Washington DC CPA Requirements (Rules on Exam and Licensing)

Washington DC State Board allows candidates to sit for the exam before fulfilling the 150 credit hour requirements, but to get the license this has to be complete. The other requirements such as working experience are quite standard.

Note to international candidates: Washington DC (also known as District of Columbia) is a different jurisdiction from the Washington State.

Washington DC CPA Requirements

1. Education Requirements to Sit for the Exam

• Bachelor degree or above with accounting concentration (120 credit hours)
• Accounting courses — 24 hours broken down into:
  • 3 hours in accounting
  • 3 hours in auditing
  • 3 hours in cost accounting
  • 3 hours in federal income taxes
  • 12 hours of other accounting courses
• Other requirements: 3 hours of commercial law

2. Additional Washington DC CPA Requirements to Get the Exam

Education

• Complete the 150 credit hour requirements.

Work Experience

• 1 year of working experience (with 2,000 hours).
• Can be full time or part-time but has to be completed within 1-3 year period.
• The experience must be verified by an active CPA. It does not specify whether the work has to be supervised by this CPA — please double check with the State Board.

*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

• None required.

3. Washington DC CPA Requirements on Residency & Age

• US citizenship not required
• Washington DC residency not required
• Minimum age: 18

4. Fees

• First-timers: $774 + application fee

5. Continuing Education Requirement

CPE is required for license holders. Please click here for Washington DC CPA CPE requirements.

6. Other Useful Information

• DC CPA exam application guide
• Washington DC CPA educational requirements
• DC CPA licensing FAQ

7. Contact

District of Columbia State Board of Accountancy
941 North Capitol Street, N.E., Room 7200
Washington, D.C. 20002

• Email: Theresa.Ennis@dc.gov
• Phone: (877) 672-2173

What if the Washington DC CPA Requirements don’t Work?

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

• CPA educational requirements: Rules, Obstacles and Solutions
• States with more flexible CPA experience requirements
• How to get extra credit hours for the 150-hour rule

If you have questions, feel free to leave a comment below, or visit my Facebook page.