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Ohio CPA Requirements (Rules on Exam and Licensing)

Ohio CPA requirements

The Ohio State Board requires the standard 150 credit hours to sit for the exam. While non-residents are welcome to register through Ohio, in order to get the license, you have to be a resident of this state.

Please note that Ohio calls its CPA license a “CPA certificate,” but this is not to be confused with the certificate in a two-tier state. Ohio is a one-tier state.

Ohio CPA Requirements

1. Education Requirements to Sit for the CPA Exam in OH

Candidates should fulfill 150 credit hours and ONE of the following:

(a) Graduate degree in accounting

  • You are automatically qualified as long as your institution is recognized by CHEA or accredited by AACSB.

(b) Graduate degree in business

  • 30 semester hours in undergraduate course; OR
  • 18 semester hours in graduate course
  • Either one of the above should include at least 1 course in the following:
    • financial accounting,
    • management accounting,
    • auditing with coverage of GAAS
    • taxation
    • professional ethics and responsibilities.

(c) Undergraduate degree in accounting

  • 30 semester hours in accounting course with at least one course in each of the following:
    • financial accounting,
    • management accounting,
    • auditing with coverage of GAAS (Internal auditing may not be used for auditing, but may be used as an elective),
    • taxation, and
    • professional ethics and responsibilities.
  • 24 semester hours in business subjects.
  • If you have taken GMAT with score 620 or higher, than no need to fulfill the required 24 hours in business.

Special note: Courses in internal auditing may only be applied toward general accounting hours.

2. Additional Ohio CPA Requirements To Get the CPA License

Education

  • Same as the above.

Work Experience

  • 1 year of experience in public or non-public accounting.
  • A supervisor must verify the applicant’s work.  However, if the supervisor is not a licensed CPA, then a second verification must be completed.  This second form must be completed by someone that knows the applicant, is licensed as a CPA, and knows the accounting work that he/she has performed.
  • Please refer to OAC 4701-7-05 for the rules related to working experience required.

*Launched in Apr 2016* The NASBA Experience Verification service is now available to those who do not have access to an active U.S. CPA for verification.

Ethics Qualification

  • Completion of a professional standards and responsibilities course that emphasizes the Ohio accountancy law and Board rules.

3. Ohio CPA Requirements on Residency & Age

  • US citizenship not required.
  • Ohio residency not required, but OH residency is required to get the license. Therefore, SSN is not necessary to sit for the exam, but given the residency requirement for licensing SSN is required at the licensing stage.
  • Minimum age: 18.

4. Fees

  • Education Evaluation Application Fee: $90.00
  • Exam Section Application Fee: $349.80

5. Continuing Education

CPE is needed for license holders. Click here for Ohio CPA CPE requirements.

6. Other Useful Information

7. Contact

Accountancy Board of Ohio
77 South High Street, 18th Floor
Columbus, OH 43215-6128

  • Email: cpaes-oh@nasba.org, karen.salyer@acc.state.oh.us
  • Phone: 614-466-4135
  • Fax: 614-466-2628

What if these CPA Requirements don’t Work for Me?

You may want to check out these pages to learn about the educational and experience requirements, with my recommendation at the end of the posts:

If you have questions, feel free to drop a note in the comment section, or visit my Facebook page.

About the Author Stephanie Ng

I am the author of How to Pass The CPA Exam (published by Wiley), and I also passed all 4 sections of the CPA Exam on my first try. Additionally, I have led webinars, such as for the Institute of Management Accountants, authored featured articles on websites like Going Concern and AccountingWeb, and I'm also the CFO for the charity New Sight. Finally, I have created other accounting certification websites to help mentor non-CPA candidates. I have already mentored thousands of CPA, CMA, CIA, EA, and CFA candidates, and I can help you too!

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