North Carolina CPA Requirements

As one of more than 20 states that have passed legislation easing the education requirements for becoming a certified public accountant (CPA), North Carolina aims to reduce barriers to the profession and address a shortage of CPAs. Beginning in 2026, the North Carolina Board of CPA Examiners will require that a candidate earn only 120 academic credits instead of 150 to qualify for CPA licensure.

Before applying for your North Carolina CPA license, you’ll need to log additional work experience hours, take the Uniform CPA Examination, and meet other requirements. This guide walks you through each step of the process.

Accountants have received strong employment projections and earn above-average pay in North Carolina, indicating that the state offers a welcoming place for aspiring CPAs. Learn more about earning your NC CPA license and launching a career.

Education requirements for taking the CPA exam and becoming licensed vary by state. North Carolina requires a bachelor’s degree or higher from an accredited institution in any major that includes accounting or offers an accounting concentration.

For the past two decades, the state has required 150 college accounting credits. However, bachelor’s degree programs typically offer 120 credits. This discrepancy required aspiring CPAs to earn graduate degrees or complete more undergraduate work, dissuading some from pursuing these accounting careers.

North Carolina recently joined several other U.S. states in passing legislation with an alternate educational requirement. This pathway only requires an accounting bachelor’s degree, two years of CPA-supervised experience, and a passing score on the CPA exam. Both options — 150 college accounting credits with one year of supervised experience or 120 credits plus two years of experience — are set to take effect on Jan. 1, 2026.

Now, students can choose to avoid paying for additional schooling and have the opportunity to earn money and gain work experience. The new law also seeks to alleviate a shortage of licensed NC CPAs.

Under the two pathways to CPA exam and licensure eligibility, North Carolina requires either 120 bachelor’s degree credits or 150 credits (120-credit bachelor’s degree plus an additional 30 credits of undergraduate and/or graduate coursework).

North Carolina accounting schools may offer bachelor of science in accounting or bachelor of business administration with a concentration in accounting degrees for aspiring CPAs. Graduate students can pursue master of accounting and master of science in accounting programs. The board also accepts master’s degrees in business administration, economics, finance, and tax law.

Within its definition of a concentration in accounting, the board’s accepted coursework includes:

While most undergraduate hours should focus on accounting concentration credits, the board lists other areas that students should include in their bachelor’s coursework, including communications, computer technology, ethics, humanities/social sciences, management, and statistics.

North Carolina CPA applicants must complete the 150-hour educational requirement and one year of supervised accounting experience or, after Jan. 1, 2026, the newly passed 120-hour educational requirement plus two years of work experience.

Before applying for a CPA license, each candidate must complete one of the following work experiences:

The board defines one year of experience as 52 weeks of full-time employment, working at least 30 hours a week. Licensure applicants must submit experience affidavits from all of their relevant employers to the board. Part-time work affidavits need to specify the hours spent performing accounting services.

NC CPAs must pass all the sections of the national CPA exam. The exam comprises three four-hour core sections and a four-hour discipline section in an area of their choice.

The three core sections cover auditing and attestation, financial accounting and reporting, and taxation and regulation. For the discipline section of the exam, test-takers can choose from business analysis and reporting, information systems and control, or tax compliance and planning.

In North Carolina, eligibility to take the CPA exam requires:

North Carolina’s education requirements for the exam consist of a bachelor’s degree (or higher) from an accredited college or university in any field that includes or adds a concentration in accounting.

The board may approve applications from those in the process of earning their bachelor’s if they have completed their accounting concentration (or are on track to do so by the end of the school term within which they plan to take the exam) and are reasonably expected to complete their degrees within 120 days of the board’s receipt of their application for licensure.

First-time applicants to take the CPA exam submit an initial exam application to the board. The application requires them to submit original official transcripts in paper form or request that their schools send official electronic transcripts.

Once the board approves an application, candidates receive instructions for setting up their National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) Portal Account and accessing their Notice to Schedule (NTS). Aspiring CPAs can use Prometric ProScheduler.

In North Carolina, each candidate must schedule and take their exams within six months of receiving their NTS. They must also complete all of the exam sections specified in the NTS. Failure to schedule or take all of the exam sections before the NTS expires results in a forfeiture of exam fees.

NASBA suggests that test-takers should schedule their exam appointments 45 days in advance to increase their odds of reserving their desired dates, times, and Prometric test center location. Candidates must schedule no later than five days before their preferred test dates.

The board also requires them to complete all sections of the exam within 30 months of receiving their first passing score. They can take any parts of the exam separately and in any order; they can also retake any sections within one year. If all four sections of the exam are not completed within 30 months, successfully completed sections expire. The initial exam application fee is $230, and candidates pay a fee of $265.57 for each section of the exam.

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After receiving a passing score on all of the exam sections, candidates apply for their licenses. Scores for fully completed CPA exams do not expire in North Carolina. Licensure applicants submit an application package, including three certificates of good moral standing, an applicable experience application, and proof of completing the North Carolina accountancy law course. The board also conducts background checks for each applicant.

The license fee is $100, and candidates receive their licenses within a few months to a year. Employers can verify CPA license-holders online through the board’s database.

NC CPAs renew their licenses each year before July 1. Each year’s renewal cycle usually starts in mid-April and continues until June 30. A 30-day grace period extends until July 31. Renewal requires annual continuing professional education (CPE) and a $60 fee. CPAs renew through the board’s user portal.

Failure to renew by July 31 or complete the CPE requirements results in forfeiture of the CPA license. A CPA with a forfeited license cannot use the title of CPA until the board reissues their license.

Active CPAs must complete 2,000 minutes of CPE annually by Dec. 31. The 2,000 minutes must include at least 50 minutes of behavioral or regulatory ethics. The board only accepts ethics CPE from NASPA-listed sponsors.

CPAs can earn non-ethics CPE credits through:

North Carolina does not require CPAs to reside in the state to apply for or maintain licensure. Out-of-state CPAs licensed in North Carolina may satisfy the CPE requirement of the state in which they are licensed. But, if the non-NC jurisdiction does not require CPE, including ethics, the non-resident CPA must comply with NC CPA requirements.

Owning a CPA firm in North Carolina requires 51% of the firm’s owners to hold valid CPA licenses. NC-registered CPA firms must designate a supervisor with a North Carolina CPA license.