The significant health, economic, education and travel disruption starting in 2020 led to candidate hardships, and the recovery is ongoing. CPA candidates saw their progress come to a standstill, and some even lost progress toward licensure due to disruptions of testing centers and other factors. To help CPA candidates get back on track, NASBA and the AICPA recently launched a new Credit Relief Initiative to re-instate or extend expired CPA Exam credits to eligible candidates.
To help you understand a bit more about this initiative and whether you're eligible, we're breaking down the information you need to know.
What is the CPA Exam Credit Relief Initiative?
NASBA and the AICPA put forth a recommendation asking the individual state boards of accountancy to extend credit expiration for students who had credit expire for one or more CPA Exam sections between January 30, 2020 and May 11, 2023. You may be able to have lost exam credits reinstated with the credit expiration date extended through June 30, 2025.
It's important to note that this decision to provide credit relief is up to each state board of accountancy. Some states may adopt the recommendation in its entirety, they may adopt a shorter credit expiration date extension, they may only provide a credit extension on a case-by-case basis, or they may not adopt any credit relief at all.
Finding out if your jurisdiction adopts credit relief
If your board adopts credit relief in any form, they should send out an email to those impacted and post on social media channels, as will NASBA, telling you what they adopted and what information is required from you to get your credits extended. If you had CPA Exam credits expire during the dates listed above and you don't receive an email, we highly recommend you contact your state board of accountancy for additional details and information.
Additional details about CPA Exam credit relief
We know this is a complicated subject, so to provide clarity, here are a few additional points to keep in mind related to CPA Exam credit relief.
- Even if your state board fully adopts NASBA and the AICPA's recommendations for credit extension, you may need to submit a request for approval before a specific deadline. You should receive an email from your board or NASBA with details, but if not, reach out to the board directly.
- If you have already replaced your expired credit, you cannot get reimbursed or gain other benefits from this program. It is only applicable for candidates whose credits expired during the specific time frame and who haven't re-taken and passed the corresponding exam section.
- Your applicable board of accountancy is the only entity that can extend your CPA Exam credits, so if your state board does not adopt the credit relief initiative, there aren't any options beyond re-testing. You cannot transfer expired credits to a state that has adopted the initiative.
We understand this may be a bit confusing, and we will keep you updated as NASBA releases more information. Just remember, when in doubt about state guidelines about getting your CPA license, it's always a good idea to reach out to your state board of accountancy for information.