New York CPA requirements
New York lets you sit for the exam at 120 credit hours, but you still need 150 hours and 1 year of full-time qualifying experience under the 150-hour pathway (2 years under the 120-hour pathway) before the board will license you.
Education
You need a bachelor’s degree or higher and 150 total semester hours to be licensed in New York. You can sit for the exam earlier, at 120 hours.
| Requirement | New York | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Total semester hours | 150 | Required to be licensed; 120 to sit |
| Upper-level accounting | 33 hours, covering financial accounting & reporting, cost/managerial accounting, taxation, and auditing | |
| Upper-level business | No separate hour count beyond a required business/accounting communications course | |
| 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
NASBA’s International Evaluation Service can be used to qualify to sit for the exam, but New York does not accept it for licensure — foreign-educated applicants must submit transcripts directly to the state Education Department for its own review.
Sitting versus licensing
New York 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
1 year of full-time qualifying experience under the 150-hour pathway (2 years under the 120-hour pathway), supervised by a US-licensed CPA, earned in public accounting, government, private industry, or an educational institution.
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
New York does not require a separate state or AICPA ethics exam for initial licensure. Ethics content is covered within the education requirement (typically through the auditing course), and licensed CPAs need 4 contact hours of ethics CPE every 3 calendar years.
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 State Board for Public Accountancy (NY State Education Department, Office of the Professions). Unofficial or self-submitted transcripts are not accepted.
Filed with State Board for Public Accountancy (NY State Education Department, Office of the Professions) 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.
1 year of full-time qualifying experience under the 150-hour pathway (2 years under the 120-hour pathway), supervised by a US-licensed CPA, earned in public accounting, government, private industry, or an educational institution. This can run before, during, or after your exam sections.
New York does not require a separate state or AICPA ethics exam for initial licensure. Ethics content is covered within the education requirement (typically through the auditing course), and licensed CPAs need 4 contact hours of ethics CPE every 3 calendar years.
With your experience verification and ethics requirement on file, submit the final application and initial license fee.
Fees
| Fee | Amount | When |
|---|---|---|
| Application | $427 (combined with the first registration period — New York does not charge a separate application fee) | Before anything else |
| Exam fee, per section | $268.59 | Paid to NASBA (national rate) |
| Initial license | Included in the $427 combined licensure and first registration fee | On approval |
| Renewal | $210 every 3 years | Ongoing |
After you’re licensed: staying current
Getting licensed is not the end of the paperwork. New York requires ongoing continuing professional education to keep your license active, and it is easy to lose track of once you’re working full time.
24 contact hours (if concentrated in one subject area) or 40 contact hours (if spread across multiple areas) every calendar year, including 4 hours of ethics CPE every 3 years.
What changed recently
Chapter 530, signed November 21, 2025, adds a brand-new licensure pathway effective November 21, 2026: 120 semester hours plus 2 years of experience, alongside the existing 150-hour/1-year path. The same law shifts New York to an individual-based practice-privilege mobility model for out-of-state CPAs. Separately, an expanded “CPA Evolution” 150-hour education rule — 5 accounting and 5 business content areas, with at least 18 upper-division accounting hours — takes effect August 1, 2027.
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 New York if I studied out of state?
Usually yes — most states, including New York, 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 New York?
No. New York requires neither citizenship nor residency, and does not require a Social Security Number — a common reason international candidates choose it. Candidates must be at least 21 years old.
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 New York, 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 New York's process?
New York has no standalone Board of Accountancy — the State Education Department itself is the licensing authority, with the Board serving in an advisory role. Licenses also run on a 3-year registration cycle rather than the annual or 2-year cycle most states use.
Next step
State Board for Public Accountancy (NY State Education Department, Office of the Professions) — 89 Washington Avenue, Albany, NY 12234 — 518-474-3817.
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