derived_fields listlengths 1 1 | effective_date stringdate 2026-01-01 00:00:00 2026-07-01 00:00:00 ⌀ | id stringclasses 9
values | pathway_status stringclasses 9
values | source stringclasses 9
values | source_quote stringclasses 9
values | state stringclasses 9
values | statute_or_bill_citation stringclasses 5
values | url stringclasses 9
values | verified_fields listlengths 3 5 | credit_hours_for_licensure stringclasses 7
values | experience_requirement stringclasses 8
values |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
[
"state"
] | July 1, 2026 | idaho | there are now three pathways to licensure for candidates to choose from | https://dopl.idaho.gov/pressrelease/new-licensure-pathways-effective-july-1-2026/ | thanks to the passage of H0563 during the 2026 Legislative session, there are now three pathways to licensure for candidates to choose from. These new pathways will be available beginning July 1, 2026. | Idaho | H0563 | https://referencesource.org/cpa-licensure-pathway-by-state/idaho/ | [
"effective_date",
"pathway_status",
"statute_or_bill_citation"
] | null | null |
[
"state"
] | null | louisiana | Pathway 3 – Baccalaureate or higher degree | https://cpaboard.state.la.us/becoming-a-cpa/ | Pathway 3 – Baccalaureate or higher degree; total education must include an accounting concentration and two (2) years of qualifying experience. | Louisiana | null | https://referencesource.org/cpa-licensure-pathway-by-state/louisiana/ | [
"credit_hours_for_licensure",
"experience_requirement",
"pathway_status"
] | Baccalaureate or higher degree; total education must include an accounting concentration | two (2) years of qualifying experience |
[
"state"
] | July 1, 2026 | mississippi | there will be a new pathway to licensure as a CPA | https://www.msbpa.ms.gov/news/new-cpa-pathway-effective-712026 | The Mississippi State Board of Public Accountancy is pleased to advise that effective July 1, 2026, there will be a new pathway to licensure as a CPA! This new pathway will require a baccalaureate degree and 2 years’ experience. The old pathway of a baccalaureate degree with additional hours up to 150 semester hours an... | Mississippi | null | https://referencesource.org/cpa-licensure-pathway-by-state/mississippi/ | [
"credit_hours_for_licensure",
"effective_date",
"experience_requirement",
"pathway_status"
] | a baccalaureate degree and 2 years’ experience | 2 years’ experience |
[
"state"
] | null | montana | a baccalaureate degree with a concentration in accounting | https://boards.bsd.dli.mt.gov/public-accountants/license-information/education-requirements | a baccalaureate degree with a concentration in accounting as required by ARM 201.501 and two years of accounting experience meeting the requirements of ARM 24.201.502 | Montana | ARM 24.201.503 | https://referencesource.org/cpa-licensure-pathway-by-state/montana/ | [
"credit_hours_for_licensure",
"experience_requirement",
"pathway_status",
"statute_or_bill_citation"
] | a baccalaureate degree with a concentration in accounting | two years of accounting experience |
[
"state"
] | null | nebraska | Pathway 3: Bachelor’s Degree and Two Years of Experience | https://nbpa.nebraska.gov/individuals/licensing-requirements | Pathway 3: Bachelor’s Degree and Two Years of Experience Earn a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university; and Complete at least 4,000 hours of qualifying experience over a period of at least two years, but no more than six years. | Nebraska | null | https://referencesource.org/cpa-licensure-pathway-by-state/nebraska/ | [
"credit_hours_for_licensure",
"experience_requirement",
"pathway_status"
] | Earn a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university | Complete at least 4,000 hours of qualifying experience over a period of at least two years, but no more than six years. |
[
"state"
] | January 1, 2026 | ohio | A bachelor’s degree with an accounting concentration and two years of relevant experience | https://acc.ohio.gov/wps/portal/gov/acb/home/news-and-events/all-news/upcoming-changes-to-certification | A bachelor’s degree with an accounting concentration and two years of relevant experience, or A master’s degree with an accounting concentration and one year of relevant experience | Ohio | House Bill 238 | https://referencesource.org/cpa-licensure-pathway-by-state/ohio/ | [
"credit_hours_for_licensure",
"effective_date",
"experience_requirement",
"pathway_status",
"statute_or_bill_citation"
] | A bachelor’s degree with an accounting concentration | two years of relevant experience |
[
"state"
] | null | oregon | Bachelor’s only pathway – minimum of two (2) years; Master’s degree or 150 semester hour pathway - minimum of one year. | https://www.oregon.gov/BOA/Pages/License-Application-Requirements.aspx | This does not change under Senate Bill 797 (2025). Effectively that means that the exact same requirements of who qualifies as a supervisor toward licensure, and what the competencies toward licensure are, are not proposed to change in any way, except solely with respect to the minimum length of supervision depending o... | Oregon | Senate Bill 797 (2025) | https://referencesource.org/cpa-licensure-pathway-by-state/oregon/ | [
