Iowa CPA Exam Requirements

Iowa cpa exam requirements

According to Iowa CPA exam requirements, a bachelor degree is sufficient for you to sit for the CPA exam, but 150 semester hours (together with 1 year of relevant working experience) are required to get the CPA license.

Please note that Iowa allows either public or non-public accounting experience (even teaching experience) to be qualified for CPA license but your work has to be supervised and verified by an active CPA licensee.

Iowa CPA Exam Requirements

1. Education Requirements To Sit For The Exam:

  • Bachelor degree or above
  • Accounting degree (undergrad or graduate): 24 semester units non-elementary accounting courses; or
  • Non-accounting degree: 24 semester units accounting and 24 semester units of business courses

2. Additional Requirements To Get CPA License:

Education

  • 150 semester units from an accredited university or educational institution.

Work Experience

  • 1 year of public or non-public accounting experience as well as teaching experience in the accounting field (i.e. work in government, industry, public service or academia is qualified)
  • Additional requirement for attest qualification (e.g. signing the audit report one behalf of the accounting firm)
  • The experience has to be verified by active CPA licensee. The verifier does not need to the supervise but must have an active license and is willing to attest.

Ethics Qualification

3. Residency & Age Requirements:

  • US citizenship not required
  • Iowa residency not required
  • Minimum age: none

4. Fees:

  • First-timers: standard CPA exam fees ($743) + $145 (initial application fee, depending on the number of sections)
  • Repeaters: exam fees + $70-115 repeat application fees

5. Other Useful Information:

6. Contact:

Iowa Accountancy Examining Board
1920 SE Hulsizer Road
Ankeny, IA 50021-3941

  • Email: Sylvia.King@iowa.gov, cpaes-ia@nasba.org
  • Phone: 515-281-5910
  • Fax: 515-281-7411

Can’t Get Qualified In Iowa?

Don’t give up, as you may well be qualified to register through other states and sit for the same CPA exam. With the recent Substantial Equivalency (CPA reciprocity) rule CPAs from most states can practice across the country.

More Questions?

Please feel to drop me a note on my Facebook page and I will be happy to answer your questions.

* 1 semester = 1.5 quarters
** Photograph courtesy of Pete Zarria

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