PocketCPA

CPA exam and license requirements in Wisconsin

Wisconsin requires 120 semester credit hours to sit for the CPA exam. Licensure requires 150. Administered under the Wisconsin Accounting Examining Board. 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
Statutes & rules exam

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

Wisconsin requires 120 semester credit hours to sit for the CPA exam. Candidates in Wisconsin sit under the rules of the Wisconsin Accounting Examining Board.

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

Wisconsin 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 Wisconsin?

The CPA exam in Wisconsin costs $262.64 per section, a $146 application fee, a $96 education evaluation fee. Four sections at $262.64 is $1,050.56 in section fees alone. These are Wisconsin 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 Wisconsin?

Wisconsin 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 Wisconsin?

Wisconsin 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 Wisconsin Accounting Examining Board before planning around it.

Can you appeal a failed CPA exam score in Wisconsin?

Wisconsin 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 Wisconsin?

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

No deadline that costs you exam credit, but Wisconsin does have a clock worth knowing, and it is not the same thing. Experience must be acquired within 5 years before applying (Accy 2.402(4)). Missing it costs you extra work before the license is issued, not the sections you have already passed.

Researched against Wisconsin'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 Wisconsin require a CPA ethics exam?

Wisconsin: Pass Wisconsin's own open-book exam on the state statutes and administrative rules governing public accounting (not the AICPA ethics exam), with a passing grade of 80.

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

Wisconsin requires one year of qualifying accounting experience (two years under the new bachelor's-only pathway), earned within the five years before applying and accepted by the board.

Who regulates CPAs in Wisconsin?

CPAs in Wisconsin are regulated by the Wisconsin Accounting Examining Board. Its published requirements are at https://dsps.wi.gov/Pages/Professions/Accountant/Default.aspx.

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

Yes. Wisconsin has an alternative route to CPA licensure that does not require 150 semester hours, and it has been in force since 2026-04-04. The traditional 150-hour route remains available alongside it. The change came through 2025 Wisconsin Act 166 (Assembly Bill 696), creating Wis. Stat. ยง 442.04 (5) (b) 3. c..

What the alternative route requires: A bachelor's degree from an accredited institution with coursework in accounting and business subjects as determined by the Accounting Examining Board, plus not less than two years of work experience or its equivalent.

Worth knowingGovernor Evers signed the bill April 2, 2026 and it was published April 3, 2026. The act states it takes effect the day after publication, which is April 4, 2026, while the WICPA press release described the law as in effect on signing. The act also directs conforming amendments to Accounting Examining Board administrative rules in ch. Accy 2, so implementing rule text may lag the statute.

Wisconsin State Legislature: https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/2025/related/acts/166. Verified 2026-08-19, and independently re-checked against the cited source.

Recent changes and notes for Wisconsin

Jurisdictions that changed around the same time as Wisconsin

Wisconsin's alternative route started on 4 April 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://dsps.wi.gov/Pages/Professions/Accountant/Default.aspx. Requirements change; confirm with the Wisconsin Accounting Examining Board before applying.