Public Accountancy

License Requirements

General Requirements

Any use of "Certified Public Accountant" or "Public Accountant" titles within New York State requires licensure. To be licensed as a Certified Public Accountant in New York State you must:

• be of good moral character
• be at least 21 years of age
• meet education, examination, and experience requirements

You must submit an application for licensure and the other forms indicated, along with the appropriate fee, to the Office of the Professions at the address specified on each form. It is your responsibility to follow up with anyone you have asked to send us material.

The specific requirements for licensure are contained in Title 8, Article 149, Section 7404 of New York's Education Law and Part 70 of the Commissioner's Regulations.

You should also read the general licensing information applicable for all professions.

Fees

The fee for licensure is $377.

Fees are subject to change. The fee due is the one in law when your application is received (unless fees are increased retroactively). You will be billed for the difference if fees have been increased.

• Do not send cash.
• Make your personal check or money order payable to the New York State Education Department. Your cancelled check is your receipt.
• Mail your application and fee to:

NYS Education Department
Office of the Professions
PO Box 22063
Albany, New York 12201

Partial Refunds

Individuals who withdraw their licensure application may be entitled to a partial refund.

• For the procedure to withdraw your application, contact the Public Accountancy Unit at opunit3@mail.nysed.gov or (518) 474-3817 ext. 270 or by fax at: (518) 402-5354.
• The State Education Department is not responsible for any fees paid to an outside testing or credentials verification agency.

If you withdraw your application, obtain a refund, and then decide to seek New York State licensure at a later date, you will be considered a new applicant, and you will be required to pay the licensure and registration fees and meet the licensure requirements in place at the time you reapply.

Education Requirements

Important Information for Candidates for Licensure as a CPA

Effective August 1, 2009 applicants for licensure as a CPA will be required to meet New York's 150 semester hour education requirements. An applicant can be grandfathered under the 120 semester hour requirements if:

• They have submitted an application for licensure (the NYS Form 1 and the $377.00 application fee) to the State Education Department prior to August 1, 2009; and
• They have completed all of the course work required to meet the 120 semester hour requirements prior to August 1, 2009.
  

An applicant who meets these two stipulations prior to August 1, 2009 may be licensed based on 120 semester hours of education, even if they pass the exam and gain their licensure-qualifying experience after August 1, 2009.

Additionally, any applicant who received a CPA license in another state prior to August 1, 2009 is grandparented under the 120 semester hour education requirements for licensure in New York.

To fulfill the education requirement for licensure, you must complete:

• an accounting program registered by the Department as licensure-qualifying, or
• an accounting program that is accredited by an accrediting body accepted by the Department. Currently the Association for the Advancement of Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) is accepted, or
• a program determined by the Department, after review of your transcripts, to be equivalent to a registered program, or
• 15 years of public accounting experience acceptable to the State Board for Public Accountancy.

For a listing of currently registered licensure qualifying programs see the NYS Education Department's Inventory of Registered Programs. Please Note: if your program is not listed, contact your school to determine if it is a NYS licensure qualifying program.

Course work may be completed at the undergraduate or graduate level or by any combination of the two. You must have an overall average in the accounting subjects of "C" or better at the undergraduate level and "B" or better at the graduate level.

To meet the education requirements for licensure, you must fit into one of the options described below:

• Option 1 (available only to applicants who met the grandparenting provisions for licensure under the 120 semester hour requirements as described above)
  
  A bachelor's or higher degree and a minimum of 120 semester hours in the following areas:
  • 24 semester hours in accounting, with courses in accounting principles, cost accounting, taxation, and professional auditing; and
  • 6 semester hours or 4 graduate credit hours in business law; and
  • 6 semester hours in finance; and
  • 3 semester hours in business statistics; and
  • 21 semester hours in business and accounting electives; and
  • 6 semester hours of economic principles which may be used toward fulfilling the business elective;
  
  
• Option 2 (available to any applicant who: 1. does not meet the grandparenting requirements for licensure under the 120 semester hour requirements, and 2. any applicant who did meet the granparenting requirements, but who wants to be eligible for a one-year waiver of the experience requirement for licensure)
  
  A bachelor's or higher degree and 150 semester hours in the following content areas, which include but are not limited to at least:
  • 33 semester hours in accounting with at least one course in each of the following content areas:
    • financial accounting and reporting;
    • cost or managerial accounting;
    • tax;
    • auditing
  • 36 semester hours in general business electives
  • The curriculum must also include as standalone course work or content integrated in other courses the study of business/accounting communications, ethics/professional responsibility, and accounting research.
  
