Utah requires 150 credit hours to become certified but has a unique rule that only requires 135 semester hours to sit for the exam. The rest of Utah’s rules are pretty standard across all states.
Becoming a CPA in Utah a great career choice that will give you a ton of different opportunities. From public accounting to private industry, Utah has a growing demand for accountants.
The CPA journey can be challenging, so let’s take a look at what you need to do to take the exam and get licensed.
Utah CPA Exam Requirements
Contents
In order to be eligible to sit for the exam in Utah, candidates must meet the following personal qualifications and educational requirements.
- No minimum age limit
- Not Required to be a US citizen
- Not Required to be a UT resident
- Valid Social Security Number Required
- UT does participate in the International Examination Program
Educational Requirements to Sit
Since you only need 135 credit hours to sit for the exam in Utah, you will still need to take additional courses after you complete your bachelor’s degree. Here are the educational options you have in Utah.
Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting or Business (at least 135 semester hours) including:
- 16 hours of upper level Accounting courses including:
- 2 hours of financial accounting
- 2 hours of cost accounting
- 2 hours of auditing
- 2 hours of taxation
- 15 hours of graduate level Accounting courses including:
- 1 hour of financial accounting
- 1 hour of cost accounting
- 1 hour of auditing
- 1 hour of taxation
- 12 hours of both upper level and graduate level Business courses
OR
Master’s Degree in Accounting (at least 135 semester hours) automatically qualifies you to sit.
OR
Master’s Degree in Business or MBA (at least 135 semester hours) including:
- 24 hours of undergraduate Accounting courses or 15 hours of graduate accounting courses
Since the 135 credit hour rule is a bit odd and 150 credit hours are still needed to become certified, many students just go ahead and complete the 150 credit hour CPA requirement before they even attempt the exam.
Exam Fees
The total cost to take the CPA exam in Utah is $874.08 including an initial one-time $145 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.
CPA exam tip – I know you are excited to sign up and get started, but don’t try to get ahead of yourself and register for all four sections at once. This will end up costing you more in the long run. Your notice to sit will expire if you don’t take the exam in 6 months. This means you will have to re-register and pay an additional registration fee. Re-registration application fees are $65 and varied depending on how many you register for, so only sign up for the exams that you are ready to sit for in the next 6 months.
Registration Fees
Utah fees are around the average of most states, but it doesn’t mean you should have to pay these extra fees. As you can see, registering more exams at once will save you some money.
- 1 section $65.00
- 2 sections $80.00
- 3 sections $95.00
- 4 sections $110.00
CPA License Requirements
The CPA exam process is involved and overwhelming for first time applicants. Don’t worry. You can do it! Applying for the test is just the first step in becoming a CPA in UT. Trust me. We have all have been there. It’s kind of like a right of passage. After you pass the exam, here are the things you need to do before you can truly 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
Take and pass the AICPA Professional Ethics exam (found on the AICPA website)
Additional Education
If you didn’t complete the required 150 credit hours and accompanying accounting courses, you must finish this CPA requirement before you will be eligible for a CPA license.
Work Experience Requirements
Utah requires CPA candidates to complete a 1-year work experience program before they are eligible to become licensed. The work experience must include:
1-year or 2,000 hours of general accounting, auditing, and principles skills in Public Accounting or Private Industry.
All work experience must be supervised and verified by an active certified public accountant in good standings.
Utah is unique in that it does not allow CPA candidates to use work in academic teaching as a CPA exam tutor as part of your work experience hours. This means that CPA candidates who choose to go directly into college teaching after they finish their degree program will have to gain work experience somewhere else in order to become a licensed certified public accountant in Utah.
More Utah CPA Exam Resources
The initial application process is kind of daunting especially if you attended more than one college. The Utah state board will need evidence of all of your education. You will need to mail in transcripts from every college you’ve attended.
That’s the reason why I suggest contacting the state board during the application process. They will let you know what they have on file and what they need before your application can be approved. Believe me. Nothing is worse than finding out you forgot something at the end of the process.
Unfortunately, state boards hardly ever notify you that something is missing. Things can get lost or forgotten about. I know this firsthand. My transcripts actually got lost in the mail. I had to send them twice from one of my colleges! It was a big pain and added two weeks on the process.
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.
