PocketCPA

CPA exam and license requirements in Oregon

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

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

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

Oregon 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 Oregon?

The CPA exam in Oregon 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 Oregon 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 Oregon?

Oregon 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 Oregon?

Oregon 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 Oregon Board of Accountancy before planning around it.

Can you appeal a failed CPA exam score in Oregon?

Oregon 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 Oregon?

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

No deadline that costs you exam credit, but Oregon does have a clock worth knowing, and it is not the same thing. 8 years, then an alternate route: 80 CPE hours and a board-approved ethics exam at 90 percent, both within the prior 12 months (OAR 801-010-0065(6)). Nothing expires. Missing it costs you extra work before the license is issued, not the sections you have already passed.

Researched against Oregon'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 Oregon require a CPA ethics exam?

Oregon: Pass the AICPA Professional Ethics comprehensive course and exam with a score of 90 or above before applying for the license.

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

Oregon requires minimum 12 months / 2,000 hours under a qualified supervisor; one year for the 150-hour or master's pathways, two years for the bachelor's-only pathway.

Who regulates CPAs in Oregon?

CPAs in Oregon are regulated by the Oregon Board of Accountancy. Its published requirements are at https://www.oregon.gov/boa/.

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

Yes. Oregon has an alternative route to CPA licensure that does not require 150 semester hours, and it has been in force since 2026-01-01. The traditional 150-hour route remains available alongside it. The change came through SB 797 (2025).

What the alternative route requires: Bachelor's degree including 24 semester hours of upper division accounting and 24 semester hours of accounting related coursework, two years (24 months, 4,000 hours) of supervised experience, and passage of the CPA Exam.

Worth knowingThe Board retained the 150 hour route deliberately, citing interstate reciprocity, career changers with non accounting degrees, and candidates pursuing a master's degree. No sunset has been set for the traditional route. Oregon states its hour requirements in quarter hours as well (225 quarter hours for the traditional path), which can cause confusion when comparing against semester hour states.

Oregon Board of Accountancy: https://www.oregon.gov/boa/pages/senate-bill-797-faqs.aspx. Verified 2026-08-19, and independently re-checked against the cited source.

Recent changes and notes for Oregon

Jurisdictions that changed around the same time as Oregon

Oregon's alternative route started on 1 January 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.oregon.gov/boa/Pages/License-Application-Requirements.aspx. Requirements change; confirm with the Oregon Board of Accountancy before applying.