PocketCPA

CPA exam and license requirements in Indiana

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

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

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

Indiana 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 Indiana?

The CPA exam in Indiana 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 Indiana 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 Indiana?

Indiana gives candidates a 36-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 Indiana?

Indiana 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 Indiana Board of Accountancy before planning around it.

Can you appeal a failed CPA exam score in Indiana?

Indiana 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 Indiana?

Through NASBA, at no charge. Indiana 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 Indiana 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 Indiana?

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

Researched against Indiana'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 Indiana require a CPA ethics exam?

Indiana: Indiana requires no ethics exam or course for initial licensure; ethics appears only as 4 hours of CPE each 3-year renewal cycle.

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

Indiana requires one year (12 months) of full-time qualifying accounting experience in public practice, industry, government, or teaching, verified on a notarized experience form.

Who regulates CPAs in Indiana?

CPAs in Indiana are regulated by the Indiana Board of Accountancy. Its published requirements are at https://www.in.gov/pla/professions/accountancy-home.

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

Not yet. Indiana 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 House Enrolled Act 1143 (2025), signed April 16, 2025, amending IC 25-2.1-3-2 and IC 25-2.1-3-10 and repealing IC 25-2.1-3-11.

What the alternative route requires: A baccalaureate degree with a concentration in accounting, passage of the Uniform CPA Exam, and two years of verified experience.

Worth knowingNot in force until January 1, 2027, so 150 hours plus one year of experience still governs licensure today. The implementing experience rule, LSA Document 26-18 amending 872 IAC 1-1-8, was approved by the Board of Accountancy after a March 13, 2026 hearing and takes effect January 1, 2027 or on adoption, whichever is later. IC 25-2.1-3-11, which allowed an advanced degree to substitute for experience, is repealed on the same date.

Indiana Board of Accountancy, Regulatory Analysis for LSA Document 26-18, Indiana Register: https://iar.iga.in.gov/register/20260128-IR-872260018RAA. Verified 2026-08-19, and independently re-checked against the cited source.

Recent changes and notes for Indiana

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

Indiana 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://www.in.gov/pla/professions/accountancy-home/accountancy-licensing-information. Requirements change; confirm with the Indiana Board of Accountancy before applying.