Maryland CPA Exam and License Requirements

Publication Date :

15 May, 2023

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Maryland CPA Exam

Maryland CPA (Certified Public Accountant) License entitles a professional to practice as a CPA in the “Old Line State.” Candidates must satisfy the Maryland-specific CPA Exam, education, and additional license requirements to earn the credential.

Maryland is a one-tier state. Hence, you need not obtain a CPA certificate. Instead, you can right away apply for the CPA license or permit to practice after fulfilling the exam, experience, and other requisites. Furthermore, the Maryland Board of Public Accountancy is authorized under law to issue the CPA license.

Particulars	Details
CPA License-issuing authority	Maryland Board of Public Accountancy
Licensing system	1-tier
CPA Exam requirements	Complete your education
Submit the fees and required documents
Pass with at least 75 points in each section
Education Requirements for CPA Exam	Bachelor’s degree in accounting or its equivalent with 120 semester hours
CPA License Requirements	Fulfill the education criteria
Pass the Uniform CPA Exam
Gain relevant work experience
Pass the ethics exam
Education requirements for licensure	150 semester hours with a bachelor’s degree
Experience requirements for licensure	2000 hours within 3 years preceding the license application
Ethics requirement	Pass AICPA Professional Ethics Exam
International Examination Program	Participant

Now, let’s see the Maryland CPA exam and license requirements in detail.

Maryland CPA Exam Requirements

Exam Eligibility Requirements
Fee
Required Documents

Maryland CPA License Requirements

Education Requirements
Exam Requirements
Experience Requirements
Ethics Requirements

Continuing Professional Education (CPE)

Maryland Exam Information & Resources

Maryland CPA Exam Requirements

The CPA Examination is a computerized assessment comprising four sections to be passed with at least 75 points in each. You must pass all the sections within 18 months, beginning from the date you attempted the first passed section.

The test measures your competence and ability to practice as a CPA. Please note that the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and the National Association of State Boards of Public Accountancy (NASBA) jointly administer this exam.

All four exam sections include multiple-choice questions (MCQs) and task-based simulations (TBSs). However, BEC exam includes written communications tasks (WCTs) as an extra question type.

Exam Eligibility Requirements

Maryland CPA exam applicants must earn 120 semester hours (180 quarter hours), including

At least a bachelor’s degree in accounting or its equivalent from a board-approved institute that is a member of or accredited to:
- Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business,
- Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs, or
- Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools
30 semester hours (45 quarter hours) in accounting and ethics, including,
- 27 semester hours (41 quarter hours) in accounting and related subjects
- 3 semester hours (4.5 quarter hours) in ethics

Candidates with foreign degrees must request a course-by-course evaluation from the NASBA International Evaluation Services (NIES).

Apply for the CPA Exam through the Maryland Board of Public Accountancy with the required fees and educational documents. For the complete CPA application process, kindly visit the Maryland State Board website.

Fee

Applicants must pay the application fees to the state board and the examination fees directly to NASBA.

Particulars	Amount	Total Fees
Application fee	-	$67
Examination fees	-	-
AUD	$226.15	-
BEC	$226.15	-
FAR	$226.15	-
REG	$226.15	$904.6
Total fees	-	$971.6

Submit the exam fees within 90 days of receiving the payment coupon from NASBA. Both application and examination fees are non-refundable. Thus, take up the applied section(s) within six months of the Notice-to-Schedule (NTS) validity period.

Required Documents

Applicants must submit these documents to the Maryland state board:

Transcripts	Submission Authority
Electronic transcripts (with degree type & graduation date)	College/University
International Evaluation summary (if applicable)	Applicant/NIES
Testing accommodations request form (if applicable)	Applicant

Maryland CPA License Requirements

Here are the Maryland CPA license pre-requisites:

Complete 150 semester hours
Pass all four sections of the CPA exam with at least 75 points in each
Gain at least one year of relevant work experience
Pass the self-study AICPA’s ethics course with at least 90%

Candidates must be at least 18 years old with a valid social security number. Submit your CPA license application to the state board with the required fee and documents. Kindly visit the official portal for a detailed procedure.

Let’s view the CPA license fee details:

Particulars	Fees
Initial license	$22
License renewal	$56
Licenser renewal for inactive status	$28
Duplicate license certificate	$50

Education Requirements

Maryland CPA licensure applicants must obtain a bachelor’s degree with 150 semester hours (225 quarter hours) from an accredited institution. Know that the initial 120 credit hours are required to take the CPA exam. At the same time, the additional 30 hours are a must-have for licensure.

It includes at least 21 semester hours (31.5 quarter hours) in at least five of the following nine subjects:

Statistics
Management
Marketing
Economics
Business communication
Quantitative methods
Corporation/Business Finance
U.S. Business law
Computer science/Information systems

Exam Requirements

Pass all four CPA exam sections within the rolling 18-month testing period. You must score at least 75 points on a scale of 0-99 in each section. Please check the Maryland CPA Exam Requirements section for detailed information related to the CPA Exam.

Experience Requirements

Candidates must obtain at least one year (2000 hours) of work experience verified by a CPA holding an active license. Ensure to earn it within three years immediately preceding your licensure application date.

This includes experience in accounting, management advisory, attest, financial advisory, consulting, or taxation. Moreover, you may gain the required experience by taking up employment in government, public practice, industry, or academia.

Candidates must fill out and submit the Report of Practical Work Experience (RPE) form.

Ethics Requirements

Maryland CPA aspirants must complete the AICPA’s self-study ethics course, “Professional Ethics: The AICPA’s Comprehensive Course.” Pass the exam with at least 90% and send the course completion certificate to the state board.

Particulars	Details
Study material	Professional Ethics: AICPA’s Comprehensive Course (for licensure)
Level	Basic
Access	Online and text
Online access availability	1 year
Price	AICPA members - $179
Non-members - $225
Topics covered	AICPA Code of Professional Conduct
Conceptual Framework
Principles of Ethics & Independence
Regulatory rules & professional conduct
Code – Importance & how it is organized
Activities dishonoring the profession
How to study	Take up the course
Get the online/text-version
Read the study material
Complete the course
Attend the ethics exam
Exam Format/Type/Questions	Timed
MCQs
Online test
Minimum Passing Mark (for licensure)	90%
Score release timeline	Instant result

Continuing Professional Education (CPE)

Maryland CPA license holders must earn at least 80 CPE credit hours every two years. If the course providers are members of the NASBA National Registry of CPE Sponsors, only a course completion certificate is sufficient to qualify for CPE credit.

However, if a licensee obtains CPA CPE credits from a non-NASBA registered sponsor, the board evaluates the course documents. Here are the details of CPE.

Particulars	Details
License renewal date	Biennial
CPE reporting period	2 years preceding the application date for renewal
Required CPE hours	80 hours
Ethics Requirement	4 hours
Credit limitations	Instruction	Maximum 45 hours
Published material	Maximum 10 hours (40 hours per reporting period)
Peer review	Maximum 16 hours Engagement review - 12 hours System review - 16 hours
Other State Policies	Excess of the required 80 CPE hours can be carried forward to the next reporting period
The AICPA Ethics course is unacceptable for CPE credit

Now you know all the layers, sub-layers, do’s and don’t to become a CPA in Maryland. So, wait no more, take the CPA Exam, and fulfill all the Maryland license requirements to earn the prestige associated with this accounting credential. Always trust the authorized websites and keep a check on the relevant guidelines.

Maryland offers an annual average salary of $85,693 for CPAs. Also, it ranks high in economic and fiscal stability. So, precisely put, the state is a fantastic place to showcase your accounting skills.