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CPA exam and license requirements in Nevada

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

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

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

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

Nevada 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 Nevada?

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

Nevada 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 Nevada?

Nevada 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 Nevada State Board of Accountancy before planning around it.

Can you appeal a failed CPA exam score in Nevada?

Nevada 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 Nevada?

Ask the Nevada State Board of Accountancy before you pay anything, because NASBA's own two systems disagree about Nevada. NASBA's store lists Nevada as a jurisdiction you can transfer out of, while NASBA's Interstate Authorization Fee Schedule routes Nevada'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 Nevada?

No deadline that costs you exam credit, but Nevada does have a clock worth knowing, and it is not the same thing. The ethics exam must be passed no earlier than 3 years BEFORE you file the application (NAC 628.030(2)). The clock runs backward from the application and touches only the ethics exam. Stated as "apply within 3 years of passing" it would push a candidate to retake an exam they never lost. Missing it costs you extra work before the license is issued, not the sections you have already passed.

Researched against Nevada'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 Nevada require a CPA ethics exam?

Nevada: Within three years before applying, candidates must pass a Board-accepted professional-ethics exam (in practice the AICPA ethics exam, 90% to pass).

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

Nevada requires at least 2,000 hours of accounting-related work over no less than one year under the direct supervision of an actively licensed CPA, or two years under the new bachelor's pathway.

Who regulates CPAs in Nevada?

CPAs in Nevada are regulated by the Nevada State Board of Accountancy. Its published requirements are at https://www.nvaccountancy.com.

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

Yes. Nevada has an alternative route to CPA licensure that does not require 150 semester hours, and it has been in force since 2026-02-27. The traditional 150-hour route remains available alongside it. The change came through AB 510 (2025), chapter 29, Statutes of Nevada 2025; implemented by LCB File No. R054-25 amending NAC 628.055 and NAC 628.060.

What the alternative route requires: Bachelor's degree containing the board's accounting concentration with no additional semester hours, plus at least 4,000 hours of work performed over not less than two years under the supervision of a person who held an active CPA license during the period being verified.

Worth knowingNevada acted by regulation rather than by a stand-alone pathway statute, so the trail is easy to mis-cite. Accounting Today and 300hours both attribute the change to SB 437; the approved regulation itself cites Assembly Bill No. 510, chapter 29, Statutes of Nevada 2025, and Nevada's 2025 SB 437 was an installment lending bill. Controllers Council gives an effective date of January 1, 2026, which is AB 510's effective date, not the regulation's. The codified NAC 628.055 published on the legislature's site still shows the old 150 hour text because codification lags the filed regulation. Nevada is two tier, so this governs the certificate of certified public accountant. The master's route and the bachelor's plus 30 hours route both remain, each with 2,000 hours over at least one year, and no sunset was found.

Approved Regulation of the Nevada State Board of Accountancy, LCB File No. R054-25 (Nevada Legislature): https://www.leg.state.nv.us/Register/2025Register/R054-25AP.pdf. Verified 2026-08-19, and independently re-checked against the cited source.

Recent changes and notes for Nevada

Jurisdictions that changed around the same time as Nevada

Nevada's alternative route started on 27 February 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://www.leg.state.nv.us/nac/nac-628.html. Requirements change; confirm with the Nevada State Board of Accountancy before applying.