Massachusetts CPA requirements
Massachusetts lets you sit for the exam at 120 credit hours, but you still need 150 hours and at least 2 before the board will license you.
Education
You need a bachelor’s degree or higher and 150 total semester hours to be licensed in Massachusetts. You can sit for the exam earlier, at 120 hours.
| Requirement | Massachusetts | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Total semester hours | 150 | Required to be licensed; 120 to sit |
| Upper-level accounting | 30 hours for licensure (financial accounting, auditing, taxation, and management accounting); 21 hours to sit | |
| Upper-level business | 24 hours for licensure; 9 hours to sit | |
| 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 a course-by-course evaluation from NASBA International Evaluation Services or the Center for Educational Documentation. Coursework from a Chartered Accountant program alone doesn’t count — only accredited academic coursework does.
Sitting versus licensing
Massachusetts 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
At least 2,000 hours of qualifying experience. In public accounting, this must be completed over 1 to 3 years; outside public accounting (industry, government, academia, or nonprofit), it can be spread over 3 to 9 years. Experience must be attested to by a licensed CPA.
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
Massachusetts does not require a separate ethics exam. Ethics is addressed through ongoing CPE: 4 of your 80 biennial CPE hours must be in professional ethics.
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 Massachusetts Board of Public Accountancy. Unofficial or self-submitted transcripts are not accepted.
Filed with Massachusetts 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.
At least 2,000 hours of qualifying experience. In public accounting, this must be completed over 1 to 3 years; outside public accounting (industry, government, academia, or nonprofit), it can be spread over 3 to 9 years. Experience must be attested to by a licensed CPA. This can run before, during, or after your exam sections.
Massachusetts does not require a separate ethics exam. Ethics is addressed through ongoing CPE: 4 of your 80 biennial CPE hours must be in professional ethics.
With your experience verification and ethics requirement on file, submit the final application and initial license fee.
Fees
| Fee | Amount | When |
|---|---|---|
| Application | $136 (education evaluation), plus NASBA exam fees and a per-section registration fee that one 2026 guide reports as $148 | Before anything else |
| Exam fee, per section | $268.59 | Paid to NASBA (national rate) |
| Initial license | $175 | On approval |
| Renewal | $161 every 2 years | Ongoing |
After you’re licensed: staying current
Getting licensed is not the end of the paperwork. Massachusetts 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 renewal period, including 4 hours of ethics. First-cycle CPE is prorated based on when your license was issued, and up to half of the requirement can come from published writing or teaching.
What changed recently
A bill to modernize Massachusetts’s licensure pathway (bachelor’s plus 2 years of experience, or master’s plus 1 year, replacing the flat 150-hour rule) passed the state Senate 37-0 in February 2026 but has not yet passed the House or been signed into law. Until it does, the traditional 120-to-sit/150-to-license structure remains in force. Separately, Massachusetts already extended its exam credit window from 18 to 30 months and raised its CPE alternative-credit cap from 25% to 50% in 2025.
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 Massachusetts if I studied out of state?
Usually yes — most states, including Massachusetts, 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 Massachusetts?
No Massachusetts residency or US citizenship requirement, but a Social Security Number is required to apply for the exam.
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 Massachusetts, 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 Massachusetts's process?
Massachusetts lets you sit for the exam at 120 hours, but if you can’t prove you’ve reached 150 hours within 90 days, you lose credit for any sections already passed — a stricter clawback than most states. A significant reform bill is close to passing (Senate-approved, awaiting the House) — worth watching for a status change soon.
Next step
Massachusetts Board of Public Accountancy — One Federal Street, Suite 600, Boston, MA 02110 — (617) 701-8635.
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