Arizona CPA requirements
The first thing you’ll want to do on the road to becoming an accountant in Arizona is to check the state’s CPA requirements. This page serves as a resource for the Arizona CPA requirements and is current as of April 2021. Always consult with your state or jurisdiction's board of accountancy for the most current information.
Arizona 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 Arizona CPA, the state requires candidates to meet certain education and experience requirements. Below, we’ve highlighted the state of Arizona’s CPA requirements for taking the exam and for acquiring licensure.
Arizona CPA Exam requirements
In order to sit for the CPA Exam in Arizona, candidates must meet Arizona’s education requirements and pay an initial application fee of $100. For educational background, Arizona requires you to have a baccalaureate degree or higher from an accredited college or university. This must include:
- 24 semester hours of non-duplicative accounting courses of which 12 semester hours are upper-level courses.
- At least 18 semester hours in related business courses.
Arizona CPA licensure requirements
Once you’ve passed the CPA Exam, Arizona has a set of requirements for earning CPA licensure. Arizona CPA requirements include:
- Applicant must be 18 years old
- Must present satisfactory evidence that you’ve successfully obtained a baccalaureate degree or higher from an accredited institution or comparable
- Must complete at least 150 semester hours of education that includes:
- At least 36 semester hours of non-duplicative accounting courses of which at least 30 semester hours are upper-level courses
- At least 30 semester hours are business related courses
Experience requirement
In order to be eligible to earn CPA licensure in Arizona, you must have had at least 2,000 hours of paid or unpaid experience, either before or after passing all sections of the CPA Exam. This experience should have exposed you to the practice of accounting. Experience can be any combination of full-time, part-time, volunteer or internship as long as it meets the aforementioned requisite experience.
Arizona CPA ethics exam requirement
In order to earn CPA licensure in Arizona, you must provide proof of a passing score (90% or better) on an examination in professional ethics within two years immediately preceding submission of the application for certification. The AICPA offers the ethics exam.
CPA license renewals and CPE requirements
Arizona CPA license renewals are given on a biennial basis based on birth year. Even-number birth years will register during the month of their birth every even-numbered year. Odd-number birth years will register during the month of their birth every odd-numbered year.
In order to maintain your CPA licensure, you must complete 80 hours of CPE regardless of whether employment is in public accounting, industry, business or government. These hours must include:
- Minimum of 16 hours of classroom or live/interactive webinar
- Minimum of 40 hours must be in accounting, auditing, taxation, business law or consulting services of which a minimum of 16 hours must be in the subject areas of accounting, auditing or taxation
- 4 hours of ethics which includes a minimum of one hour in each of the following:
- Ethics related to the practice of accounting including the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants Professional Code of Conduct, the Arizona State Board of Accountancy statutes and administrative rules
Fees
| Application fee | $100 |
| Biennial registration fee | $300 |
| Filing for inactive status | $150 |
| Filing for retired status |
$50 |
Sources:
Education, experience, ethics