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CPA exam and license requirements in Vermont

Vermont requires 120 semester credit hours to sit for the CPA exam. Licensure requires 150. Administered under the Vermont Board of Public 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 Vermont?

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

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

Vermont 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 Vermont?

The CPA exam in Vermont 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 Vermont 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 Vermont?

Vermont 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 Vermont?

Vermont 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 Vermont Board of Public Accountancy before planning around it.

Can you appeal a failed CPA exam score in Vermont?

Vermont 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 Vermont?

Through NASBA, at no charge. Vermont 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 Vermont Board of Public 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 Vermont?

No deadline that costs you exam credit, but Vermont does have a clock worth knowing, and it is not the same thing. A deadline with no stated consequence. Board rule 5.1(b) gives four years to complete the application process after passing, but nothing in Part 5 says anything is forfeited, and the board’s own CPA Application Instructions of January 2026 do not mention it. The same rule set still prints a superseded 18 month rolling window, so treat the document as stale. The live clock is a different one: required documents must arrive within six months or the application expires. Missing it costs you extra work before the license is issued, not the sections you have already passed.

Researched against Vermont'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 Vermont require a CPA ethics exam?

Vermont: Complete an 8-hour professional ethics course covering the AICPA Code of Professional Conduct or Vermont accountancy statutes and rules within two years of applying; commonly met by the AICPA comprehensive ethics course (90% to pass).

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

Vermont requires one year (about 2,080 hours) of accounting experience under the supervision of a licensed CPA, or two years under the new bachelor's-only pathway.

Who regulates CPAs in Vermont?

CPAs in Vermont are regulated by the Vermont Board of Public Accountancy. Its published requirements are at https://sos.vermont.gov/accountancy.

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

Yes. Vermont has an alternative route to CPA licensure that does not require 150 semester hours, and it has been in force since 2026-06-08. The traditional 150-hour route remains available alongside it. The change came through H.588, Act 119 of 2026, Secs. 8 through 10.

What the alternative route requires: A bachelor's degree with an accounting focus plus two years of supervised professional experience and passage of the CPA Exam, with no additional credit hours beyond the bachelor's degree.

Worth knowingThe Vermont Statutes Online copy of 26 V.S.A. 71a still showed only the 150-hour language when checked, because that site reflects through the 2025 session and has not yet absorbed Act 119. The Legislature's own bill status page for H.588 confirms the Governor signed it on June 8, 2026. Under Board rule the experience must generally be in public accounting, with limited non-public areas allowed under Rules 5.9 and 5.10. The Office of Professional Regulation, not the Society, is the definitive licensing authority.

Vermont Society of CPAs, FAQ on the new pathway to CPA licensure: https://legislature.vermont.gov/bill/status/2026/H.588. Verified 2026-08-19, and independently re-checked against the cited source. Recorded at medium confidence, so confirm with the board before planning around it.

Recent changes and notes for Vermont

Jurisdictions that changed around the same time as Vermont

Vermont's alternative route started on 8 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://sos.vermont.gov/accountancy/statutes-rules-resources. Requirements change; confirm with the Vermont Board of Public Accountancy before applying.