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CPA exam and license requirements in Rhode Island

Rhode Island requires 120 semester credit hours to sit for the CPA exam. Licensure requires 150. Administered under the Rhode Island 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
Through NASBA, free
State ethics requirement
See below

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

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

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

Rhode Island 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 Rhode Island?

The CPA exam in Rhode Island 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 Rhode Island 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 Rhode Island?

Rhode Island 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 Rhode Island?

Rhode Island 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 Rhode Island Board of Accountancy before planning around it.

Can you appeal a failed CPA exam score in Rhode Island?

Rhode Island 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 Rhode Island?

Through NASBA, at no charge. Rhode Island 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 Rhode Island 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 Rhode Island?

We did not find one. Rhode Island's statutes and board rules were read for a deadline to apply for licensure after passing, and neither sets one, so the sections you have passed do not appear to go stale while you finish the experience requirement. That is a "not found" rather than a guarantee: confirm with the Rhode Island Board of Accountancy before relying on it.

Researched against Rhode Island'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 Rhode Island require a CPA ethics exam?

Rhode Island: Pass the AICPA comprehensive professional ethics course exam with a score of at least 90.

What work experience is required for a CPA license in Rhode Island?

Rhode Island requires one year (1,820 hours) for Pathways 1 and 2, or two years (3,640 hours) for the new bachelor's-only Pathway 3, verified by a CPA licensed in any U.S. jurisdiction.

Who regulates CPAs in Rhode Island?

CPAs in Rhode Island are regulated by the Rhode Island Board of Accountancy. Its published requirements are at https://dbr.ri.gov/building-design-fire-professionals-board-accountancy/board-accountancy.

Can you become a CPA in Rhode Island without 150 credit hours?

Yes. Rhode Island has an alternative route to CPA licensure that does not require 150 semester hours, and it has been in force since 2026-06-23. The traditional 150-hour route remains available alongside it. The change came through H 8128 (2026), companion S 3076.

What the alternative route requires: Baccalaureate degree with an accounting concentration, two years (3,640 hours) of experience verified by a CPA licensed in any US jurisdiction, passage of the CPA Exam, and a score of at least 90 on the AICPA comprehensive ethics course.

Worth knowingThe codified version of R.I. Gen. Laws 5-3.1-5 posted on the General Assembly website still shows the pre-2026 text requiring 150 semester hours, because the online code has not yet been updated with the amendment. The Board of Accountancy page and the enrolled bill text are the current authority. The enrolled bill text of H 8128 was read directly and confirms three pathways at Section 5-3.1-5, with the third reading in part: a baccalaureate degree with an accounting concentration, passing scores on the CPA exam, and two years of experience. The retained routes are a post baccalaureate degree plus one year (1,820 hours) and a baccalaureate degree plus 30 additional semester credits plus one year.

Rhode Island Board of Accountancy, Department of Business Regulation: https://dbr.ri.gov/building-design-fire-professionals-board-accountancy/board-accountancy. Verified 2026-08-19, and independently re-checked against the cited source.

Recent changes and notes for Rhode Island

Jurisdictions that changed around the same time as Rhode Island

Rhode Island's alternative route started on 23 June 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://dbr.ri.gov/building-design-fire-professionals-board-accountancy/board-accountancy. Requirements change; confirm with the Rhode Island Board of Accountancy before applying.