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CPA exam and license requirements in Pennsylvania

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

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

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

Pennsylvania 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 Pennsylvania?

The CPA exam in Pennsylvania 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 Pennsylvania 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 Pennsylvania?

Pennsylvania 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 Pennsylvania?

Pennsylvania 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 Pennsylvania State Board of Accountancy before planning around it.

Can you appeal a failed CPA exam score in Pennsylvania?

Pennsylvania 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 Pennsylvania?

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

No deadline that costs you exam credit, but Pennsylvania does have a clock worth knowing, and it is not the same thing. 80 CPE hours in the 2 years before filing, unless you passed in the same biennial renewal period as the application (49 Pa. Code 11.62(a)). Effectively the tightest gate of any jurisdiction: miss one biennium and the hours attach, with no multi-year grace. Missing it costs you extra work before the license is issued, not the sections you have already passed.

Researched against Pennsylvania'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 Pennsylvania require a CPA ethics exam?

Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania requires no ethics exam or ethics course for CPA licensure.

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

Pennsylvania requires one year (1,600 hours) for the 150-hour or master's pathways, or two years (3,200 hours) for the new bachelor's (120-credit) pathway, verified by a licensed CPA.

Who regulates CPAs in Pennsylvania?

CPAs in Pennsylvania are regulated by the Pennsylvania State Board of Accountancy. Its published requirements are at https://www.pa.gov/agencies/dos/department-and-offices/bpoa/boards-commissions/accountancy-board.

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

Yes. Pennsylvania has an alternative route to CPA licensure that does not require 150 semester hours, and it has been in force since 2025-06-30. The traditional 150-hour route remains available alongside it. The change came through Act 27 of 2025 (Senate Bill 719).

What the alternative route requires: Bachelor's degree of at least 120 semester credits including at least 24 semester credits in accounting and auditing, business law, economics, finance, tax or technology subjects, two years of qualifying experience verified by a licensed CPA, and passage of the CPA Exam.

Worth knowingSources contradict each other here. At least one widely read review course comparison table still lists Pennsylvania under states with no new pathway enacted, which contradicts both its own Pennsylvania state page and the enacted statute. The frequently quoted 3,200 hour figure for the two year requirement comes from secondary sources rather than from PICPA or the State Board, so treat the hour count as unverified while the two year duration is confirmed. PICPA's legislative accomplishments page states that all provisions of Act 27 took effect immediately upon enactment.

Pennsylvania Institute of Certified Public Accountants (PICPA): https://www.picpa.org/advocacy-pipeline/professional-issues-tracker/press-release/cpa-now/2025/07/10/picpa-celebrates-governor-shapiro-signing-new-cpa-pathway-into-law--ushering-in-a-modern-era-for-cpa-licensure. Verified 2026-08-19, and independently re-checked against the cited source.

Recent changes and notes for Pennsylvania

Jurisdictions that changed around the same time as Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania's alternative route started on 30 June 2025. 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://nasba.org/exams/cpaexam/pennsylvania/. Requirements change; confirm with the Pennsylvania State Board of Accountancy before applying.