  
• Option 3 (available to any applicant)
  
  Fifteen years of accounting, tax, finance or management advisory experience acceptable to the State Board for Accountancy may be accepted in lieu of meeting option 1 or 2 above for admission to the examination and for licensure. This experience must be earned under the direct supervision of a U.S. certified public accountant or a New York State public accountant, or as a certified public accountant licensed in another state.

Examination Requirements

New York State recognizes the Uniform CPA Examination, prepared and graded by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA). In New York, the examination is administered by CPA Examination Services, a division of the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy.

This examination is a computerized examination consisting of four parts:

• Auditing & Attestation
• Financial Accounting and Reporting
• Regulation
• Business Environment and Concepts

The passing score for each of the four examination parts will be 75 and will be reported to each New York candidate on a pass/fail basis. You must successfully pass all parts of the examination within eighteen (18) months. You may sit parts individually, once during each calendar quarter.

Admission Requirements

If you intend to take all or part of the CPA examination in New York, you must:

• Submit the Application for Licensure (Form 1) and fee to the New York State Education Department
• Submit an application for examination and fee to the CPA Examination Services. For an application or information, you may go to CPA Examination Services, or call them at 1-800-CPA EXAM (1-800-272-3926).
• Submit your education for approval as detailed below.
  • If you were educated entirely in the United States:
    • CPA Examination Services will review your education for admission to the examination. You must request both an education review and examination application from CPA Examination Services
  • If you completed any post-secondary education outside of the United States:
    • Have a Certification of Professional Education (Form 2) completed by your school and submitted along with a transcript to the New York State Education Department

If you passed part of the Uniform CPA Examination in another jurisdiction, contact CPA Examination Services for an Authorization for Interstate Exchange of Examination Information.

Reasonable Testing Accommodations

Applicants with disabilities requesting reasonable accommodations for an examination need to contact CPA Examination Services and provide several types of documentation.

Experience Requirements

An applicant must present evidence, satisfactory to the State Board for Public Accountancy, of experience using the skills and competencies of a professional accountant in the area(s) of accounting, tax, finance and/or management advisory services.

Applicants who meet the grandfathering provisions for licensure under New York's 120 semester hour education requirements must document at least two full years of qualifying experience for licensure. Applicants who meet New York's 150 semester hour education requirements for licensure are eligible to request a waiver of one year of experience. Full-time employment is considered to be a 5-day, 35-40 hour week, excluding overtime. Acceptable part-time (no less than 20 hours per week) experience will be considered on the basis of one week of experience for every two weeks worked. See the instructions for Employer Form 4b for further detail on qualifying experience. Experience may be gained in a public accounting firm, private industry, government, a not-for-profit or an educational institution.

Experience must be attested to by a CPA licensed in the United States or by a public accountant licensed in New York, provided such individual supervised the applicant in the employing organization. Individuals who are licensed as a CPA in the United States may self-certify their experience if they no longer have a licensed supervisor.

Applicants Licensed in Another State

Applicants who have been licensed as a CPA in another state that has significantly comparable licensure requirements to New York for four or more years may apply for licensure by endorsement. To apply for licensure by endorsement the applicant must submit an application for licensure consisting of:

• the Application for Licensure and First Registration (Form 1); and
• the Applicant Experience Record for Endorsement Applicants (Form 4E); and
• the Certification of Employer (Form 4B) certifying at least 4 years of acceptable experience gained since the initial license was issued and within the last 10 years.

An applicant who is licensed as a CPA in another state that does not have significantly comparable licensure requirements to New York, or who has been licensed for less than four years in another state that does have significantly comparable requirements is not eligible for licensure by endorsement. This individual must apply as an initial applicant for licensure.

A list of such states/jurisdictions is provided here (HTML, PDF).

Note: Use of CredentialNet

An applicant for endorsement who is licensed in another state and who uses the CredentialNet service to have his or her experience information collected is still responsible for submitting the Application for licensure and First Registration (Form 1), the Applicant Experience Record (Form 4) and the application fee directly to the Department. An applicant for initial license who is licensed in another state and who uses the CredentialNet service to have his or her education, examination and experience documentation collected is still responsible for submitting the Application for licensure and First Registration (Form 1), the Applicant Experience Record for Endorsement Applicants (Form 4E), and the application fee directly to the Department.

Public Accountant License Requirements

An applicant must have filed a declaration of intent with the Education Department before October 1, 1959. In addition, an applicant must be of good moral character and meet the experience requirements; there are no education or examination requirements for this professional title.

Experience: Must have had a minimum of six years of public accounting experience between April 23, 1949 and April 23, 1959.

Age: There is no age requirement.

Triennial Registration Fee: $292.00