Pennsylvania does have a 150-credit rule, but you are only required to complete a bachelor’s degree consisting of 120 semester hours in order to sit for the exam.
The PA work experience and general education requirements are pretty standard across states even though it doesn’t allow you to take a section before you graduate college.
Let’s take a look at what you need to do to take the exam and get licensed.
Pennsylvania CPA Exam Requirements
Contents
In order to be eligible to sit for the exam in Pennsylvania, candidates must meet the following personal qualifications and educational requirements.
- Must be at least 18 years old
- Not Required to be a US citizen
- Must be a PA resident
- Valid Social Security Number Required
- PA does participate in the International Examination Program
Educational Requirements to Sit
Pennsylvania requires 150 college credit hours to become licensed but only 120 hours to take the test. Those 120 semester hours must be made up of the following courses:
Bachelor’s Degree or higher (at least 120 semester hours) including both accounting and general business courses.
Accounting Courses
CPA candidates must complete at least 24 credit hours of accounting courses including:
- Financial accounting
- Managerial accounting
- Auditing
General Business Courses
You must also complete at least 24 credit hours of General Business courses consisting of:
- Economics
- Finance
- Management
- Business Law
Unfortunately, PA does not have a provision for students to take the exam before they graduate. Pennsylvania does, however, allow future CPA candidates to use a CPA study course towards their CPA exam educational requirements as long as the course was taken through an accredited college CPA degree program.
This is a great way to use your education to prepare for the CPA exam and get ahead of your peers when it comes time to apply for a job at a public accounting firm.
Exam Fees
The total cost to take the CPA exam in Pennsylvania is $824.08 including an initial one-time $95 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 fees are typically based on the duration of the exam. That’s why the FAR and AUD exams cost the most.
IMPORTANT – It’s important not os sign up for all four CPA exam sections at once. Your notice to schedule is only valid for 6 months and you will have to re-register after that. The re-registration application fees are $95, so only sign up for the exams that you are ready to sit for in the next 6 months.
That state board and NASBA explains this application process on their CPA exam requirements page.
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 PA.
We have all done it and know what you are going through. It’s kind of like a right of passage. Once you pass the exam, here is what you need to do before you can legally call yourself a Certified Public Accountant.
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
No ethics exam is required.
Additional Education
If you didn’t complete the 150 credit hours before you took the exam, you will need to do so in order to apply for your CPA license.
Work Experience Requirements
Pennsylvania has a simple work experience qualification of one year before you can get certified. You will need to complete:
1-year or 2,000 hours of general accounting and auditing skills in Public Accounting, Private Industry, Government, or Academic teaching supervised and verified by a CPA in good standing.
More Pennsylvania CPA Exam Resources
I know that the application process, gathering your paperwork, and taking the exam is extremely involved especially if you attended more than one college. The Pennsylvania 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 is always a good idea during the application process. You can find out if they need anything to approve your application and what they have on file. There is nothing worse than finding out they need something after the fact.
Things can get lost or forgotten about. It happens. Unfortunately, most CPA state boards rarely notify you if one of the CPA exam requirement documents are missing from your application. This happened to me. My transcripts actually got lost in the mail. I had to send them twice from one of my colleges! What a 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.
