South Dakota CPA requirements
South Dakota 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 of experience instead.
Education
South Dakota 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 | South Dakota | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Total semester hours to sit | 120 | Bachelor’s degree with required coursework |
| Upper-level accounting | 24 hours above principles level | |
| Upper-level business | 24 hours of non-accounting business coursework | |
| 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
South Dakota accepts evaluations from several approved services, including NASBA International Evaluation Services, and participates in the IQEX pathway for candidates with certain foreign credentials.
Sitting versus licensing
South Dakota 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 (4,000 hours) of supervised experience, or a graduate degree plus a shorter 1 year 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 of qualifying experience with just a bachelor’s degree, or 1 year with 150 total hours or a graduate degree, verified by a licensed CPA. Qualifying settings include government, industry, academia, and public practice.
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 with a score of 90% or better, before or after passing the exam.
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 South Dakota Board of Accountancy. Unofficial or self-submitted transcripts are not accepted.
Filed with South Dakota 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 of qualifying experience with just a bachelor's degree, or 1 year with 150 total hours or a graduate degree, verified by a licensed CPA. Qualifying settings include government, industry, academia, and public practice. This can run before, during, or after your exam sections.
You need to complete the AICPA's comprehensive ethics course with a score of 90% or better, before or after passing the exam.
With your experience verification and ethics requirement on file, submit the final application and initial license fee.
Fees
| Fee | Amount | When |
|---|---|---|
| Application | Up to $450 per exam section (statutory ceiling; actual board-set rate may be lower) | Before anything else |
| Exam fee, per section | $268.59 | Paid to NASBA (national rate) |
| Initial license | $25-50 depending on when you complete requirements (higher if filed late) | On approval |
| Renewal | $50 annually (on time) | Ongoing |
After you’re licensed: staying current
Getting licensed is not the end of the paperwork. South 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 reported each year.
What changed recently
House Bill 1035, effective 2026, removed the fixed 150-hour requirement to sit for the exam entirely and added a bachelor’s-degree-plus-2-years-experience full licensure pathway, alongside the traditional 150-hour-plus-1-year and graduate-degree-plus-1-year pathways. The same law added automatic individual CPA mobility for out-of-state licensees.
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 South Dakota if I studied out of state?
Usually yes — most states, including South 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 South Dakota?
No South 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 South 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 South Dakota's process?
South Dakota is a “direct-board” state — international and first-time applicants apply by mailed paper application rather than through NASBA’s online portal. Experience can be earned in government, industry, academia, or public practice, though signing attest reports requires an additional 375 hours specifically in audit, compilation, or review work.
Next step
South Dakota Board of Accountancy — 1501 S Highline Avenue, Suite 4A, Sioux Falls, SD 57110 — (605) 367-5770.
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