Pennsylvania First-Time Applicants

The Pennsylvania State Board of Accountancy (Board) has engaged CPA Examination Services (CPAES), a division of the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy, Inc. (NASBA) for application processing, credential evaluation, and score reporting. Please read this information before completing the appropriate forms.

Application Forms

First-time applications must be completed by candidates who:

1. Have never taken the Uniform CPA Examination as a candidate of this jurisdiction.
2. Have previously applied, but were found ineligible or incomplete to take the examination as an applicant of this jurisdiction.
3. Have previously taken the examination as an applicant of another jurisdiction but who have not earned credit.
4. Have previously taken the examination as an applicant of another state and wish to transfer credit to this jurisdiction.
5. Have not completed the examination within 5 years.

Eligibility For Examination

All first-time applicants must:

1. Be at least 18 years of age and of good moral character.
2. Qualify under ONE of the following requirements (the amount of education completed at the time of application is directly related to the amount of work experience necessary to obtain licensure. For more information, you may view the website for the Pennsylvania State Board of Accountancy. It is suggested that all candidates for CPA Certification in Pennsylvania review the CPA Law and Regulations prior to seeking licensure in Pennsylvania to ensure you are aware of all the licensure requirements.).

Education Requirements for the Examination

A Baccalaureate or Master’s degree from a college or university accredited by a nationally recognized accrediting agency recognized by the United States Department of Education (includes regional and national accrediting agencies) and completed at least a total of twenty-four semester credits, which credits shall be in accounting and auditing, business law, finance or tax subjects of a content satisfactory to the board, not necessarily as a part of the individual’s undergraduate or graduate work.

Education Requirements for Licensure

A Baccalaureate or higher degree from a college or university accredited by a nationally recognized accrediting agency recognized by the United States Department of Education (includes regional and national accrediting agencies) and completed a total of 150 semester credits of post-secondary education, including at least a total of 24 semester credits of accounting and auditing, business law, finance or tax subjects of a content satisfactory to the board and an additional twelve semester credits in accounting, auditing and tax subjects of a content satisfactory to the board, not necessarily as part of the individual’s undergraduate or graduate work. (See state board website for information.)

All education must be met at the time of application. All educational transcripts and/or foreign evaluations are to be submitted prior to the submission of the First-time Application to CPA Examination Services directly from the academic institution(s).

Course Requirements

• Commercial CPA review courses are not acceptable.
• Correspondence, on-line courses, pass/fail grades and CLEP credit are acceptable when an applicant receives credit for the courses at a regionally accredited university. These courses must appear on an official transcript.
• One quarter unit or hour of credit is equivalent to two thirds of a semester unit or hour.

Transcripts

1. Applicants who have completed all educational requirements at the time of application must:
   1. Submit to CPA Examination Services relevant official transcript(s) from each institution at which original credit toward the educational requirement has been earned.
   2. The official transcript(s) must be received directly from the academic institution(s).
   3. Photocopies of transcripts are not acceptable.
   4. Transcripts “Issued to Student” are not acceptable.
   5. If required documentation is not received, the application will be determined to be incomplete and the candidate will not be permitted to take the examination and will forfeit the application fee paid.
2. Applicants who have completed educational requirements at institutions outside the U.S. must:
   1. Have their educational credentials evaluated by one of the following;
      • Foreign Academic Credential Service, Inc.
      • Educational Credential Evaluators, Inc.
      • Josef Silny & Associates, Inc.
   2. Obtain the form to request this service from the evaluation service agency.
   3. Submit their foreign transcript(s) from each institution at which original credit toward the educational requirement has been earned to the evaluation service agency.
   4. The evaluation of the foreign transcript(s) must be a course by course comparison to Pennsylvania requirements.
   5. Completed original evaluations must be received by CPA Examination Services directly from the evaluation service. Photocopies are not acceptable.
   6. If required documentation is not received, the application will be determined to be incomplete and the applicant will not be permitted to take the examination and will forfeit the application fee paid.

Applicants With Disabilities

In accordance with the provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act, examination administration accommodations are available for applicants who qualify. Such applicants must obtain a form to request special accommodations from CPA Examination Services. The completed form must be returned to CPA Examination Services with all required documentation. This form may be obtained on our website.

Transfer Of Examination Credit

Applicants, transferring credit(s) from another jurisdiction into Pennsylvania State Board of Accountancy, must have earned credit under the same rules as are in effect in Pennsylvania.

An applicant who has passed one or more sections of the CPA examination under another jurisdiction shall be given conditional credit by this board provided the applicant is still eligible to be considered a reexamination candidate in the original state where credit was earned.

An Authorization for Interstate Exchange of Examination Information Form is required to be submitted. The Form must be completed and submitted to CPA Examination Services directly from the Accountancy Board where original credit was earned. This form may be obtained online.

Materials To Be Submitted

• Online First-time Application: You are required to submit the following to CPAES:
  1. Official transcript(s). Directly from academic institution CPAES.
  2. Foreign Evaluation, if applicable. Directly from evaluation agency to CPAES.
  3. ADA Accommodation Form, if applicable. Submission by applicant to CPAES.
  4. Authorization for Interstate Exchange of Score Information, if applicable. Directly from the office of the state board to CPAES.

