Vermont CPA requirements
Vermont 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 (2,080 hours) of experience instead.
Education
Vermont 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 | Vermont | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Total semester hours to sit | 120 | Bachelor’s degree with required coursework |
| Upper-level accounting | Coursework covering at least 6 hours of financial/managerial accounting and 3 hours of auditing, part of a 30-hour accounting/business total | |
| Upper-level business | At least 3 hours of US taxation and 3 hours of US business law, part of the same 30-hour total | |
| 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
Vermont recognizes degrees from regionally accredited US institutions, Canadian universities belonging to the AUCC, or foreign institutions accredited by their national accrediting body, with case-by-case review in other circumstances.
Sitting versus licensing
Vermont 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 (2,080 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 of supervised public-accounting experience with just a bachelor’s degree, or 1 year (2,080 hours) with 150 total hours or a master’s degree, verified by a licensed CPA. Some non-public-accounting experience can qualify if it’s similarly complex and spans multiple industries.
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 an 8-hour professional ethics course completed within 2 years of applying. Ongoing CPE also requires 4 hours of ethics every 2-year 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 Vermont Board of Public Accountancy. Unofficial or self-submitted transcripts are not accepted.
Filed with Vermont Board of Public 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 supervised public-accounting experience with just a bachelor's degree, or 1 year (2,080 hours) with 150 total hours or a master's degree, verified by a licensed CPA. Some non-public-accounting experience can qualify if it's similarly complex and spans multiple industries. This can run before, during, or after your exam sections.
You need an 8-hour professional ethics course completed within 2 years of applying. Ongoing CPE also requires 4 hours of ethics every 2-year cycle.
With your experience verification and ethics requirement on file, submit the final application and initial license fee.
Fees
| Fee | Amount | When |
|---|---|---|
| Application | About $100 (secondary-sourced; confirm with the board) | Before anything else |
| Exam fee, per section | $268.59 | Paid to NASBA (national rate) |
| Initial license | About $100 (secondary-sourced; confirm with the board) | On approval |
| Renewal | About $220 every 2 years (secondary-sourced; confirm with the board) | Ongoing |
After you’re licensed: staying current
Getting licensed is not the end of the paperwork. Vermont 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 cycle, including at least 4 hours of ethics and 8 hours of accounting and auditing.
What changed recently
Effective June 8, 2026, Vermont added a bachelor’s-degree-plus-2-years-experience full licensure pathway alongside the existing 150-hour-plus-1-year pathway, with no sunset date for either. The same law updated Vermont’s mobility rules to align with the national Uniform Accountancy Act.
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 Vermont if I studied out of state?
Usually yes — most states, including Vermont, 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 Vermont?
No Vermont residency or 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 Vermont, 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 Vermont's process?
Vermont runs its two pathways in parallel indefinitely rather than replacing the old one, and candidates don’t need to notify the board which pathway they’re pursuing. Applicants have 4 years after passing the exam to complete their license application.
Next step
Vermont Board of Public Accountancy — 89 Main Street, Montpelier, VT 05602 — (802) 828-1505.
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