Washington CPA Requirements

District of Columbia State Requirements & Education Options

General Requirement

Applicant must possess “good character” (lack a history of dishonest or felonious acts).

Education/Experience Requirement

Applicant must have at least 150 semester hours (225 quarter hours) of college credits, and a baccalaureate or higher degree from a college or university accredited by a regionally or nationally accredited agency recognized by the Washington Board.

Applicant must also possess an accounting major or concentration, which means 24 semester hour credits (36 quarter hours) in accounting subjects, of which at least 15 semester hours must be at the upper division or graduate level (an upper division course is defined as a course that frequently carries completion of a lower level course(s) as a prerequisite and is usually designated as “upper division” by the school offering the course); and 24 semester hour credits (36 quarter hours) in business administration subjects at the undergraduate or graduate level.

Transfer of Credit Applicants must submit official college transcripts (bearing an official seal) showing that a degree was granted and showing completion of the education requirement in effect at the time when the applicant first sat for the CPA exam.

Education received outside of the United States must be evaluated by a Board recognized evaluation service before applying for the CPA license. Effective October 1, 2014: The Board will only accept education evaluation reports from NASBA International Evaluation Services (NIES).

Access the Education Handbook and Education Evaluation Worksheet online.