 2 hours of ethics.
What changed recently
House Bill 45, effective July 15, 2026, replaced Kentucky’s 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 simplified interstate mobility to a straightforward “valid license in any state” standard.
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 Kentucky if I studied out of state?
Usually yes — most states, including Kentucky, 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 Kentucky?
No Kentucky residency requirement. You must be a US citizen, a legal resident, or an employee of a firm or institution with a US office.
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 Kentucky, 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 Kentucky's process?
Kentucky exam applications go directly to the state board rather than through NASBA’s exam-services portal. Candidates also face an unusually short 18-month rolling window (rather than the more common 30 months) to pass all four exam sections after their first passing score.
Next step
Kentucky State Board of Accountancy — 312 Whittington Parkway, Suite 200, Louisville, KY 40222 — (502) 595-3037.
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