Applicants are advised to request submission of all forms to CPAES prior to applying for the examination.

• Paper First-time Application: You are required to submit the following to CPAES:
  1. Completed, signed and notarized first-time paper application.
  2. Social Security Act Certification Form. Submission by applicant to CPAES.
  3. Payment document for application and examination fees.
     • Certified check or money order made payable to CPA Examination Services. Notate your name and sections to be taken in the “Memo” section.
  4. Official transcript(s). Directly from academic institution to CPAES.
  5. Foreign Evaluation, if applicable. Directly from evaluation agency to CPAES.
  6. ADA Accommodation Form, if applicable. Submission by applicant to CPAES.
  7. Authorization for Interstate Exchange of Score Information, if applicable. Directly from the office of the state board to CPAES.

Applicants are advised to request submission of transcripts and foreign evaluations to CPAES prior to applying for the examination. All other forms should be included along with original First-time Application.

Application And Examination Fees

All candidates are required to pay both an application fee and an examination fee upon submission of the first- time application.

• Application fee (non-refundable): $ 95.00
• Examination fee: N/A
• Auditing and Attestation (AUD) $ 195.35
• Business Environment and Concepts (BEC) $ 176.25
• Financial Accounting and Reporting (FAR) $ 195.35
• Regulation (REG) $ 176.25

Applicants are able to apply for one or more sections of the examination at a time; however, are advised to only apply for a section of the examination if they are ready to take it within the next six months.

Forms of Payment

Online application/registration
The only form of payment is via credit card (MasterCard, VISA or Discover only). To apply for the CPA Examination online, please visit the website. You will be asked to create a user account. Registering for a user account will allow you to apply for the exam, maintain your current information, view your scores, check your application status and reprint your Notice(s) To Schedule.

Paper Application
The acceptable forms of payments are: Certified check, money order or company check. Certified checks, money orders or company checks must be drawn through a U.S. bank and made payable to CPA Examination Services. All fees must be paid at the time of application and must be in U.S. dollars.

A fee of $35.00 will be charged for a report of insufficient funds by the bank.

Withdrawal/Refund/Extensions

There is no provision for withdrawing from the examination, refunding fees or extending the expiration date of the Notice to Schedule.

Applicants with documented hardships may request an exception to policy under the following criteria:

• VISA rejections;
• Military Deployment;
• Medical emergency;
• Death in immediate family.

Applicants must submit an Exception to Policy form (located at www.nasba.org) with supporting documentation for consideration. The request must be received no later than 30 days from the date of the documented hardship.

Notice To Schedule (NTS)

Applicants are advised to see the Candidate Bulletin at this website for complete instructions. After eligibility to take the examination is determined, NASBA will issue an NTS to applicants. The NTS is sent via the method of notification selected by the applicant.

The NTS is valid for one testing event or six months, whichever is first exhausted for each examination section. The email is sent from [email protected]. If the NTS is not received within four weeks of submitting a First- time Application, contact CPA Examination Services via email at [email protected].

If your NTS expires prior to taking the examination section(s), applicants will not be able to reschedule, receive a credit or receive a refund on any of the fees paid and will have to reapply for the examination and pay the appropriate fees.

The NTS must be presented for entry at the testing center. Applicants arriving without an NTS will be denied permission to test. Applicants will forfeit fees and be required to reapply and pay applicable fees.

The NTS can be reprinted here.

Scheduling The Examination

Upon receipt of the NTS, applicants are required to contact Prometric to schedule the examination. The scheduling, rescheduling or cancellation of testing appointments is done through Prometric. See the Candidate Bulletin located here for complete instruction on how to schedule, reschedule or cancel an appointment. Applicants may be required to pay a penalty and/or forfeit examination fees, depending on when Prometric is notified of the change or cancellation.

A list of test centers is available at Prometric website. CPAES does not control space availability or location of the test centers.

Applicants arriving for a testing appointment anytime after the scheduled appointment time may result in being denied permission to test. Applicants will forfeit fees and be required to reapply and pay applicable fees.

Examination Credit

Applicants may take the examination sections individually and in any order. Applicants shall be deemed to have passed the examination if the candidate obtains credit for passing each of the four examination sections. The passing score for each section is 75. Credit for passing an examination section shall be valid from the date of the examination regardless of the date on which the candidate receives actual notice of the passing score.

Credit for any section passed shall be valid for 18 months from the date the candidate took that section regardless of the number of sections taken or the scores on any failed sections. Applicants shall pass all four examination sections within a rolling 18 month period that begins on the testing date the first examination section is passed. Applicants who do not pass all four examination sections within the 18 month period shall lose credit for each section passed outside the period and must retake those sections.

Applicants cannot retake failed sections within the same testing window.

Name, Address Or Social Security Number Change

Candidate information changes such as name, address or social security number must be submitted in writing to CPA Examination Services. Candidates must submit the Address/Name Change Form located at this website with supporting documentation.

Scores
Score Notices are mailed to the address on file. Candidates are advised to submit Address/Name Change Form at least two weeks prior to the release of scores.