Tennessee CPA requirements
Tennessee 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 of supervised experience, or take the traditional route with a graduate degree and a shorter 1 year of experience instead.
Education
Tennessee 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 | Tennessee | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Total semester hours to sit | 120 | Bachelor’s degree with required coursework |
| Upper-level accounting | 30 semester hours (24 upper-division), required under all pathways; 18 upper-division hours to sit | |
| Upper-level business | 24 semester hours of general business coursework, 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. Get a transcript evaluation from the board before you pay for extra coursework.
Foreign-educated candidates
Foreign-educated candidates must have their credentials evaluated by a board-approved service, such as NASBA International Evaluation Services, before applying to sit for the exam.
Sitting versus licensing
Tennessee 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 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. Qualifying work spans industry, government, academia, or public practice, verified by a licensed CPA with direct knowledge of your work.
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 Professional Ethics exam with a 90% or better score under either pathway. Ongoing CPE also requires a 2-hour Tennessee-specific State Ethics course each renewal cycle.
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 Tennessee State Board of Accountancy. Unofficial or self-submitted transcripts are not accepted.
Filed with Tennessee 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 of qualifying experience with just a bachelor's degree, or 1 year with 150 total hours. Qualifying work spans industry, government, academia, or public practice, verified by a licensed CPA with direct knowledge of your work. This can run before, during, or after your exam sections.
You need to pass the AICPA Professional Ethics exam with a 90% or better score under either pathway. Ongoing CPE also requires a 2-hour Tennessee-specific State Ethics course each renewal cycle.
With your experience verification and ethics requirement on file, submit the final application and initial license fee.
Fees
| Fee | Amount | When |
|---|---|---|
| Application | $100 | Before anything else |
| Exam fee, per section | $268.59 | Paid to NASBA (national rate) |
| Initial license | Included in the $100 application fee | On approval |
| Renewal | $110 every 2 years | Ongoing |
After you’re licensed: staying current
Getting licensed is not the end of the paperwork. Tennessee requires ongoing continuing professional education to keep your license active, and it is easy to lose track of once you’re working full time.
80 hours of CPE every 2-year period, with a minimum of 20 hours each year, at least 40 hours in technical subjects, and a 2-hour Tennessee-specific ethics course.
What changed recently
The “Less is More Act of 2025,” effective January 1, 2026, replaced Tennessee’s flat 150-hour rule with two pathways: a bachelor’s degree plus 2 years of experience, or 150 total hours plus 1 year. The same law expanded interstate mobility, letting out-of-state CPAs practice in Tennessee without a separate substantial-equivalency review.
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 Tennessee if I studied out of state?
Usually yes — most states, including Tennessee, 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 Tennessee?
No Tennessee residency requirement, but you must be a US citizen or a qualified alien under state law.
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 Tennessee, 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 Tennessee's process?
Tennessee is notable partly because NASBA itself is headquartered in Nashville, making this reform something of a bellwether. Ethics has two separate layers — a one-time 90%-score AICPA exam at licensure, plus a recurring 2-hour Tennessee-specific ethics course at renewal.
Next step
Tennessee State Board of Accountancy — 500 James Robertson Parkway, Nashville, TN 37243 — (615) 741-2550.
Five courses compared, with entry prices and access lengths.
See the best CPA coursesAll 50 states, each with its own reform status and requirements.
Choose your state