New York CPA Exam and License Requirements

Publication Date :

14 May, 2023

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New York CPA Exam

New York CPA (Certified Public Accountant) License is an official accounting certification compulsory to work as a CPA in the U.S. province. New York renders the CPA License to professionals complying with its exam, education, and experience requirements. Being the U.S. financial hub, opportunities abound for licensed accounting professionals in the state.

The Empire State administers a one-tier licensing strategy. Therefore, you would be certified and licensed simultaneously after passing the CPA Exam and meeting other qualifications. Note that the New York State Department of Education (NYSED) is the sole authority for CPA licensing in the state.

The U.S. jurisdiction conducts the CPA Exam at international locations as well. Here is an outline of the New York CPA exam and license requirements.

Particulars	New York CPA Exam Requirements	New York CPA License Requirements
Minimum Age	21	21
U.S. Citizenship & Residency	Not Required	Not Required
Social Security Number	Not Required	Not Required
Education	120 semester hours/150 semester hours/15 years public accounting experience	150 semester hours
Exam	Schedule and take all sections within 18 months	Pass all four exam sections with 75 points in each
Experience	-	1 or 2 years
Ethics Exam	-	None

Contents

New York CPA Exam Requirements

Eligibility Requirements
Fees
Required Documents

New York CPA License Requisites

Education Requirements
Exam Requirements
Experience Requirements

Continuing Professional Education (CPE)

New York Exam Information & Resources

New York CPA Exam Requirements

The Uniform CPA Examination is a multi-part computer-assisted test. It evaluates the candidate’s potential to pursue public accounting in the U.S. It is considered one of the most challenging professional exams.

It is developed and graded by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) in cooperation with the National Association of State Boards of Public Accountancy (NASBA).

The four CPA exam sections are Business Environment & Concepts (BEC Exam), Regulation (REG Exam), Financial Accounting & Reporting (FAR exam), and Auditing & Attestation (AUD Exam). Each examination part is four-hour long. It encompasses five testlets featuring three question types.

Multiple-choice questions (MCQs) and task-based simulations (TBSs) are included in all sections. At the same time, written communication tasks (WCTs) are only covered in the BEC section.

Please note that you have a rolling 18-month window to pass all four sections successfully. Ensure to score at least 75 points on a scale of 0-99 in each part.

Particulars	Details
Exam Application Regulatory Body	CPAES
Passing Score	Minimum 75 points in each section
Exam Sections	4
Timeframe	18-month rolling period
Exam Duration	16-hour (4 hours per section)
Exam Regulators	AICPA, NASBA, & Prometric
Required Documents	Official School Transcript(s)
Foreign Evaluation Report with Foreign Documents
NY State Registered Program Form
Testing Accommodations Request Form
Fees	Initial applicants	$952.6
Re-exam applicants	$1,037.6 approx. (as per the number of sections to re-take)
Eligibility Requirements	120 semester hours
150 semester hours, or
15-year public accounting experience

Eligibility Requirements

New York CPA License candidates planning to sit for the exam must take one of the following requirement pathways:

120-semester hour pathway
150-semester hour pathway
15 years of public accounting experience pathway

The details are as follows:

Particulars	120 Semester Hour Pathway	150 Semester Hour Pathway	Public Accounting Experience Pathway
Conditions	Candidates who applied for CPA licensure or completed the required education before August 1, 2009, must satisfy one of the following options:	Candidates who did not apply for CPA licensure or who completed the required education after August 1, 2009, must fulfill each of the following prerequisites:	Candidates who applied for CPA licensure or completed the required education after August 1, 2009, with 150 semester hours, must meet one of the following:	Gain 15 years of state-board-approved public accounting experience.
Option 1	Complete the registered 120-hour program authorized by NYSED (reviewed by CPAES)	120 semester hours of college-level education, & A course covering Cost or Management Accounting, Non-introductory level Financial Accounting, Taxation, & upper-division level Auditing & Attestation	Complete the registered 150-hour program authorized by NYSED (reviewed by CPAES)	-
Option 2	Hold a bachelor’s degree with an accounting major from a college or university approved by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB)	-	Hold a master’s degree with an accounting major from a college or university approved by the AACSB	-
Option 3	Hold at least a bachelor’s degree and a minimum of 120 semester hours in the following areas:	-	Hold at least a bachelor’s degree with a minimum of 150 semester hours (225 quarter hours) in college-level education, including
24 semester hours in accounting with: Non-introductory level financial accounting Cost accounting Taxation Upper-division level Audit and attestation
33 semester hours (49.5 quarter hours) in accounting with: Cost or Management Accounting Non-introductory level Financial Accounting Taxation Upper-division level Auditing & Attestation Accounting Research
21 semester hours in business and accounting, 6 semester hours (or 4 semester hours at the graduate level) in business law 6 semester hours in finance 3 semester hours in statistics 6 semester hours in economic
36 semester (54 quarter) hours in general business

