Rhode Island CPA requirements
Rhode Island 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 (3,640 hours) of supervised experience, or take the traditional route with a graduate degree and a shorter 1 year (1,820 hours) of experience instead.
Education
Rhode Island 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 | Rhode Island | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Total semester hours to sit | 120 | Bachelor’s degree with required coursework |
| Upper-level accounting | About 24 hours (6 fundamental, 6 intermediate, 3 each in advanced accounting, tax, and auditing) under the traditional pathway | |
| Upper-level business | 24 hours, including at least 3 hours each of business law and economics, under the traditional pathway | |
| 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 transcripts evaluated by NASBA International Evaluation Services or another approved evaluation service.
Sitting versus licensing
Rhode Island 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 (3,640 hours) of supervised experience, or a graduate degree plus a shorter 1 year (1,820 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 (3,640 hours) of qualifying experience with just a bachelor’s degree, or 1 year (1,820 hours) with 150 total hours or a master’s degree, verified by a CPA licensed in any US state. Direct day-to-day CPA supervision isn’t required, just verification.
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 pass the AICPA’s comprehensive ethics course with a score of 90% or better under any pathway.
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 Rhode Island Board of Accountancy. Unofficial or self-submitted transcripts are not accepted.
Filed with Rhode Island 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 (3,640 hours) of qualifying experience with just a bachelor's degree, or 1 year (1,820 hours) with 150 total hours or a master's degree, verified by a CPA licensed in any US state. Direct day-to-day CPA supervision isn't required, just verification. This can run before, during, or after your exam sections.
You need to pass the AICPA's comprehensive ethics course with a score of 90% or better under any pathway.
With your experience verification and ethics requirement on file, submit the final application and initial license fee.
Fees
| Fee | Amount | When |
|---|---|---|
| Application | About $90-96 (education evaluation, paid to NASBA) | Before anything else |
| Exam fee, per section | $268.59 | Paid to NASBA (national rate) |
| Initial license | $375 | On approval |
| Renewal | $375 every 3 years | Ongoing |
After you’re licensed: staying current
Getting licensed is not the end of the paperwork. Rhode Island 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 3-year renewal period (80 hours for your first cycle), including 6 hours of ethics (4 for your first cycle).
What changed recently
Effective June 23, 2026, Rhode Island added a bachelor’s-degree-plus-2-years-experience full licensure pathway, alongside the existing 150-hour-plus-1-year and master’s-plus-1-year pathways. The same reform updated reciprocity rules and added individual mobility privileges for out-of-state CPAs.
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 Rhode Island if I studied out of state?
Usually yes — most states, including Rhode Island, 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 Rhode Island?
No US citizenship requirement to sit for the exam or be licensed.
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 Rhode Island, 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 Rhode Island's process?
Rhode Island’s reform is very recent, and many competing CPA-prep sites hadn’t caught up to it as of this research — worth double-checking this page stays current. A 2023 rule change already removed the requirement that experience be under direct day-to-day CPA supervision, just verification.
Next step
Rhode Island Board of Accountancy — 1511 Pontiac Avenue, Building 68-2, Cranston, RI 02920 — (401) 462-9550.
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