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CPA exam and license requirements in Virginia

Virginia requires 120 semester credit hours to sit for the CPA exam. Licensure requires 150. Administered under the Virginia 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
12 months from issue
Transferring scores out
Through the board, $25
State ethics requirement
See below

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

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

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

Virginia 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 Virginia?

The CPA exam in Virginia costs $262.64 per section, a $120 application fee. Four sections at $262.64 is $1,050.56 in section fees alone. These are Virginia 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 Virginia?

Virginia 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 Virginia?

Virginia gives you 12 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.

Checked against the board, at https://boa.virginia.gov/cpa-exam/exam-application-steps/.

Can you appeal a failed CPA exam score in Virginia?

Virginia does not offer a score appeal. Virginia is one of the seven jurisdictions where appeals are not available, so viewing the items you answered incorrectly is not an option there. 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 Virginia?

Not through NASBA. Virginia does not appear as an origin on NASBA's transfer service, so you request your scores from the Virginia Board of Accountancy directly, which states a fee of $25. You can still transfer INTO Virginia from anywhere; it is only the outbound route that runs through the board.

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 Virginia?

No deadline that costs you exam credit, but Virginia does have a clock worth knowing, and it is not the same thing. A CPE ladder of 40, 80 or 120 hours depending on how long after passing you apply (18VAC5-22-90 D). Separately an application expires 6 years after it is opened, which expires the application and not the credit. Missing it costs you extra work before the license is issued, not the sections you have already passed.

Researched against Virginia'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 Virginia require a CPA ethics exam?

Virginia: Complete the AICPA self-study Professional Ethics comprehensive course (For Licensure) with a score of 90% or better.

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

Virginia requires one year (about 2,000 hours) of experience for the master's or bachelor's-plus-30 pathways, or two years for the bachelor's-only pathway, verified by an actively licensed CPA.

Who regulates CPAs in Virginia?

CPAs in Virginia are regulated by the Virginia Board of Accountancy. Its published requirements are at https://boa.virginia.gov.

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

Yes. Virginia 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 Va. Code § 54.1-4409.2 (A)(1)(a) and (A)(1)(d)(2).

What the alternative route requires: A baccalaureate or higher degree with an accounting concentration as defined by the Board, two years of verified experience, and passage of the CPA Exam, with no total semester hour requirement.

Worth knowingThe 150 hour route survives as an experience substitution rather than as a separate education standard. Va. Code § 54.1-4409.2 directs the Board to permit at least 30 additional semester hours beyond a baccalaureate degree to be substituted for one year of the two year experience requirement, and a master's degree qualifies with one year. Statutory text was read directly at law.lis.virginia.gov and matches the Board's live licensure requirements page, which asks for a two year experience verification on the bachelor's route.

Virginia Board of Accountancy: https://boa.virginia.gov/2025/09/virginia-passes-legislation-widening-pathways-to-cpa-licensure-effective-jan-1-2026. Verified 2026-08-19, and independently re-checked against the cited source.

Recent changes and notes for Virginia

Jurisdictions that changed around the same time as Virginia

Virginia'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://boa.virginia.gov/individual-cpas/initial-license. Requirements change; confirm with the Virginia Board of Accountancy before applying.