PocketCPA

CPA exam and license requirements in District of Columbia

District of Columbia requires 120 semester credit hours to sit for the CPA exam. Licensure requires 150. Administered under the District of Columbia 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
Ask the board, sources disagree
State ethics requirement
See below

How many credit hours do you need to sit for the CPA exam in District of Columbia?

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

How many credit hours do you need for a CPA license in District of Columbia?

District of Columbia 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 District of Columbia?

The CPA exam in District of Columbia 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 District of Columbia 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 District of Columbia?

District of Columbia 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 District of Columbia?

District of Columbia 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 District of Columbia Board of Accountancy before planning around it.

Can you appeal a failed CPA exam score in District of Columbia?

District of Columbia does not offer a score appeal. District of Columbia 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 District of Columbia?

Ask the District of Columbia Board of Accountancy before you pay anything, because NASBA's own two systems disagree about District of Columbia. NASBA's store lists District of Columbia as a jurisdiction you can transfer out of, while NASBA's Interstate Authorization Fee Schedule routes District of Columbia's transfer of grades to the board instead. Being absent from the store list reliably means the board handles it, but being present does not reliably mean NASBA does.

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 District of Columbia?

We did not find one. District of Columbia's statutes and board rules were read for a deadline to apply for licensure after passing, and neither sets one, so the sections you have passed do not appear to go stale while you finish the experience requirement. That is a "not found" rather than a guarantee: confirm with the District of Columbia Board of Accountancy before relying on it.

Researched against District of Columbia'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 District of Columbia require a CPA ethics exam?

District of Columbia: No ethics exam is required for licensure; only 4 hours of ethics CPE are required at each biennial renewal.

What work experience is required for a CPA license in District of Columbia?

District of Columbia requires one year / 2,000 hours of experience earned over 1 to 3 years (within the 10 years before applying) in government, industry, academia, or public practice.

Who regulates CPAs in District of Columbia?

CPAs in District of Columbia are regulated by the District of Columbia Board of Accountancy. Its published requirements are at https://dlcp.dc.gov/page/board-accountancy.

Can you become a CPA in District of Columbia without 150 credit hours?

Yes. District of Columbia has an alternative route to CPA licensure that does not require 150 semester hours, and it has been in force since 2026-08-10. The traditional 150-hour route remains available alongside it. The change came through D.C. Act 26-399 (emergency, Bill 26-730) and D.C. Act 26-412 (permanent, Bill 26-494), both amending D.C. Official Code § 47-2853.42. This route is time limited: the authority behind it is due to lapse on 2026-11-08, so confirm it is still in force with the board before relying on it.

What the alternative route requires: A baccalaureate degree with a concentration in accounting or the equivalent, two years of relevant experience verified by a licensed CPA, and passage of the accounting and auditing examination.

Worth knowingThe route in force today rests on an emergency act, which under D.C. Official Code § 1-204.12(a) lasts no more than 90 days and therefore lapses around November 8, 2026. The permanent act (A26-412) was published in the D.C. Register on August 14, 2026 and transmitted to Congress, with the transmittal recorded in the Congressional Record of August 13, 2026, but the 30-legislative-day review is not finished, so no permanent effective date has been set. The amended statute also lets the Mayor add licensure requirements by rule, and DLCP has an Accountancy Licensure Amendments rulemaking underway, so the operational detail may still shift. Several review-course sites still state that DC requires 150 hours with no alternative; that reflects the position before July 2026.

Council of the District of Columbia, D.C. Law Library: https://code.dccouncil.gov/us/dc/council/code/sections/47-2853.42. Verified 2026-08-19, and independently re-checked against the cited source. Recorded at medium confidence, so confirm with the board before planning around it.

Recent changes and notes for District of Columbia

Jurisdictions that changed around the same time as District of Columbia

District of Columbia's alternative route started on 10 August 2026. These started closest to it, which is the comparison that matters if you are choosing where to apply or holding a license in more than one.

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://dlcp.dc.gov/page/board-accountancy. Requirements change; confirm with the District of Columbia Board of Accountancy before applying.