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CPA exam and license requirements in Idaho

Idaho requires 120 semester credit hours to sit for the CPA exam. Licensure requires 150. Administered under the Idaho 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 the board
State ethics requirement
See below

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

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

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

Idaho 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 Idaho?

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

Idaho 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 Idaho?

Idaho 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 Idaho State Board of Accountancy before planning around it.

Can you appeal a failed CPA exam score in Idaho?

Idaho 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 Idaho?

Not through NASBA. Idaho does not appear as an origin on NASBA's transfer service, so you request your scores from the Idaho State Board of Accountancy directly. This is read from NASBA's archived fee schedule rather than a current board page, so confirm it before posting anything.

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 Idaho?

No deadline that costs you exam credit, but Idaho does have a clock worth knowing, and it is not the same thing. Experience must include 2,000 hours earned within the 10 years before application (IDAPA 24.30.01.107.02.a). Missing it costs you extra work before the license is issued, not the sections you have already passed.

Researched against Idaho'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 Idaho require a CPA ethics exam?

Idaho: Complete a Board-acceptable professional-ethics course or exam for licensure, satisfied by the AICPA Professional Ethics exam (90% passing score).

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

Idaho requires one year (at least 2,000 hours over 12 to 36 months) verified by a licensed CPA; two years under the new bachelor's-only pathway effective July 1, 2026.

Who regulates CPAs in Idaho?

CPAs in Idaho are regulated by the Idaho State Board of Accountancy. Its published requirements are at https://dopl.idaho.gov/boa/.

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

Yes. Idaho has an alternative route to CPA licensure that does not require 150 semester hours, and it has been in force since 2026-07-01. The traditional 150-hour route remains available alongside it. The change came through House Bill 563 (2026), Session Law Chapter 48, signed March 18, 2026, amending Idaho Code 54-207 and 54-209.

What the alternative route requires: A baccalaureate degree with an accounting concentration, meaning at least 24 semester hours in accounting excluding introductory courses and 24 semester hours in business, plus two years of supervised experience and the CPA Exam.

Worth knowingThe pathway became effective only on July 1, 2026 under an emergency clause, so it is roughly seven weeks old and the Idaho State Board of Accountancy rules and application forms may not yet reflect it. The board's published CPA license application still describes a one year experience requirement.

Idaho State Legislature, House Bill 563 (2026) bill text and status: https://legislature.idaho.gov/sessioninfo/2026/legislation/H0563/. Verified 2026-08-19, and independently re-checked against the cited source.

Recent changes and notes for Idaho

Jurisdictions that changed around the same time as Idaho

Idaho's alternative route started on 1 July 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://dopl.idaho.gov/boa/. Requirements change; confirm with the Idaho State Board of Accountancy before applying.