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Student Needs Help Dancing Around State CPA Requirements

If you have a CPA exam related question that you’re dying to have answered, please get in touch. Note: bribes will not make me answer your question any sooner.

Hey Adrienne, I was reading an article on GC about sitting for the exam in another state (with less requirements) then transferring it to the state you want to work in. I was wondering if there was a site for this information. If it matters I will be transferring it to Georgia or Texas. My adviser told me they usually do it through Tennessee in the spring of the MACC program so that once you are done with the 150 hours you should already have your CPA.. Just wondering y’alls thoughts. Thanks!


Is there one site that has this information? Oh dear, you’re obviously new to this whole CPA exam nonsense. While the Internet has done a great job of aggregating publicly-available information in the last few years to make searching for answers a tad easier for candidates, it’s still sort of a crapshoot. If you’re good with Google, you might be able to find a few references but other than that, I can’t think of one place that explains this particular trick.

That said, NASBA’s Accountancy Licensing Library can probably help. Plug in your educational experience and you can figure out which states you can sit in.

Because the CPA exam is uniform meaning every state’s candidates take the exact same CPA exam as other states, you’re able to sit for any other state’s exam in your state. You can use this to your advantage if you’re in a 150 state but want to finish the exam while you are still working on your degree by taking the exam in a 120 state that allows non-residents to sit for the exam and then transferring your scores once you meet your state’s requirements.

The best source to go to for more information on this option would be your own state board. Hopefully they are somewhat helpful and can give you a little guidance. You could also try calling NASBA but I doubt they’re very supportive of folks trying to bypass the system.

Keep in mind that your plan sounds like you will be transferring scores, not the actual license. Since most states have experience requirements and many require that experience to be gained under the supervision of a CPA licensed it that state, it is unlikely that you will actually be licensed as a CPA in the state in which you apply for the CPA exam. But you can transfer passing CPA exam scores, usually with just a simple form.

If you’re prepared for the work involved with sitting for the CPA exam while finishing up your degree, I say go for it. Surely there are some Going Concern readers out there who have done exactly this?