Certified Public Accountant (CPA) Information

All information provided below is for your convenience and is subject to change at any time and without notice by the Florida Division of Certified Public Accounting. Please defer to the Florida Department of Business & Professional Regulation's Division of Certified Public Accounting website for the most up-to-date information.

CPA Exam Florida Educational Requirements

Total Credit Hours required to take the CPA Exam: 120 (must have Baccalaureate degree)

Total Upper-level Accounting Credits Required:

1. 24 upper-level accounting credit hours, which must include 3 credit hours in each of the following subjects:
   • Financial
   • Cost/Managerial
   • Taxation
   • Auditing
2. Upper-level accounting courses include those numbered in the 3000, 4000, 5000, 6000, and 7000 range with prefixes ACG and TAX.
3. Upper-level accounting credits in excess of 36 may be counted as general business hours.

Total Upper-level General Business Credits Required:

1. 24 credit hours, which must include 3 credits of business law. 
2. One course can be at a lower level (freshman or sophomore); the other course must be upper level (junior level or higher). ³
3. All general business credits must be upper level, except for:
   • Introductory Macro and Micro Economics
   • Business Law I
   • Introductory Business Statistics
   • Introduction to Computer Information Systems
   • Any written or oral communication course as described in Board of Accountancy Rule 21A-27.002(2)(b) (Subject to change)
4. Notes
   • 6000 (7000) level courses are only available to graduate (doctoral) students.
   • Business Law 1 and Legal Environment of Business are often considered duplicative regardless of course level.

For application forms and information concerning the CPA exam, visit the Florida Board of Accountancy web site.

CPA License Florida Requirements

1. Total Credit Hours Required For Florida CPA Licensure: 150 (must have Baccalaureate degree)
2. Total Upper-level Accounting Credits Required: 30 credit hours
3. Total Upper-level General Business Credits Required: 39 credit hours (including three credits of Business Law)

CPA Exam Educational Requirements Diagram

Work Experience Requirement

One year of work experience under the supervision of a licensed CPA is required for licensure in the state of Florida. This includes any type of position involving the use of accounting, attesting, compilation, management advisory, financial advisory, taxation, or consulting skills. This may be gained in government, in industry, in academia, or in public practice. This experience requirement may be met only after completing the educational requirements to sit for the exam.

Recommendations

Students are encouraged to satisfy the additional educational licensure requirements by pursuing a graduate degree. Suggested graduate programs are Master of Accounting (MAC), and Master of Business Administration-Accounting (MBA-ACC). While a concentration is not required in the MAC program, MAC students may elect to concentrate in information technology or taxation.

Students may also qualify for the educational requirements of licensure without completing a graduate degree program by taking additional undergraduate courses beyond those required for the baccalaureate degree.

Recommended undergraduate coursework is available in the Undergraduate Accounting Course Flowchart.

Resources

For information concerning the CPA exam in all 50 states, visit the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy web site.