Florida CPA Requirements

The certified public accountant (CPA) career path can offer stability, high salaries, and strong growth potential. To enter the profession, you must become licensed. Florida CPA requirements cover the "three E's:" education, experience, and examination. This guide explains the Sunshine State's standards in each of these areas.

Accountants appear to be in demand in Florida. According to O*NET Online, the state is on track to see 23% employment growth for accountants and auditors from 2020-30. Accounting schools in Florida offer an ideal place to begin your licensure journey, but you can also follow other paths. Explore all the details below.

Education Requirements for Becoming a CPA in Florida

In Florida and many other states, you need 150 semester credits or the equivalent to earn your initial CPA license. A typical bachelor's degree covers about 120 credits, so you will need 30 additional credits to fill the remaining gap.

Options for completing those additional credits include:

• Taking standalone undergraduate or graduate accounting courses
• Completing a postbaccalaureate accounting certificate program for academic credit
• Earning a master's degree in accounting or a related area

An accelerated bachelor's-to-master's accounting program can optimize your educational efficiency and shorten the time it takes to become licensed. Consider an accelerated pathway if this timeline matches your educational goals.

Concentrations, Courses, and Credits

According to the Florida Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the 150 credits you need to satisfy Florida CPA requirements must include:

• 30 semester credits (45 quarter credits) in upper-division accounting courses covering auditing, cost accounting, financial accounting, and/or taxation
• 36 semester credits (54 quarter credits) in upper-division business courses, including at least three credits in U.S. business law

Florida defines "upper-division" courses as courses taken at the junior or senior level in a bachelor's program. You cannot become formally licensed in Florida until you have 150 semester credits.

If you complete more than 30 semester credits in upper-division accounting, you can apply your extra accounting credits toward the general business requirements. However, the Florida Board of Accountancy does not recognize elementary accounting coursework, even if you completed these credits at the graduate level.

Essentially, any accounting course with the terms "introductory," "fundamentals," or "principles" in its course title will likely not qualify. Also, you cannot use a duplicate of a course for which you have already received academic credit.

Florida Experience Requirements

The Florida Board of Accountancy also requires at least one year of full-time professional accounting experience to apply for initial Florida CPA licensure.

For your experience to qualify, you must begin after meeting Florida's educational requirements for taking the CPA exam. The following section explains these requirements in complete detail, but they include at least 120 semester credits of college coursework with an accounting concentration.

The following details also apply:

• You must work at least 20 hours per week over no more than 104 weeks or a maximum of 40 hours per week for no more than 52 weeks.
• A CPA with a valid U.S. license must supervise and verify all your work.
• Your duties must directly cover accounting, attestation, compilation, consulting, management or financial advisory, or taxation services.

You can gain experience in a public accounting firm, private industry, government, or academia. The Florida Board of Accountancy accepts eligible professional experience regardless of whether you completed it before or after taking the CPA exam.

CPA Exam Requirements

The exam plays a major role in every aspiring CPA's journey toward licensure. While the exam is the same no matter where you take it, eligibility standards vary by state. The details below explain what you need to do to take the examination as a Florida candidate.

Eligibility to Take the Exam

You do not need professional experience to sit for the CPA exam in Florida, but you must meet the following educational standards:

• 120 semester credits (180 quarter credits)
• 24 semester credits (36 quarter credits) in upper-division accounting coursework
• 24 semester credits (36 quarter credits) in upper-division business coursework, including at least three credits in U.S. business law

Exam eligibility in Florida does not include any age, citizenship, Social Security number (SSN), or state residency requirements. They also do not require you to apply to take the exam within any particular time frame after meeting the educational requirements.

You also do not need to complete the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants' ethics examination. However, you must meet the state's "good moral character" standards, as set forth in Chapter 437.308 of the 2024 Florida Statutes.

Applying for and Scheduling the Exam

If you meet Florida's educational requirements, you can apply to sit for the CPA exam through the state's Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR) or the Florida portal of the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) website.

Florida CPA requirements do not explicitly state that you must hold a degree to sit for the CPA exam. Therefore, you may apply as soon as you hold the required 120 credits, even if you have not yet formally graduated from your academic program.

As of March 2025, exam applicants must pay the following fees:

• $50 application fee
• $352.64 for each CPA exam section (there are four sections in total)
• Refunds are not available if you elect to withdraw your exam application, except under extreme circumstances

You must submit official academic transcripts to Florida's DBPR as part of your application process. If possible, have your school submit them on your behalf. Florida also requires an Interstate Exchange of Examination and Licensure Information authorization form as part of your application package.

After the board approves your application, you will receive a Notice to Schedule (NTS) for your CPA exam. You can apply to more than one exam section at a time, but you can only receive one NTS per section at a time. As such, you should not apply to an exam section unless you are fully prepared to take it.

The fourth section tests your knowledge of one of three specialized accounting disciplines. You will select your preferred discipline when you apply for that exam section.

How Long Do You Have to Pass the CPA Exam in Florida?

In Sept. 2023, the Florida Board of Accountancy began changing its CPA exam requirements. Previously, the state required licensure candidates to pass all sections of the exam within a rolling 18-month period. That has since changed to a rolling 30-month period.

The following requirements apply to candidates whose examinations fall within Florida's transition period:

• For any test section passed before Jan. 1, 2024, the 18-month period will apply.
• For any test section passed after Jan. 1, 2024, the 30-month period will apply.
• The board considers any examination credits scheduled to expire between Jan. 1, 2024, and June 29, 2025, valid until June 30, 2025.

In all cases, Florida considers the rolling period to begin on the date NASBA released your score for the first CPA exam section you passed.

After Passing the Exam

Florida CPA requirements stipulate that you must apply for your license within three years of passing the fourth section of the CPA exam. When you apply for your initial license, you must submit all academic transcripts, verified work experience, and test scores to Florida's DBPR.

While Florida does not impose any age requirements on your eligibility for taking the CPA exam, you must be at least 18 years old to obtain your initial license. You also need a U.S. SSN or a Federal Employer Identification Number. As of March 2025, a $50 fee applies to your initial license application.

You can verify your Florida CPA license to a client or employer through the DBPR's licensing portal.

Maintaining Licensure

Florida CPA licenses remain valid for two years. They expire on Dec. 31 of your renewal year, and you will be notified in writing of an impending license expiration by the DBPR. You will receive this notification at the most recent mailing address you have on file.

Continuing professional education (CPE) requirements apply in Florida. You must complete 80 CPE hours every biennial licensing period, and you have until June 30 in your renewal year to finish all eligible coursework.

Of your 80 required CPE hours, eight must cover accounting or auditing, and four hours must focus on professional ethics. You can use a maximum of 20 hours in behavioral coursework toward your biennial CPE requirements. The Florida Board of Accountancy's CPE Guidelines document explains further specifics.

Florida authorizes CPA licensure by endorsement. There are five different pathways — four of which require an active CPA license from another state and one requiring you to have already passed at least one section of the CPA exam but are not yet licensed.

You can hold an ownership stake in a Florida CPA firm without a license. However, Florida law mandates that no more than 49% of a CPA firm's total ownership may be held by unlicensed individuals or entities.

Questions About Florida CPA Requirements