CPA exam and license requirements in Florida

Florida requires 120 semester credit hours to sit for the CPA exam. Licensure requires 150. Administered under the Florida 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 Florida?

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

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

Florida 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 Florida?

The CPA exam in Florida costs $262.64 per section, a $50 application fee. Four sections at $262.64 is $1,050.56 in section fees alone. These are Florida 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 Florida?

Florida 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 Florida?

Florida 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 Florida Board of Accountancy before planning around it.

Can you appeal a failed CPA exam score in Florida?

Florida offers a score appeal. An appeal lets you view the multiple-choice questions or simulations you answered incorrectly and submit comments on them, under supervision, and it requires a formal request, board approval, a fee and a deadline that runs from the date your score was reported. 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 Florida?

Through NASBA, at no charge. Florida 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 Florida 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 Florida?

Yes. Florida gives you 36 months from the board certifying your scores to get your fees and documents in, and what lapses if you do not is the board’s certification of your scores, not the exam credit itself. The rule is Fla. Admin. Code R. 61H1-28.0052(2). The clock starts when the BOARD certifies your scores, not when you pass your last section, and what lapses is that certification rather than the exam credit. Nobody re-sits: Fla. Stat. 473.308(8)(a) says the board SHALL certify an endorsement applicant who has passed a substantially equivalent examination.

Fla. Admin. Code R. 61H1-28.0052(2): "in no event shall an initial license be issued if the initial licensure fees and all required documents are not received within 36 months of the date of certification of examination scores by the Board; in such case, the certification expires and the applicant may reapply for licensure by endorsement." Source.

Researched against Florida'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 Florida require a CPA ethics exam?

Florida: No ethics exam or course is required for initial licensure; licensees complete 4 hours of Florida Board-approved ethics CPE each biennial renewal.

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

Florida requires one year of accounting experience totaling at least 2,000 hours over 52 to 104 weeks, verified by a licensed CPA.

Who regulates CPAs in Florida?

CPAs in Florida are regulated by the Florida Board of Accountancy. Its published requirements are at https://www2.myfloridalicense.com/certified-public-accounting/.

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

No. Florida still requires 150 semester hours for CPA licensure and has not enacted an alternative route. More than half of US jurisdictions have, so this is now the minority position and it may change.

Worth knowingSection 473.308(9) does require the board to waive the hours above a baccalaureate degree for an applicant with five years of experience, but the statute limits that experience to time spent already licensed as a CPA in another state or a substantially equivalent foreign jurisdiction, so it functions as a reciprocity provision and not as a first time pathway. The Florida Institute of CPAs has said it will refile the pathways bill in 2027, so this entry should be rechecked after the 2027 session.

Florida Statutes section 473.308, Licensure (The Florida Senate): https://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2025/473.308. Verified 2026-08-19.

Recent changes and notes for Florida

No 120-hour + experience licensure pathway is law as of July 2026; 150 hours still required (SB 364 / HB 333 proposals remain pending, no effective date).
Florida self-administers via DBPR (CPA 1 form, $50 fee) and evaluates education in-house rather than through NASBA CPAES.
To sit (120 hrs): 24 upper-division accounting + 24 upper-division business hours; to license (150): 30 accounting + 36 business hours.
No residency or citizenship requirement; SSN not needed to sit but required for licensure; 3 years after passing to apply.

The other jurisdictions that still require 150 hours

Florida is one of 9 jurisdictions with no alternative route enacted, which is now the minority position.

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://www2.myfloridalicense.com/certified-public-accounting/licensure/. Requirements change; confirm with the Florida Board of Accountancy before applying.