North Carolina CPA requirements
All CPAs must pass the CPA Exam to earn their license. This is a four-section exam consisting of three Core sections and selecting one of three Discipline sections. You must have a bachelor’s degree or higher with a concentration in accounting from an accredited college or university or will complete your degree within 120 days of the Board receiving your application to sit for the CPA Exam. The state defines a concentration in accounting as:
- 30 semester hours (45 quarter hours) of undergraduate accounting courses with no more than six semester hours (nine quarter hours) in accounting principles
- 20 semester hours (30 quarter hours) of graduate accounting courses that are only available to graduate students
- A combination of undergraduate and graduate courses equivalent to the amounts listed above
All CPAs must pass the CPA Exam to earn their license. This is a four-section exam consisting of three Core sections and selecting one of three Discipline sections. You must have a bachelor’s degree or higher with a concentration in accounting from an accredited college or university or will complete your degree within 120 days of the Board receiving your application to sit for the CPA Exam. The state defines a concentration in accounting as:
- 30 semester hours (45 quarter hours) of undergraduate accounting courses with no more than six semester hours (nine quarter hours) in accounting principles
- 20 semester hours (30 quarter hours) of graduate accounting courses that are only available to graduate students
- A combination of undergraduate and graduate courses equivalent to the amounts listed above
All CPAs must pass the CPA Exam to earn their license. This is a four-section exam consisting of three Core sections and selecting one of three Discipline sections. You must have a bachelor’s degree or higher with a concentration in accounting from an accredited college or university or will complete your degree within 120 days of the Board receiving your application to sit for the CPA Exam. The state defines a concentration in accounting as:
- 30 semester hours (45 quarter hours) of undergraduate accounting courses with no more than six semester hours (nine quarter hours) in accounting principles
- 20 semester hours (30 quarter hours) of graduate accounting courses that are only available to graduate students
- A combination of undergraduate and graduate courses equivalent to the amounts listed above
North Carolina CPA requirements
Once you have passed all four sections of the CPA Exam, you’ll also need to meet additional education and experience requirements before you can apply for licensure.
Effective January 1, 2026, you must meet one of the following education and experience requirements:
- Bachelor's degree with an accounting concentration, two years of experience under the supervision of a CPA, and passing the CPA Exam
- Bachelor's degree, 30 additional college semester hours or master's degree, one year of experience under the supervision of a CPA, and passing the CPA Exam
Note: Applicants may have four years of experience in teaching or in the field of accounting as the equivalent of supervised experience.
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To maintain your license, you will need to complete continuing professional education (CPE) courses throughout your career. North Carolina measures their requirements in minutes, rather than hours like most states, so all active CPAs will need to obtain 2,000 minutes of CPE annually, though if you earn 40 hours, that will more than meet the requirements.
- For CPAs in their first year of licensing, the North Carolina Board of Accountancy requires:
- CPAs having certificate applications approved by the Board in April to June shall complete 1,500 CPE minutes during the same calendar year
- CPAs having certificate applications approved by the Board in July to September shall complete 1,000 CPE minutes during the same calendar year
CPAs having certificate applications approved by the Board in October to December shall complete 500 CPE minutes during the same calendar year
Any CPE minutes completed during the calendar year in which the certificate application is approved may be used for that year’s requirement even if the minutes were completed before the certificate was granted.
In addition to earning the minimum number of hours, to meet the North Carolina CPA CPE requirements, you must also earn a minimum of 50 minutes of ethics CPE.
CPAs who complete more than the 2,000 minutes during one licensing cycle may carry over up to 1,000 minutes the following year.
To maintain your license, you will need to complete continuing professional education (CPE) courses throughout your career. North Carolina measures their requirements in minutes, rather than hours like most states, so all active CPAs will need to obtain 2,000 minutes of CPE annually, though if you earn 40 hours, that will more than meet the requirements.
- For CPAs in their first year of licensing, the North Carolina Board of Accountancy requires:
- CPAs having certificate applications approved by the Board in April to June shall complete 1,500 CPE minutes during the same calendar year
- CPAs having certificate applications approved by the Board in July to September shall complete 1,000 CPE minutes during the same calendar year
CPAs having certificate applications approved by the Board in October to December shall complete 500 CPE minutes during the same calendar year
Any CPE minutes completed during the calendar year in which the certificate application is approved may be used for that year’s requirement even if the minutes were completed before the certificate was granted.
In addition to earning the minimum number of hours, to meet the North Carolina CPA CPE requirements, you must also earn a minimum of 50 minutes of ethics CPE.
CPAs who complete more than the 2,000 minutes during one licensing cycle may carry over up to 1,000 minutes the following year.
To maintain your license, you will need to complete continuing professional education (CPE) courses throughout your career. North Carolina measures their requirements in minutes, rather than hours like most states, so all active CPAs will need to obtain 2,000 minutes of CPE annually, though if you earn 40 hours, that will more than meet the requirements.
- For CPAs in their first year of licensing, the North Carolina Board of Accountancy requires:
- CPAs having certificate applications approved by the Board in April to June shall complete 1,500 CPE minutes during the same calendar year
- CPAs having certificate applications approved by the Board in July to September shall complete 1,000 CPE minutes during the same calendar year
CPAs having certificate applications approved by the Board in October to December shall complete 500 CPE minutes during the same calendar year
Any CPE minutes completed during the calendar year in which the certificate application is approved may be used for that year’s requirement even if the minutes were completed before the certificate was granted.
In addition to earning the minimum number of hours, to meet the North Carolina CPA CPE requirements, you must also earn a minimum of 50 minutes of ethics CPE.
CPAs who complete more than the 2,000 minutes during one licensing cycle may carry over up to 1,000 minutes the following year.
