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CPA exam and license requirements in Hawaii

Hawaii requires 120 semester credit hours to sit for the CPA exam. Licensure requires 150. Administered under the Hawaii Board of Public 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
18 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 Hawaii?

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

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

Hawaii 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 Hawaii?

The CPA exam in Hawaii 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 Hawaii 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 Hawaii?

Hawaii gives candidates a 18-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 Hawaii?

Hawaii 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 Hawaii Board of Public Accountancy before planning around it.

Can you appeal a failed CPA exam score in Hawaii?

Hawaii 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 Hawaii?

Through NASBA, at no charge. Hawaii 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 Hawaii Board of Public 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 Hawaii?

We did not find one. Hawaii'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 Hawaii Board of Public Accountancy before relying on it.

Researched against Hawaii'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 Hawaii require a CPA ethics exam?

Hawaii: No ethics exam or course is required for initial licensure (the AICPA ethics exam is not required); ethics CPE applies only to biennial permit renewal.

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

Hawaii requires either 1,500 chargeable audit hours or two years of full-time experience (public, private, government, or academia) certified by a licensed-CPA supervisor; three years under the new bachelor's-only pathway.

Who regulates CPAs in Hawaii?

CPAs in Hawaii are regulated by the Hawaii Board of Public Accountancy. Its published requirements are at https://cca.hawaii.gov/pvl/boards/accountancy/.

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

Yes. Hawaii has an alternative route to CPA licensure that does not require 150 semester hours, and it has been in force since 2025-04-10. The traditional 150-hour route remains available alongside it. The change came through SB 1291 SD1, Act 14, Session Laws of Hawaii 2025 (amending HRS 466-5, repealing HRS 466-5.5).

What the alternative route requires: A baccalaureate degree covering at least 120 semester hours, including 24 semester hours of accounting of which 18 are upper division or graduate level and 24 semester hours of upper division or graduate business courses, plus the CPA Exam and three years of experience, being the standard two years plus twelve additional months that must be earned in public accountancy practice.

Worth knowingHawaii is not the standard bachelor's plus two years model. The substituted twelve months sits on top of the ordinary two year requirement, so the alternative route needs three years of experience in total, and that extra year must be public accountancy practice rather than industry, government, or academia. Several review course summaries describe Hawaii as bachelor's plus two years, which is incorrect. Separately, Act 14 struck the 1,500 chargeable audit hours option from HRS 466-5(d), but the board's current application form still lists it, so that sub point is unsettled.

Hawaii Board of Public Accountancy, DCCA, Application for CPA License instructions (form CPA-04 0525R): https://cca.hawaii.gov/pvl/files/2023/11/Instruct-App-for-CPA-Lic_09.24R-with-revised-instruction-on-education-and-application-form-.pdf. Verified 2026-08-19, and independently re-checked against the cited source.

Recent changes and notes for Hawaii

Jurisdictions that changed around the same time as Hawaii

Hawaii's alternative route started on 10 April 2025. 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://cca.hawaii.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/CPA-Requirements-CPA-01_02.17R.pdf. Requirements change; confirm with the Hawaii Board of Public Accountancy before applying.