Note that you must also cover Communications and Ethics & Responsibilities subjects in either business or accounting. Also, the public accounting experience must meet the following requisites:

A U.S. CPA or New York Public Accountant (PA) must directly supervise the experience.
It must involve the implementation of U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) and Generally Accepted Accounting Standards (GAAS). Also, it must include the preparation of auditing & financial statements.
The supervising CPA must submit the Verification of Experience Form to the NYSED.

New York CPA Exam & Education Requirements

On meeting all requisites, submit the online application, fees, and documents to CPA Examination Services (CPAES). For the complete process, kindly visit the NASBA portal.

NASBA Advisory Evaluation service is also available to determine any educational flaws in your documents before the final submission.

Fees

Initial exam candidates:

Particulars	Examination Fees	Total Fees
Application Fee	-	$170
Registration Fee	-	-
Exam sections	-	-
AUD	$238.15	-
BEC	$238.15	-
FAR	$238.15	-
REG	$238.15	$952.6
Total Fees	$952.6	$1,122.6

Re-exam candidates:

CPA Exam Sections	Exam Fees (per section)	Total Exam Fees (all sections)	Application Fees	Total Fees
4 exam sections	$238.15	$899.96	$85	$984.96
3 exam sections	$238.15	$674.97	$85	$759.97
2 exam sections	$238.15	$449.98	$85	$534.98
1 exam sections	$238.15	$224.99	$85	$309.99

New York CPA aspirants can’t withdraw from the licensure test or request to extend their Notice-to-Schedule (NTS). However, they may receive a partial examination fee reimbursement or request an NTS extension under drastic scenarios.

Both examination and application fees are non-refundable. So, only sign up for the section(s) that you can take up in the six-month NTS validity period.

Required Documents

Below-mentioned is the checklist for the required documents.

Please note that only original transcripts are official and acceptable.

New York CPA License Requisites

Now that we have elaborated on the exam requirements let's move on to the prerequisites for a New York CPA License. They are as follows:

Prove good moral character
Be a minimum of 21 years of age
Complete 150 semester hours
Pass each of the four CPA exam sections
Obtain 1 or 2 years of relevant work experience

Please note that Social Security Number (SSN) is used, however not mandatory, for CPA applicants. Moreover, CPAES assigns a unique computer-generated number for applicants without SSNs.

Apply for the CPA License through NYSED along with the required forms. Please check the official website for the complete procedure.

Required Forms	Services
Form 1	Application for Licensure & Fees ($427)
Form 2	Certification of Professional Education
Form 3	Certification of Out-Of-State Licensure and Examination Grades
Form 4B	Verification of Experience by Supervisor

Know that the licensure fees are subject to change. Hence, check with the NYSED before the final submission.

Education Requirements

New York CPA aspirants can complete their education requisites through one of the two pathways:

#1 - 150 Semester Hour Pathway

The required hours must be obtained from one of these programs:

NY State Licensure Qualifying Registered Programs - Complete an accounting program registered by the NYSED as licensure-qualifying.
AACSB Programs - Complete a master’s degree in accounting from an AACSB institute accredited in business and accounting.
All other Programs - Complete a postsecondary education regarded as substantially equivalent to the programs registered with the NYSED. It includes a minimum of a bachelor’s degree from an accredited institute by NYSED-approved agencies.

Note that the 150 semester hours must include:

33 semester hours in accounting with at least one course in the first four listed subjects:
- Financial Accounting & Reporting
- Cost or Managerial Accounting
- Taxation
- Auditing & Attestation Services
- Fraud Examination
- Internal Controls & Risk Assessment
- Accounting Information Systems
36 semester hours in general business electives in any combination of the following subjects:
- Business Statistics
- Computer Science
- Finance
- Marketing
- Organizational Behavior
- Quantitative Methods
- Business Law
- Economics
- Management
- Operations Management
- Business Strategy
- Information Technology & Systems

The subjects must also incorporate business or accounting communications, accounting research, and ethics & professional responsibility as stand-alone or integrated courses.

