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CPA exam and license requirements in Utah

Utah requires 120 semester credit hours to sit for the CPA exam. Licensure requires 150. Administered under the Utah Division of Professional Licensing (DOPL), 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
Laws and Rules exam

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

Utah requires 120 semester credit hours to sit for the CPA exam. Candidates in Utah sit under the rules of the Utah Division of Professional Licensing (DOPL), Board of Accountancy.

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

Utah 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 Utah?

The CPA exam in Utah 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 Utah 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 Utah?

Utah 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 Utah?

Utah 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 Utah Division of Professional Licensing (DOPL), Board of Accountancy before planning around it.

Can you appeal a failed CPA exam score in Utah?

Utah 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 Utah?

Through NASBA, at no charge. Utah 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 Utah Division of Professional Licensing (DOPL), 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 Utah?

We did not find one. Utah'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 Utah Division of Professional Licensing (DOPL), Board of Accountancy before relying on it.

Researched against Utah'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 Utah require a CPA ethics exam?

Utah: AICPA Professional Ethics exam (90% to pass) plus the Utah Laws and Rules exam.

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

Utah requires 2 years of experience with a bachelor’s degree, or 1 year with a master’s, verified by a licensed CPA.

Who regulates CPAs in Utah?

CPAs in Utah are regulated by the Utah Division of Professional Licensing (DOPL), Board of Accountancy. Its published requirements are at https://dopl.utah.gov/accountancy/.

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

Yes. Utah has an alternative route to CPA licensure that does not require 150 semester hours, and it has been in force since 2026-07-01. There is no separate 150-hour track; the requirement was removed rather than supplemented. The change came through Senate Bill 15 (2025); Utah Code 58-26a-302; Utah Admin. Code R156-26a-302a and R156-26a-302b.

What the alternative route requires: At least a bachelor's degree with a concentration in accounting and business as defined by Division rule, plus two years (4,000 hours) of accounting experience, the Uniform CPA Exam, the AICPA ethics exam and the Utah Laws and Rules exam.

Worth knowingUtah did not add a route alongside the 150-hour rule, it removed the rule. The prior version of 58-26a-302, which required 150 semester hours and one year of experience, is marked Superseded 7/1/2026 on the Legislature's site. A candidate holding 150 hours but no graduate degree now needs two years of experience rather than one, so the standalone 150-hour route effectively sunset on July 1, 2026. The Utah Association of CPAs describes the same two scenarios.

Utah Code Section 58-26a-302 (Utah State Legislature): https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title58/Chapter26A/58-26a-S302.html. Verified 2026-08-19, and independently re-checked against the cited source.

Recent changes and notes for Utah

Jurisdictions that changed around the same time as Utah

Utah's alternative route started on 1 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://nasba.org/exams/cpaexam/utah/. Requirements change; confirm with the Utah Division of Professional Licensing (DOPL), Board of Accountancy before applying.