North Dakota CPA requirements
North Dakota lets you sit for the exam at 120 credit hours, but you still need 150 hours and 1 year of qualifying experience before the board will license you.
Education
You need a bachelor’s degree or higher and 150 total semester hours to be licensed in North Dakota. You can sit for the exam earlier, at 120 hours.
| Requirement | North Dakota | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Total semester hours | 150 | Required to be licensed; 120 to sit |
| Upper-level accounting | 24 semester hours, required for licensure | |
| Upper-level business | 24 semester hours (up to 3 of which may be economics), required for licensure | |
| 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 should contact the board directly, as detailed evaluation-service guidance wasn’t published on the board’s general requirements page at the time of this research.
Sitting versus licensing
North Dakota 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 (2,000 hours) of qualifying experience, completed within a 4-year window and verified by the board. Qualifying settings include government, industry, academia, and public accounting.
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
You need to complete the AICPA’s comprehensive ethics course before licensure. No separate state-specific ethics exam is required.
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 North Dakota State Board of Accountancy. Unofficial or self-submitted transcripts are not accepted.
Filed with North Dakota 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.
1 year (2,000 hours) of qualifying experience, completed within a 4-year window and verified by the board. Qualifying settings include government, industry, academia, and public accounting. This can run before, during, or after your exam sections.
You need to complete the AICPA's comprehensive ethics course before licensure. No separate state-specific ethics exam is required.
With your experience verification and ethics requirement on file, submit the final application and initial license fee.
Fees
| Fee | Amount | When |
|---|---|---|
| Application | $120 | Before anything else |
| Exam fee, per section | $268.59 | Paid to NASBA (national rate) |
| Initial license | Contact the board directly for current initial certificate fees | On approval |
| Renewal | $85 annually (on time) | Ongoing |
After you’re licensed: staying current
Getting licensed is not the end of the paperwork. North Dakota requires ongoing continuing professional education to keep your license active, and it is easy to lose track of once you’re working full time.
120 hours of CPE over a rolling 3-year period, with a minimum of 20 hours each year, including 6 hours of ethics per 3-year period.
What changed recently
North Dakota has not yet adopted a 120-hour licensure pathway — it remains one of a shrinking number of states still requiring the full 150 hours to license, with no alternative currently on the books. The state’s CPA society has signaled it plans to pursue pathway reform in the 2027 legislative session, but nothing has passed as of this writing. A 2024 rule update did extend the exam credit window from 18 to 30 months and eliminated exam re-application fees.
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 North Dakota if I studied out of state?
Usually yes — most states, including North Dakota, 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 North Dakota?
No North Dakota residency or US citizenship requirement identified for the exam or licensure.
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 North Dakota, 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 North Dakota's process?
North Dakota is one of the more conservative states on the 150-hour reform question — as other states have moved quickly to add 120-hour pathways, North Dakota has taken no legislative action yet, with reform not expected before 2027. Its renewal deadlines are unusually tiered: on time by June 30, late with a fee by July 31, and involuntary license lapse starting August 1.
Next step
North Dakota State Board of Accountancy — 1407 24th Avenue S, Suite 217, Grand Forks, ND 58201 — (701) 775-7100.
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