#2 - 120 Semester Hour Pathway

The following candidates can apply through the 120-hour pathway:

Candidates who are not licensed in another state and have applied for licensure by finishing their education before August 1, 2009. Such candidates have deemed grandparents into the 120-semester-hour pathway.
Candidates who were licensed in another state before August 2009 but did not have four years of experience in the preceding ten years.

Candidates eligible for grandparenting may complete additional coursework and get their education re-evaluated to apply through the 150-semester-hour pathway.

Exam Requirements

NY CPA aspirants must score 75 points or more in each of the four CPA Exam sections. Please note that you have a rolling 18-month period to conclude the licensure test. Refer to the New York Exam Requirements section for more details.

Experience Requirements

The following are the experience requisites:

120-semester hour pathway applicants - Gain at least two years of part-time or full-time work experience.
150-semester hour pathway applicants - Obtain one year of part-time or full-time work experience.

An active CPA from the same organization must supervise your employment and submit the Verification of Experience Form.

The required experience may be full-time or part-time:

Full-time employment - Minimum 35 hours per week (5-day work week)
Part-time work experience - 20 hours per week (Two part-time weeks constitute one full-time week)

A candidate who takes the 15 years of experience pathway to meet the education requirements need not get any other experience for licensure after passing the examination.

Continuing Professional Education (CPE)

New York State CPAs must earn the required CPE credit hours annually. Courses taken inside the state must be sponsored by firms registered with NASBA or the NY state board.

On the other hand, courses taken outside the state must be sponsored by firms registered with the NY state board, NASBA, or the state board in which the course was taken.

Here is everything you must know about the CPE requirements.

Particulars	Details
Date for Renewing License	Triennial based on the issuance date (current) & birth month (before January 1, 1993)
Reporting Period for CPE	January 1-December 31 (Annually)
General CPE Requirement	Recognized subject areas	Accounting
Attest
Auditing
Taxation
Advisory Services
Specialized knowledge & applications associated with specialized industries
Areas adequately associated with the accounting practice
Hours in any of the recognized subject areas	Minimum 40 contact hours
Hours in one recognized subject area	Minimum 24 contact hours
Ethics Requirement	Professional Ethics	4 hours during the 3 calendar years before the licensure expiration date
4 hours are acceptable toward the annual contact hour requirement in the calendar year that they are taken
If the Principal Place of business is New York	State-approved Ethics course
If the Principal Place of business is New York	Regulatory Ethics earned from the NASBA, respective state board, or NY State Board-approved provider
Other Subject Area Requirements	Audit, Accounting, &/or Attest	Minimum 40 contact hours during the 3 years immediately before performing audit/attest services
It may be counted toward the annual contact hour requisite in the calendar year that they are earned
Credit Limitations	Instruction	Maximum 50% of total hours
Published Materials	Maximum 50% of total hours
Other State Policies	Course Provider	Courses taken in New York	Sponsored by entities registered with NY State Board or with NASBA
Courses taken outside New York	Sponsored by entities registered with NY State Board, with NASBA, or the respective State Board
Self-Study Courses	Sponsored by entities registered with NY State Board or with NASBA (irrespective of physical location)
Professional development programs & technical sessions of local, national, & state firms & organizations in board-approved public accounting practice
Other organized technical & educational programs relevant to the board-approved public accounting practice

As per NYSED, there are a total of 44,190 CPAs in the state. New York City itself houses almost 7000 CPAs. Also, there are over 2500 CPA licenses issued annually in the province within the past four calendar years (2016-2020).

When it comes to New York and CPA, you simply can’t deny the relevance of Wall Street. The home of the New York State Exchange is a haven for several accountants. So, in a city that never sleeps, CPAs can thrive like never before.

Hence, gear up to earn this coveted title in one of the most lively and diverse places across the continent! Keep yourself updated with all the CPA exam and license requirements through the authorized websites of AICPA, NASBA, and the New York state board. Learn more about CPEs for CPA