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CPA exam and license requirements in Iowa

Iowa requires 120 semester credit hours to sit for the CPA exam. Licensure requires 150. Administered under the Iowa Accountancy Examining Board. 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 Iowa?

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

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

Iowa 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 Iowa?

The CPA exam in Iowa costs $262.64 per section, a $106 application fee, a $96 education evaluation fee. Four sections at $262.64 is $1,050.56 in section fees alone. These are Iowa 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 Iowa?

Iowa 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 Iowa?

Iowa 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 Iowa Accountancy Examining Board before planning around it.

Can you appeal a failed CPA exam score in Iowa?

Iowa 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 Iowa?

Through NASBA, at no charge. Iowa 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 Iowa Accountancy Examining Board. 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 Iowa?

No deadline that costs you exam credit, but Iowa does have a clock worth knowing, and it is not the same thing. 3 years, then the basic CPE obligation applies (193A-3.14(2)). Missing it costs you extra work before the license is issued, not the sections you have already passed.

Researched against Iowa'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 Iowa require a CPA ethics exam?

Iowa: Complete the AICPA Professional Ethics comprehensive course with a minimum score of 90 before the certificate is issued.

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

Iowa requires one year (minimum 2,000 hours over no more than three years) of accounting experience in public, private, government, or academia under a licensed CPA; the new 120-hour pathway requires two years.

Who regulates CPAs in Iowa?

CPAs in Iowa are regulated by the Iowa Accountancy Examining Board. Its published requirements are at https://dial.iowa.gov/about-dial/boards/accountancy.

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

Yes. Iowa 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 File 778, 2025 Iowa Acts chapter 40, approved May 1, 2025, rewriting Iowa Code 542.5(7) and striking 542.5(12).

What the alternative route requires: At least 120 semester hours of college education and a degree of at least baccalaureate level conferred by a recognized college or university whose program includes a concentration in accounting or an area the board determines to be substantially equivalent, plus no less than two years of experience and the CPA Exam.

Worth knowingThe Iowa Accountancy Examining Board had not released implementing rules when the law took effect on July 1, 2026. The Iowa Society of CPAs reports the board has up to six months under Iowa Code 17A.4(9) to adopt them and that the board has stated statute controls over administrative rules in the interim, so board forms and guidance may still describe the old requirements.

Iowa Legislature, 2025 Iowa Acts chapter 40 (House File 778): https://www.legis.iowa.gov/docs/publications/iactc/91.1/CH0040.pdf. Verified 2026-08-19, and independently re-checked against the cited source.

Recent changes and notes for Iowa

Jurisdictions that changed around the same time as Iowa

Iowa'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://dial.iowa.gov/about-dial/boards/accountancy. Requirements change; confirm with the Iowa Accountancy Examining Board before applying.