Mississippi CPA requirements
Wondering how to become a CPA in Mississippi? Your first step should always be to check the Mississippi CPA requirements, because the Mississippi Board of Accountancy will ultimately license you. This page serves as a resource for Mississippi requirements for taking the CPA Exam, earning licensure and maintaining licensure with CPE.
CPA Exam Requirements in Mississippi
Getting a CPA in each state mandates different requirements for taking the CPA Exam. In order to meet the CPA Exam requirements in Mississippi, the state requires candidates to meet certain prerequisites.
- Must be of good moral character
- Must be a resident of the state of Mississippi or have an office for the regular transaction of business in this state. Residency determination may include:
- Place of registration as a voter
- Vehicle registration and tags
- Filing of Mississippi state resident income tax returns
- Qualifying for homestead exemption in Mississippi and payment of real estate taxes to this state
- Graduation from a Mississippi university or college and successful completion of the CPA Examination in Mississippi
Minimum Education Requirements
All CPA candidates in Mississippi must have a bachelor's degree or higher (minimum of 120 semester hours) from a regionally accredited college or university with a concentration in accounting, including:
- 48 semester hours of upper-level accounting and business-related courses (accounting courses must be a minimum of 24 of the 48 hours and include at a minimum three semester hours in):
- Financial accounting
- Auditing
- Taxation
- Management/cost accounting
- Government/not-for-profit accounting
Mississippi CPA License Requirements
Beginning July 1, 2026, Mississippi candidates must complete one of the following combined education and experience requirements:
- Bachelor's degree with an accounting concentration, plus two years of qualifying experience
- Bachelor's degree with an accounting concentration, 30 additional semester hours (total 150 hours), plus one year of qualifying experience
- Master's degree with an accounting concentration, plus one year of qualifying experience
Ethics Exam/Requirements
The Mississippi Board of Accountancy reserves the right to require applicants for licensure to successfully complete a written examination, a board approved ethics course of comprehensive study, and/or an examination of the rules and regulations promulgated by the board.
Mississippi CPA License Renewals
Mississippi CPAs must renew their licenses annually. The license cycle occurs July 1 - June 30. Each reporting period ends June 30 of each year.
Mississippi CPA CPE Requirements
Each permit holder must have completed at least 40 hours of acceptable continuing professional education (CPE) credits each annual reporting period. Only 20 of the 40 CPE credit hours may be carry-over hours from the previous year. Each annual reporting period ends on June 30 of each odd-numbered year. A minimum of 4 CPE credit hours must be in board-approved ethics, professional conduct, public accountancy law and regulations courses triennially.
A new CPA licensee is exempt from CPE only during the compliance period in which he or she completes the examination and is exempt from the ethics, professional conduct, public accountancy law and regulations CPE requirement during the remainder of that triennial period.
Sources: