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CPA exam and license requirements in Kansas

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

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

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

Kansas 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 Kansas?

The CPA exam in Kansas 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 Kansas 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 Kansas?

Kansas 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 Kansas?

Kansas 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 Kansas Board of Accountancy before planning around it.

Can you appeal a failed CPA exam score in Kansas?

Kansas 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 Kansas?

Through NASBA, at no charge. Kansas 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 Kansas 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 Kansas?

No deadline that costs you exam credit, but Kansas does have a clock worth knowing, and it is not the same thing. Grades may be voided if a transcript is not supplied within 120 days of the first section (K.S.A. 1-302a(b)(2)). Runs from sitting, not passing. Missing it costs you extra work before the license is issued, not the sections you have already passed.

Researched against Kansas'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 Kansas require a CPA ethics exam?

Kansas: Pass the AICPA Professional Ethics exam (or an equivalent recognized from California, Colorado, or Texas) before the Kansas certificate is issued.

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

Kansas requires one year of accounting experience verified by an actively licensed CPA for the 150-hour and master's pathways; the new bachelor's-only pathway requires two years.

Who regulates CPAs in Kansas?

CPAs in Kansas are regulated by the Kansas Board of Accountancy. Its published requirements are at https://ksboa.kansas.gov.

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

Yes. Kansas has an alternative route to CPA licensure that does not require 150 semester hours, and it has been in force since 2026-04-23. The traditional 150-hour route remains available alongside it. The change came through HB 2573 (2026), Session Laws of Kansas ch. 80; amends K.S.A. 1-302a and 1-302b.

What the alternative route requires: A baccalaureate or higher degree with a board-approved concentration in accounting, plus two years of accounting experience verified by an actively licensed CPA, plus passage of the Uniform CPA Exam.

Worth knowingThe Kansas Board of Accountancy FAQ page still describes a single one-year experience requirement for a permit and has not been updated to reflect HB 2573. The session law itself is controlling and states the act took effect on publication in the Kansas Register, which the Secretary of State records as April 23, 2026.

Kansas Secretary of State, 2026 Session Laws of Kansas, Chapter 80 (House Bill 2573): https://www.sos.ks.gov/publications/sessionlaws/2026/Chapter-80-HB-2573.html. Verified 2026-08-19, and independently re-checked against the cited source.

Recent changes and notes for Kansas

Jurisdictions that changed around the same time as Kansas

Kansas's alternative route started on 23 April 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://ksboa.kansas.gov/faqs. Requirements change; confirm with the Kansas Board of Accountancy before applying.