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CPA exam and license requirements in Maryland

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

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

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

Maryland 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 Maryland?

The CPA exam in Maryland 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 Maryland 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 Maryland?

Maryland 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 Maryland?

Maryland 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 Maryland Board of Public Accountancy before planning around it.

Can you appeal a failed CPA exam score in Maryland?

Maryland 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 Maryland?

Not through NASBA. Maryland does not appear as an origin on NASBA's transfer service, so you request your scores from the Maryland Board of Public Accountancy directly. You can still transfer INTO Maryland from anywhere; it is only the outbound route that runs through the board.

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 Maryland?

No deadline that costs you exam credit, but Maryland does have a clock worth knowing, and it is not the same thing. 4 years, on the transfer-of-grades pathway only, then 80 hours of CPE (COMAR 09.24.01.05D). Missing it costs you extra work before the license is issued, not the sections you have already passed.

Researched against Maryland'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 Maryland require a CPA ethics exam?

Maryland: Complete the national AICPA Professional Ethics comprehensive course (90% passing score) and submit the certificate to the Board before licensure.

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

Maryland requires at least one year of qualifying experience (accounting, attest, tax, advisory, or consulting) documented on a Report of Practical Work Experience and verified by an active CPA.

Who regulates CPAs in Maryland?

CPAs in Maryland are regulated by the Maryland Board of Public Accountancy. Its published requirements are at https://labor.maryland.gov/license/cpa/.

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

Not yet. Maryland has enacted an alternative route to CPA licensure that does not require 150 semester hours, but it does not take effect until 2026-10-01, so 150 hours is still required today. The law is HB 643 (2026 Regular Session), Chapter 174; amends Md. Business Occupations and Professions sections 2-302 and 2-303.

What the alternative route requires: A baccalaureate degree with a concentration in accounting or its equivalent, plus not less than two years of practical work experience, plus passage of the CPA Exam.

Worth knowingThe pathway is signed but not in force until October 1, 2026. Applicants filing before that date remain subject to the master's plus one year or bachelor's plus 30 hours plus one year routes. Note also that Maryland moved initial license application intake to NASBA effective November 24, 2025.

Maryland Board of Public Accountancy, News and Updates: https://labor.maryland.gov/license/cpa. Verified 2026-08-19, and independently re-checked against the cited source.

Recent changes and notes for Maryland

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

Maryland 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://labor.maryland.gov/license/cpa/. Requirements change; confirm with the Maryland Board of Public Accountancy before applying.