Nevada CPA requirements
Nevada CPA requirements changed on February 27, 2026: Nevada 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. Nevada also requires an ethics exam and a fingerprint background check before it issues your certificate.
Education
Nevada 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 | Nevada | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Total semester hours to sit | 120 | Bachelor’s degree with required coursework |
| Upper-level accounting | 24 semester hours above introductory level, plus 3 hours of business law, required under all pathways | |
| Upper-level business | 24 semester hours drawn from 16 named subject areas including finance, economics, ethics, statistics, and data analytics, 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. Nevada’s business requirement is unusually specific: the 24 hours must come from named subject areas rather than any business course, so check unusual course titles with the board before you pay for extra coursework.
Foreign-educated candidates
Foreign-educated candidates typically need their credentials evaluated by a NASBA-approved foreign credential evaluation service.
Sitting versus licensing
Nevada is one of a small but growing group of states that has eliminated the flat 150-hour licensure rule entirely. Licensure now runs through three pathways that stay open side by side: a bachelor’s degree plus 2 years (4,000 hours) of supervised experience, a bachelor’s degree plus 30 extra hours with 1 year (2,000 hours), or a graduate degree plus a shorter 1 year (2,000 hours) of experience. Only the first avoids 30 “extra” credit hours that don’t count toward a degree.
Nevada's bachelor's-plus-two-years route means you can start working straight after graduation and count that time toward licensure. If your employer will support a master's, the shorter one-year route opens up instead. Pick based on which costs you less: a fifth year of school or a second year of supervised work.
Experience
2 years (4,000 hours) of supervised experience with just a bachelor’s degree, or 1 year (2,000 hours) with 150 total hours or a master’s degree. Experience can be earned in industry, public practice, government, or a nonprofit, verified by someone who held an active CPA license during that time.
The experience can typically be earned before, during, or after you pass the exam sections. Under the bachelor’s-only pathway you need twice as much: 4,000 hours instead of 2,000. If you are close to 150 hours already, finishing the extra credits can halve the experience you need, so compare the two before choosing.
Ethics
You need to pass a professional ethics exam acceptable to the board — in practice, the AICPA’s comprehensive ethics course — completed within 3 years of your certification application.
How to apply, step by step
In Nevada, you apply to sit through the Nevada State Board of Accountancy itself, and you order your college transcripts sent straight to the board. The board then forwards your eligibility to NASBA. The ethics exam and a criminal background check come at the license stage.
At least 120 semester hours, including the required upper-level coursework, to sit.
Have your school send official transcripts directly to Nevada State Board of Accountancy. Unofficial or self-submitted transcripts are not accepted.
Filed with Nevada 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 150 total hours or a master's degree. Experience can be earned in industry, public practice, government, or a nonprofit, verified by someone who held an active CPA license during that time. This can run before, during, or after your exam sections.
You need to pass a professional ethics exam acceptable to the board — in practice, the AICPA's comprehensive ethics course — completed within 3 years of your certification application.
With your experience verification and ethics requirement on file, submit the final application and initial license fee.
Fees
| Fee | Amount | When |
|---|---|---|
| Application | Up to $500 (board-set annually) | Before anything else |
| Exam fee, per section | $268.59 | Paid to NASBA (national rate) |
| Initial license | $200 plus up to $100 in investigation costs | On approval |
| Renewal | Up to $200 annually (board-set) | Ongoing |
After you’re licensed: staying current
Nevada renews licenses every year, so the 80-hour CPE requirement is checked against the two years before each renewal. If you do audit or review work, track the accounting and auditing hours separately, because they are a distinct requirement.
80 hours of CPE over the 2 years before renewal, with a minimum split across both years, including 2 hours of ethics and 8 hours of accounting and auditing if you perform audit or review work.
What changed recently
Effective February 27, 2026, Nevada replaced its flat 150-hour licensure rule with three pathways: a master’s degree plus 1 year of experience, a bachelor’s degree plus 30 extra hours plus 1 year, or a bachelor’s degree alone plus 2 years of experience. The reform was enacted through board rulemaking rather than new legislation, following 2025’s Assembly Bill 510.
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. Nevada uses the rolling 30-month window, and because its change arrived through board rulemaking, the pathway details sit in the Nevada Administrative Code rather than in one statute.
Common questions
Can I sit in Nevada if I studied out of state?
Usually yes — Nevada doesn’t require residency to sit for the exam or to be licensed. Your transcripts still have to show the accounting, business law and business hours in the table above, and Nevada’s business hours must come from its list of named subject areas.
Do online courses count toward the credit hours?
Generally yes, if the school is accredited and the course is at the right level. Because Nevada’s business hours must fall within named subject areas, check unusual course titles with the board before enrolling.
Do I need to be a US citizen or a resident of Nevada?
No Nevada residency or US citizenship requirement for CPA certificate applicants.
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. In Nevada that also means a background check: the board’s certification application asks for fingerprint cards so it can review criminal history before approval.
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 Nevada. If you passed the exam in another state and want a Nevada certificate, the board’s application says your exam grades must be verified directly by that state’s board.
Is there anything unusual about Nevada's process?
Nevada requires 3 character references from people unrelated to the applicant, on top of the usual exam, education, and experience requirements. All three licensure pathways stay open simultaneously rather than one replacing another.
Next step
Nevada State Board of Accountancy — 1325 Airmotive Way, Suite 220, Reno, NV 89502 — (775) 786-0231.
Five courses compared, with entry prices and access lengths.
See the best CPA coursesSources: Nevada State Board of Accountancy and its CPA certification application instructions, checked October 14, 2026. Confirm current fees and pathway details with the board before you apply.