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CPA exam and license requirements in Missouri

Missouri requires 120 semester credit hours to sit for the CPA exam. Licensure requires 150. Administered under the Missouri State Board of Accountancy. Last reviewed 2026-08-28.

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 Missouri?

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

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

Missouri 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 Missouri?

The CPA exam in Missouri costs $262.64 per section, a $100 application fee, a $96 education evaluation fee. Four sections at $262.64 is $1,050.56 in section fees alone. These are Missouri 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 Missouri?

Missouri 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 Missouri?

Missouri 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 Missouri State Board of Accountancy before planning around it.

Can you appeal a failed CPA exam score in Missouri?

Missouri 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 Missouri?

Through NASBA, at no charge. Missouri 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 Missouri State 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 Missouri?

No deadline that costs you exam credit, but Missouri does have a clock worth knowing, and it is not the same thing. 5 years, then 40 hours of CPE including 2 of ethics (20 CSR 2010-2.061(3)). Missing it costs you extra work before the license is issued, not the sections you have already passed.

Researched against Missouri'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 Missouri require a CPA ethics exam?

Missouri: Requires passing a Board-acceptable professional-ethics exam; a score of at least 90% on the AICPA professional-ethics course/exam satisfies it.

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

Missouri requires one year of accounting experience totaling at least 2,000 hours (full-time, or part-time spread over one to three years), verified by a licensed CPA.

Who regulates CPAs in Missouri?

CPAs in Missouri are regulated by the Missouri State Board of Accountancy. Its published requirements are at https://pr.mo.gov/accountancy.asp.

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

Yes. Missouri has an alternative route to CPA licensure that does not require 150 semester hours, and it has been in force since 2026-08-28. The traditional 150-hour route remains available alongside it. The change came through SB 1233 (2026), amending Mo. Rev. Stat. sections 326.256 to 326.292.

What the alternative route requires: A baccalaureate degree with a board-approved accounting concentration or equivalent, plus two years of experience and passage of the CPA Exam.

Worth knowingRe-verified on the effective date itself against the Senate bill record and the Missouri Society of CPAs. The Senate bill page lists the effective date as Varies, because the act covers several licensed professions; the 28 August 2026 date for the accountancy provisions comes from the Missouri Society of CPAs and matches Missouri's default effective date for an act passed without an emergency clause. The state board was still finalizing the rules that define the required accounting coursework on that date, so confirm the coursework detail with the board before relying on it. Two secondary trackers are incorrect on this state: one lists the effective date as August 28, 2028, and a review-course guide still lists Missouri as having no enacted pathway.

Missouri Senate, SB 1233 bill information and summary: https://www.senate.mo.gov/BillTracking/Bills/BillInformation?year=2026&billid=440. Verified 2026-08-28, and independently re-checked against the cited source.

Recent changes and notes for Missouri

Jurisdictions that changed around the same time as Missouri

Missouri's alternative route started on 28 August 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://pr.mo.gov/accountancy-cpa-examination.asp. Requirements change; confirm with the Missouri State Board of Accountancy before applying.