"experience_requirement",
"pathway_status",
"statute_or_bill_citation"
] | null | Bachelor’s only pathway – minimum of two (2) years |
[
"state"
] | June 23, 2026 | rhode-island | PATHWAY 3 (NEW 2026) | https://dbr.ri.gov/building-design-fire-professionals-board-accountancy/board-accountancy | PATHWAY 3 (NEW 2026) Bachelor’s Degree with an Accounting Major or Concentration as required by the Board’s Regulation. At least 2 years (3,640 hours) of experience verified by a CPA licensed in any US jurisdiction Pass all parts of the Uniform CPA Examination | Rhode Island | R.I. Gen. Laws § 5-3.1-5 | https://referencesource.org/cpa-licensure-pathway-by-state/rhode-island/ | [
"credit_hours_for_licensure",
"effective_date",
"experience_requirement",
"pathway_status",
"statute_or_bill_citation"
] | Bachelor’s Degree with an Accounting Major or Concentration as required by the Board’s Regulation | At least 2 years (3,640 hours) of experience verified by a CPA licensed in any US jurisdiction |
[
"state"
] | May 24, 2026 | west-virginia | The education requirement for a certificate shall be met through any of the following pathways | https://www.boa.wv.gov/Licensing/EducationExaminationExperience.asp | Effective May 24, 2026 - Experience requirements: at least one year of experience for an applicant applying for licensure with the education of a post baccalaureate degree or a baccalaureate degree plus an additional 30 semester credit hours; or at least two years of experience for an applicant applying for licensure w... | West Virginia | null | https://referencesource.org/cpa-licensure-pathway-by-state/west-virginia/ | [
"credit_hours_for_licensure",
"effective_date",
"experience_requirement",
"pathway_status"
] | A baccalaureate degree conferred by a college or university acceptable to the Board | at least two years of experience for an applicant applying for licensure with the education of a baccalaureate degree |
CPA licensure pathway by state
Canonical, always-current version: https://referencesource.org/cpa-licensure-pathway-by-state/ Machine-readable: https://referencesource.org/cpa-licensure-pathway-by-state/data.json — this mirror is a point-in-time copy.
- Last verified: 2026-08-31
- Stale after: 2026-11-29 (past this date, prefer the canonical copy — it re-verifies on a cadence this snapshot does not)
- Records: 9
Whether a state now licenses CPAs on a 120-credit-hour pathway (bachelor's degree plus one or two years of experience, no fifth year of school required) or still requires the traditional 150 credit hours, and the date the newer pathway took effect. Every state adopted 150 hours between the 1980s and 2000s; since Ohio HB 238 in July 2025, roughly half the states have passed a competing pathway that substitutes work experience for the extra 30 credit hours, an explicit response to the accounting profession's hiring shortage. A candidate deciding how many more credits to take, and a firm deciding whether an out-of-state hire is licensable, both need to know which rule applies in a specific state on a specific date -- and the two pathways can coexist with different experience and exam-eligibility requirements, so a single 'hours required' number is not enough. No federal body regulates CPA licensure; each state board of accountancy sets and amends its own rule, and the national umbrella body (NASBA) publishes the state list only as an image map and an embedded spreadsheet, not as extractable text.
Provenance — what every record carries
Every record carries source (the URL the value was read from) and
source_quote (a verbatim quote from that page stating it). A value you
cannot check against its page is indistinguishable from an invented one;
these can all be checked. Each record is also individually addressable on
the canonical site at its url.
Licence position
unknown
Facts are not copyrightable; what this dataset takes from each source is a fact plus a short attributed quote linking back to the page that states it.
Sources
- https://dopl.idaho.gov/pressrelease/new-licensure-pathways-effective-july-1-2026/
- https://cpaboard.state.la.us/becoming-a-cpa/
- https://www.msbpa.ms.gov/news/new-cpa-pathway-effective-712026
- https://boards.bsd.dli.mt.gov/public-accountants/license-information/education-requirements
- https://nbpa.nebraska.gov/individuals/licensing-requirements
- https://acc.ohio.gov/wps/portal/gov/acb/home/news-and-events/all-news/upcoming-changes-to-certification
- https://www.oregon.gov/BOA/Pages/License-Application-Requirements.aspx
- https://dbr.ri.gov/building-design-fire-professionals-board-accountancy/board-accountancy
- https://www.boa.wv.gov/Licensing/EducationExaminationExperience.asp
Fields
See any record in data/records.jsonl — field names are self-describing,
and the canonical page for each record renders them with labels:
https://referencesource.org/cpa-licensure-pathway-by-state/
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