Oklahoma is one of a few states that still operate a two-tiered CPA certification process where you are issued a certificate as soon as you pass your exam. Then you must fulfill the rest of the requirements to actually obtain either a CPA license or a PA, public accountant, license.
Both of these permits have different requirements as well as different legal abilities.
Let’s take a look at what you need to do to take the exam and get licensed.
Oklahoma CPA Exam Requirements
Contents
In order to be eligible to sit for the exam in Oklahoma, candidates must meet the following personal qualifications and educational requirements.
- No minimum age limit
- Not Required to be a US citizen
- Must be an OK resident
- Valid Social Security Number Required
- OK does participate in the International Examination Program
Educational Requirements to Sit
Oklahoma is a strict state that requires a bachelor’s degree with 150 semester hours be completed before you can sit for the CPA exam. Here is the required course breakdown:
Bachelor’s Degree or (at least 150 semester hours) including:
- 30 credit hours of upper level Accounting courses including financial and managerial accounting, and auditing.
- 9 credit hours of upper level General Business courses like Economics, Finance, and Management.
At least 76 out of the 150 credits must be upper level courses. This means that intro, 100 level, and principles classes will not count toward the 76-hour CPA exam requirement. These must be made up of intermediate and advanced courses.
Exam Fees
The total cost to take the CPA exam in Oklahoma is $779.08 including an initial one-time $50 application fee. The cost for each section is listed below.
| AUD – Audit | $192.03 |
| FAR – Financial Accounting and Reporting | $192.03 |
| BEC – Business Environment and Concepts | $172.51 |
| REG – Regulation | $172.51 |
The CPA exam testing fees are typically based on the length of the exam section. Thus, AUD and FAR cost more than BEC and REG. You might want to keep that in mind when you are finishing up your CPA requirements and starting to sign up to take your first CPA exam section.
IMPORTANT – Don’t try to get ahead of yourself and register for all four sections at once. Your notice to schedule will expire if you don’t take the exam in 6 months and you will have to re-register. The bummer is you will have to pay again in order to register. Re-registration application fees are $50, so only sign up for the exams that you are ready to sit for in the next 6 months.
CPA License Requirements
The CPA exam process is involved and usually overwhelming for first time applicants. Don’t worry. You will make it! Applying for the test is just the first step in becoming a CPA in OK. It’s kind of like a right of passage.
We have all done it and know what you are going through. After you pass the exam, here is what you need to do before you can legally call yourself a Certified Public Accountant. Here is the basic process.
Pass the Exam
You’ll have to pass all four sections of the exam with a score of at least 75 in an 18-month period.
Paperwork
Submit all the required paperwork to the state board usually includes transcripts, license application, and proof of work experience.
Fees
Pay the license/certification fees with your application.
Ethics Exam
Take and pass the Oklahoma Professional Ethics exam. The AICPA exam is not required.
Additional Education
Since you are required to complete entire 150 credit hours requirements before you take the exam, no additional requirements need to be met afterward.
Work Experience Requirements
Oklahoma requires CPA candidates to complete a one-year work experience qualification before they are eligible to become a licensed certified public accountant.
The work experience program must include 1-year or 2,000 hours of experience in general accounting and auditing skills in the following areas of practice:
- Public Accounting
- Private Industry
- Government
- Academic teaching
All work experience must be supervised and verified by a licensed CPA in good standing.
Oklahoma is unique in that they allow CPA candidates to use academic teaching experience as a source of work experience even though college professors do not perform accounting functions or audit procedures. CPA candidates can also use the time spent teaching guides for the CPA exam as part of their work experience requirement. This is a great option for candidates who want to go straight into academic teaching after they graduate from their CPA degree program.
More Oklahoma CPA Exam Resources
I know that applying to sit, gathering your paperwork, and taking the exam is extremely involved especially if you attended more than one college. Keep in mind, the Oklahoma state board will need proof of all of your education. You will have to send in transcripts from every college you’ve attended if more than one.
Contacting the state board during the application process is always a good idea. You can find out what they have on file and what they need to approve your application. Nothing is worse than finding out they need something after the fact.
Things can get lost or forgotten about. It happens. Unfortunately, most state boards rarely notify you that something is missing. This happened to me. My transcripts actually got lost in the mail. I had to send them twice from one of my colleges! It was a major pain.
Directly contacting the board is the easiest way to confirm that they have everything they need before you get too far along in your application.
Here is the contact info for the state board.
