Eligibility Requirements

Eligibility for Examination

In order to sit for the Uniform CPA Examination for the State of Massachusetts, you must be 18 years of age or older, and:

 

have completed 120 of the 150 semester hours (or 180 of the 225 quarter hours) of college or university education from a nationally or regionally accredited institution as required for licensure certification by 252 CMR 2.07(2)(a), or complete 120 of the required 150 semester hours within 90 days of sitting for the examination, AND

include 21 semester hours of accounting courses including coverage in:

financial accounting,

auditing,

taxation,

management/cost accounting, AND

include 9 semester hours of business courses including coverage in:

business law,

finance,

information systems, AND

obtain a bachelor’s degree.

All educational documents including official school transcripts, Certificates of Enrollment, and/or foreign evaluations with foreign transcripts are required to be submitted to CPAES.

 

Do not apply for licensure until you receive a written congratulatory letter from CPAES and instructions on how to apply. Your license application may be rejected if improperly filed. Information about licensure can be found here.

 

Transcripts

If you have completed all educational requirements at the time of application:

You must submit an official transcript from each school you attended. Transfer credits are not acceptable; you must submit a transcript from each institution.

Official transcripts are those that have been issued by the institution’s Registrar’s Office and include the Registrar’s official seal.

The degree you have earned must be posted on your official transcript.

Transcripts may be submitted electronically provided they are official. Some schools do not offer this service. Contact your Registrar’s office for additional information. If an email address is required for electronic delivery, use etranscript@nasba.org. Electronically delivered transcripts must be submitted directly from the institution(s).

Photocopies of transcripts are not official and cannot be accepted.

If required documentation is not received within 45 days of the submission date of your application, your application will be marked as incomplete and will not be processed further. Failure to submit all required supporting documents will result in the denial of your application, forfeiture of your application fee, and the secure destruction of all documents submitted.

Please Note: If you have not yet applied when you submit your transcripts, your education documents will be kept on file for one year. After that time, the documents will be destroyed, and you will need to resubmit new education documents when you apply.

If you completed courses at a campus located outside the U.S. for a school located in the U.S., the official transcript must be issued by the registrar from the U.S. campus. Transcripts issued by the registrar for the campus located outside the U.S. will not be accepted.

If you are currently enrolled in college at the time of application, you must:

submit an official transcript from each school you attended.

submit to CPAES a completed Certificate of Enrollment form. This form is evidence that you are currently enrolled and that all courses and graduation requirements will be completed within 90 days of the date that you sit for the first section of the CPA Examination. The form must be signed by an authorized official of the college and signed by you.

The official transcript(s) and Certificate of Enrollment form must be submitted directly from your school.

If required documentation is not received within 45 days of the submission date of your application, your application will be marked as incomplete and will not be processed further. Failure to submit all required supporting documents will result in the denial of your application, forfeiture of your application fee, and the secure destruction of all documents submitted.

If you completed courses at a campus located outside the U.S. for a school located in the U.S., the official transcript must be issued by the registrar from the U.S. campus. Transcripts issued by the registrar for the campus located outside the U.S. will not be accepted.

After all educational requirements have been met, you must:

 

submit to CPAES official transcript to confirm degree conferral and satisfactory completion of courses within 90 days from the date that you sat for the first section of the examination.

The final official transcript must display satisfactory completion of all courses and the degree graduation date.

The official transcript must be submitted directly from your school.

And be advised:

 

Examination scores will be released. However, you will not be permitted to take future examinations until CPAES receives the final official transcript.

Failure to provide the final official transcript within the 90 days of sitting for the first examination section(s) or to successfully complete the courses and/or degree requirements as indicated on the Certificate of Enrollment will result in the examination score(s) being voided.

If the required final official transcript is not received, the application will be determined to be incomplete and you will not receive any credit for any Uniform CPA Examination section taken, and will not be permitted to take any future examinations and will be required to reapply as a first-time applicant.

If you have completed educational requirements at institutions outside the U.S., you must:

have your credentials evaluated by:

NASBA International Evaluation Services, or

The Center for Educational Documentation (CED).

obtain the form to request this service from the evaluation service agency,

submit a translated copy of each international transcript used for the evaluation,

require the agency to evaluate as follows:

An equivalency summary that indicates the analogous academic degrees in the U.S. you hold;

A credential analysis that specifies:

The name of the country;

The degree awarded;

The year the degree was awarded; and

The entity that awarded the degree;

A course-by-course listing; and

A course credit analysis that includes:

Total credits earned toward the degree as stated on transcripts submitted;

Total accounting credits earned; and

Total business credits earned.

Completed original evaluations must be received by CPAES directly from the evaluation service at the time of application. Photocopies are not acceptable.

If required documentation is not received within 45 days of the submission date of your application, your application will be marked as incomplete and will not be processed further. Failure to submit all required supporting documents will result in the denial of your application, forfeiture of your application fee, and the secure destruction of all documents submitted.

A copy of the international transcript must be included with the report sent to NASBA for each individual evaluation from the evaluation service. The application will be considered incomplete without these documents and the processing of the application will not move forward until transcripts are provided.

Please Note: If you have not yet applied, education documents received will be kept on file for one year. After that time, these documents will be destroyed, and you will need to resubmit new education documents at the time of application.

If you completed courses at a campus located outside the U.S. for a school located in the U.S., the official transcript must be issued by the registrar from the U.S. campus. Transcripts issued by the registrar for the campus located outside the U.S. will not be accepted.

Education requirements must be met through academic coursework completed at an accredited institution. Professional training is not acceptable toward these requirements. Coursework completed as part of a Chartered Accountant or similar program is considered professional training and is, therefore, not accepted toward the education requirements for the U.S. Uniform CPA Examination.

Course Requirements

Online courses, AP and pass/fail grades are acceptable when you receive credit for the courses at a regionally accredited college or university. These courses must appear on an official transcript.

CLEP credit will qualify toward the 150 semester hour rule when reflected on the transcript of a regionally accredited college or university.

Correspondence courses and/or commercial review courses are not acceptable.

CPA Review courses are acceptable if credits are awarded by a regionally accredited college or university.

Internships in accounting subjects are accepted to meet accounting course electives; they cannot be accepted toward specific subject requirements.

Personal finance is not an acceptable course to meet the finance course requirement.

Residency

There is not a residency requirement for the state of Massachusetts.