Alabama CPA requirements
The first thing you’ll want to do on the road to becoming an accountant in Alabama is to check the state of Alabama’s CPA requirements. This page serves as a resource for Alabama’s CPA requirements and is current as of February 2021. Always consult with your state or jurisdiction’s board of accountancy for the most current information.
Alabama CPA requirements
Getting a CPA in each state mandates different requirements for taking the CPA Exam and becoming a licensed CPA. In order to be eligible to become an Alabama CPA, the state requires candidates to meet certain education and experience requirements. Below, we’ve highlighted the state of Alabama’s CPA requirements for taking the exam and for acquiring licensure.
Exam requirements
In order to sit for the CPA Exam, candidates must have an undergraduate degree from a regionally accredited college or university and meet certain requirements. These requirements include:
- Applicant must be 19 years of age and a citizen of the United States or legally present in the United States
- Must have good moral character
- 120 semester hours
- 24 semester hours of Accounting - upper division (300 level or higher) undergraduate and/or graduate level
- 24 semester hours of Business-related courses
Exam restrictions
Candidates must pass all test sections of the Uniform CPA Examination within a rolling eighteen-month period, which begins on the date that the first test section(s) passed is taken. Credit for any test section passed shall be valid for eighteen months from the actual date the candidate took that test section.
In 2020, NASBA, the AICPA and Prometric decided to end testing windows, instead introducing continuous testing windows. Now, Alabama CPA candidates can retake test sections as soon as testing results for the prior attempt are released.
Licensure requirements
Once you’ve passed the CPA Exam, Alabama has a set of requirements for earning CPA licensure. These include passing an ethics course and specific work experience. At a glance, Alabama CPA licensure requires:
- Applicant must be 19 years of age and a citizen of the United States or legally present in the United States
- Must have good moral character
- Completion of undergraduate degree from a regionally accredited college or university
- 150 semester hours
- 33 semester hours of Accounting - upper division (300 level or higher) undergraduate and/or graduate level
- 27 semester hours of Business-related courses
- Pass all four sections of the Uniform CPA Examination (passing grade is 75)
Ethics requirement
Candidates who have successfully passed the CPA examination will be required to complete the American Institute of Certified Public Accountant’s continuing professional education course, “Professional Ethics: The AICPA’s Comprehensive Course.”
Education requirement
Once the candidate passes all test sections of the CPA Exam, they will have 36 months from the time of passing the exam to obtain the necessary education hours. Alabama’s CPA licensure education requirement includes 150 semester hours (225 quarter hours) including:
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33 semester hours (or equivalent quarter hours) in upper-level accounting courses
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27 semester hours or equivalent quarter hours in business courses other than accounting in the following:
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Economics
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Legal and social environment of business
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Business law
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Marketing
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Finance
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Organization, group and individual behavior
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Quantitative applications in business
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Communication skills
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Business ethics
Experience requirement
Alabama requires CPA candidates to have the following work experience:
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One year of full-time employment by a public accounting firm as a staff accountant and supervised by a practicing CPA or PA holding a valid permit to practice;
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Or two years of full-time employment properly supervised and has sufficient quality and depth in the accounting field in industry, business, government or college teaching;
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Or any combination of the above.
CPA license renewals and CPE requirements
Alabama CPA licenses are renewed annually from October 1 to September 31.
All Alabama CPAs are required to complete 40 hours of acceptable continuing professional education (CPE) each fiscal year ending September 30. At least 8 of the reported hours must be obtained in the subject of accounting or auditing. At least two hours must be in a qualifying ethics course.
For specific CPE details and requirements, please refer to the Alabama State Board of Public Accountancy Code on continuing professional education.
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