PocketCPA

CPA exam and license requirements in Nebraska

Nebraska requires 120 semester credit hours to sit for the CPA exam. Licensure requires 150. Administered under the Nebraska 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
Ask the board, sources disagree
State ethics requirement
State ethics exam

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

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

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

Nebraska 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 Nebraska?

The CPA exam in Nebraska costs $262.64 per section, a $96 application fee, a $111 education evaluation fee. Four sections at $262.64 is $1,050.56 in section fees alone. These are Nebraska 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 Nebraska?

Nebraska 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 Nebraska?

Nebraska 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 Nebraska Board of Public Accountancy before planning around it.

Can you appeal a failed CPA exam score in Nebraska?

Nebraska 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 Nebraska?

Ask the Nebraska Board of Public Accountancy before you pay anything, because NASBA's own two systems disagree about Nebraska. NASBA's store lists Nebraska as a jurisdiction you can transfer out of, while NASBA's Interstate Authorization Fee Schedule routes Nebraska's transfer of grades to the board instead. Being absent from the store list reliably means the board handles it, but being present does not reliably mean NASBA does.

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 Nebraska?

No deadline that costs you exam credit, but Nebraska does have a clock worth knowing, and it is not the same thing. 6 years, then 120 hours of CE including 4 of ethics in the 3 years before applying (288 NAC 9-004.04B). Nothing expires. It sits in the EDUCATION chapter, not the exam chapter, which is why it is easy to miss. Missing it costs you extra work before the license is issued, not the sections you have already passed.

Researched against Nebraska'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 Nebraska require a CPA ethics exam?

Nebraska: Requires both the Nebraska Board of Public Accountancy ethics exam and the AICPA professional-ethics comprehensive course (90% to pass).

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

Nebraska requires at least 4,000 hours over a minimum of two years (public accounting), or 6,000 hours over three years (industry, government, or academia), all supervised by an actively licensed CPA.

Who regulates CPAs in Nebraska?

CPAs in Nebraska are regulated by the Nebraska Board of Public Accountancy. Its published requirements are at https://nbpa.nebraska.gov/.

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

Yes. Nebraska has an alternative route to CPA licensure that does not require 150 semester hours, and it has been in force since 2026-07-18. The traditional 150-hour route remains available alongside it. The change came through LB 718 (2026), approved by the Governor February 25, 2026.

What the alternative route requires: Bachelor's degree from an accredited institution including 24 semester hours of upper level accounting and 24 semester hours of general business with coverage in business ethics, plus at least 4,000 hours of qualifying accounting experience completed in no less than two years and no more than six years.

Worth knowingThe board's experience page states the three pathways as current but does not print the effective date. July 17, 2026 is taken from the board's own news item titled for that date and from the Nebraska Society of CPAs. The society's news post is headlined February 26, 2026 while the official slip law records approval by the Governor on February 25, 2026. Nebraska is two tier, so these pathways govern the Initial Permit to Practice rather than the certificate alone. The 150 hour route survives as Pathway 2, bachelor's plus 30 additional semester hours with 2,000 hours of experience, and a master's degree with 2,000 hours is Pathway 1. No sunset was found.

Nebraska Board of Public Accountancy, Experience Requirements: https://nebraskalegislature.gov/laws/statutes.php?statute=1-136.02. Verified 2026-08-19, and independently re-checked against the cited source. Recorded at medium confidence, so confirm with the board before planning around it.

Recent changes and notes for Nebraska

Jurisdictions that changed around the same time as Nebraska

Nebraska's alternative route started on 18 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://nbpa.nebraska.gov/individuals/licensing-requirements. Requirements change; confirm with the Nebraska Board of Public Accountancy before applying.