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Florida CPA Exam & Licensure

For specific information related to sitting for the Uniform Certified Public Accountant (CPA) Exam in Florida and/or becoming a licensed CPA in Florida, you should visit the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation website. On that site, you can access the State’s up-to-date CPA Examination Requirements, CPA Licensure Requirements as well as quick links to Frequently Asked Questions, Forms and Publications, Statutes and Rules, etc.

The following information is provided for your convenience. All information provided is believed to be accurate and in accordance with relevant statutes. However, only information provided on the Department of Business and Professional Regulation’s website (linked above) should be considered authoritative.

Two Tiers of Requirements

There are requirements that must be met to take the Uniform Certified Public Accountant Exam in Florida and another set of requirements that must be met in order to be licensed as a CPA in Florida. Visit the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation website to access the application process and education requirements.

To Take the Exam

  • An undergraduate degree (with at least 120 semester hours) from a college or university that is accredited by an accrediting body recognized by the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation (the University of West Florida is such an accredited institution);
  • 24 semester hours of upper-division (at the junior level and above) Accounting hours, to include coverage of financial, auditing, cost, and taxation; and
  • 24 semester hours of General Business courses, to include at least 3 semester hours in Business Law (based on U.S. law).

All of the Accounting hours and at least 21 semester hours of the General Business hours must be at the upper-division level. Exceptions to the upper-division requirement are made for Introductory Macro and Micro Economics, Introductory Statistics, Business Law, Introduction to Computer Information Systems, and any written or oral communication courses if such courses have a business or accounting prefix or if they are reflected in the catalog in the school or college as relating directly to the school or college’s business or accounting requirements.

Non-Accredited Colleges and Universities

Students who graduated from a college or university that is not accredited by one of the accrediting bodies recognized by the DBPR may still qualify to sit for the CPA Exam. Those students must complete 15 semester hours of graduate courses from an accredited institution such as the University of West Florida. The 15 semester hours must include at least 9 hours of graduate-level accounting courses to include three semester hours of graduate taxation coursework. These courses cannot duplicate other courses that the student has already taken.

To be Licensed as a CPA

The Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation website details the initial licensure requirements for CPAs in Florida.

  • 150 semester hours of academic credits obtained from a college or university;
  • 30 semester hours of upper-division Accounting courses, to include coverage of financial auditing, cost, and taxation;
  • 36 semester hours of General Business courses, to include at least 3 semester hours in Business Law (based on U.S. law);
  • Pass all four sections of the Uniform CPA Exam within the time period required by the State; and
  • Complete one year of work experience, required to be verified by a licensed CPA. This experience must be obtained after the candidate has met all requirements to sit for the Exam.

Note that credit will not be given for courses that duplicate or repeat courses for which the candidate has already been granted credit. Additionally, all CPA Review courses are considered duplicative.