CPA exam and license requirements in Massachusetts

Massachusetts requires 120 semester credit hours to sit for the CPA exam. Licensure requires 150. Administered under the Massachusetts 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 NASBA, free
State ethics requirement: See below

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

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

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

Massachusetts 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 Massachusetts?

The CPA exam in Massachusetts costs $262.64 per section, a $148 application fee, a $136 education evaluation fee. Four sections at $262.64 is $1,050.56 in section fees alone. These are Massachusetts 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 Massachusetts?

Massachusetts 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 Massachusetts?

Massachusetts 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 Massachusetts Board of Public Accountancy before planning around it.

Can you appeal a failed CPA exam score in Massachusetts?

Massachusetts 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 Massachusetts?

Through NASBA, at no charge. Massachusetts 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 Massachusetts Board of Public 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 Massachusetts?

No deadline that costs you exam credit, but Massachusetts does have a clock worth knowing, and it is not the same thing. Credit can be lost by failing to supply a certified transcript within 90 days of SITTING (252 CMR 2.01(2)). That clock runs from sitting, not from passing. Missing it costs you extra work before the license is issued, not the sections you have already passed.

Researched against Massachusetts'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 Massachusetts require a CPA ethics exam?

Massachusetts: No ethics exam or ethics course is required for licensure; Massachusetts does not mandate the AICPA ethics exam (a 4-hour ethics CPE applies only at renewal).

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

Massachusetts requires one year (at least 2,000 hours) of public-accounting experience, or three years (at least 2,000 hours) of non-public/industry/government accounting experience, attested by a CPA supervisor.

Who regulates CPAs in Massachusetts?

CPAs in Massachusetts are regulated by the Massachusetts Board of Public Accountancy. Its published requirements are at https://www.mass.gov/orgs/board-of-public-accountancy.

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

No. Massachusetts still requires 150 semester hours for CPA licensure and has not enacted an alternative route. More than half of US jurisdictions have, so this is now the minority position and it may change.

Worth knowingThe bill is alive but stalled. The legislature's own bill history lists nine actions, the last on February 17, 2026, so nothing has been signed. Trade press quoting the MassCPAs CEO put the effective date at January 1, 2027 if the House acts, but that date appears in reporting rather than in an enacted law, so it should not be published as an effective date. Verify again after the 194th General Court concludes.

Massachusetts Legislature, Bill S.2946 official history: https://malegislature.gov/Bills/194/S2946. Verified 2026-08-19.

Recent changes and notes for Massachusetts

Massachusetts issues a non-reporting license when the applicant lacks attest experience; a full reporting license requires report/attest experience under a licensed CPA.
The 120 hours to sit must include 21 accounting hours and 9 business hours plus a bachelor's degree.
S.2946 (bachelor's + 2 years experience pathway, proposed effective Jan 1, 2027) passed the state Senate 37-0 on Feb 12, 2026 but is not yet enacted; 150 hours remains required to license.
SSN required; no residency requirement; minimum age 18.

The other jurisdictions that still require 150 hours

Massachusetts is one of 9 jurisdictions with no alternative route enacted, which is now the minority position.

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.mass.gov/how-to/how-to-apply-for-an-accountancy-license. Requirements change; confirm with the Massachusetts Board of Public Accountancy before applying.