PocketCPA

CPA exam and license requirements in Colorado

Colorado requires 120 semester credit hours to sit for the CPA exam. Licensure requires 150. Administered under the Colorado State Board of Accountancy. Last reviewed 2026-08-19.

Credit hours to sit
120
Credit hours to license
150
Exam fee per section
$262.64
Exam credit window
30 months
Notice to Schedule valid
6 months from issue
Transferring scores out
Through NASBA, free
State ethics requirement
See below

How many credit hours do you need to sit for the CPA exam in Colorado?

Colorado requires 120 semester credit hours to sit for the CPA exam. Candidates in Colorado sit under the rules of the Colorado State Board of Accountancy.

How many credit hours do you need for a CPA license in Colorado?

Colorado requires 150 semester credit hours for CPA licensure. That is 30 more than the 120 needed to sit, so candidates can begin testing before completing the licensure requirement.

How much does the CPA exam cost in Colorado?

The CPA exam in Colorado costs $262.64 per section, a $96 application fee, a $96 education evaluation fee. Four sections at $262.64 is $1,050.56 in section fees alone. These are Colorado board and NASBA fees and exclude review course costs and any re-take fees.

How long do you have to pass all four CPA exam sections in Colorado?

Colorado gives candidates a 30-month window to pass all four CPA exam sections. The clock starts when the first section is passed.

How long is your Notice to Schedule valid in Colorado?

Colorado gives you 6 months from the date your Notice to Schedule is issued to sit the section it covers. If it expires you forfeit the fees already paid for that section and must reapply.

From the Validation Periods map in the NASBA Candidate Guide, edition 2026-07-16. That is NASBA's summary of the board's rule rather than a reading of the board itself, so confirm it with the Colorado State Board of Accountancy before planning around it.

Can you appeal a failed CPA exam score in Colorado?

Colorado does not offer a score appeal. Colorado is one of the seven jurisdictions where appeals are not available, so viewing the items you answered incorrectly is not an option there. A score review is separate and is available everywhere: it re-checks that the approved answer key was applied correctly to your responses, and it is not a way to have an alternative answer considered.

Appeal availability is listed in the NASBA Candidate Guide, edition 2026-07-16. See also what happens on test day.

How do you transfer CPA exam scores out of Colorado?

Through NASBA, at no charge. Colorado is one of the 36 jurisdictions NASBA is authorized to transfer scores out of, so the request goes to NASBA's own service rather than to the Colorado State Board of Accountancy. Transferring INTO a jurisdiction is never the constraint, because every jurisdiction accepts an incoming transfer. The one you are leaving is what decides the route.

Route read from NASBA's transfer service and cross-checked against NASBA's Interstate Authorization Fee Schedule, 2026-09-20, and every route claim was handed to a pass instructed to refute it. How exam credit moves between jurisdictions sets out the whole picture, including what moving does to your credit window.

Do your CPA exam credits expire after you pass all four sections in Colorado?

No deadline that costs you exam credit, but Colorado does have a clock worth knowing, and it is not the same thing. Scores older than 10 years at application require 80 hours of CPE in the preceding two years (Rule 1.8(C)). Missing it costs you extra work before the license is issued, not the sections you have already passed.

Researched against Colorado's own statutes and administrative rules on 2026-09-20, not against the board FAQ alone. What happens to CPA exam credit after you pass all four sets out all 55 jurisdictions and the clocks that are mistaken for deadlines.

Does Colorado require a CPA ethics exam?

Colorado: Pass the AICPA Professional Ethics self-study course and exam with at least 90% within the two years immediately before applying for the license.

What work experience is required for a CPA license in Colorado?

Colorado requires one year (at least 1,800 hours over 1 to 3 years within the prior 5) supervised and verified by an actively licensed CPA; SB26-076's bachelor's-only path will require two years.

Who regulates CPAs in Colorado?

CPAs in Colorado are regulated by the Colorado State Board of Accountancy. Its published requirements are at https://dpo.colorado.gov/Accountancy.

Can you become a CPA in Colorado without 150 credit hours?

Not yet. Colorado has enacted an alternative route to CPA licensure that does not require 150 semester hours, but it does not take effect until 2027-01-01, so 150 hours is still required today. The law is SB26-076 (2026), Chapter 81, amending C.R.S. 12-100-108.

What the alternative route requires: A baccalaureate degree with a board approved accounting concentration, plus at least two years of accounting related work experience, a professional ethics course, and passage of the CPA exam.

Worth knowingTwo dates are in play and are easy to conflate. Section 5 of the act states that C.R.S. 12-100-108 as amended takes effect January 1, 2027, while the remainder of the act (mobility and practice privileges) took effect August 12, 2026, which is the date shown on the session law line of the legislature's bill page. State Board of Accountancy rulemaking under 3 CCR 705-1 to implement the pathways was still pending as of mid 2026.

Colorado General Assembly, SB26-076 Certification & Practice of Certified Public Accountants (final act text): https://leg.colorado.gov/bills/SB26-076. Verified 2026-08-19, and independently re-checked against the cited source.

Recent changes and notes for Colorado

The other jurisdictions with a route enacted but not yet in force

Colorado is one of 9 jurisdictions that have passed an alternative route which has not started yet. Each has a dated start.

The full picture, with every statute and the jurisdictions where the published trackers are behind, is on the 150-hour rule tracker.

Studying for the CPA exam

PocketCPA covers all six CPA exam sections with 11,896 questions, each cited to the specific standard or statute it tests, and 1,071 lesson pages written from primary source text. A nine-item sample of every section is open with no account, and a full-length FAR mock exam is free with one.

Source: https://dpo.colorado.gov/Accountancy. Requirements change; confirm with the Colorado State Board of Accountancy before applying.