South Dakota CPA Requirements

South Dakota State Requirements & Education Options

General Requirement

Applicants must be of good moral character.

There is no minimum age requirement to sit for the CPA Exam or to apply for a CPA license in South Dakota.

Residency Requirement: South Dakota residency is not required to sit for the CPA Exam or to apply for licensure. U.S. citizenship is not required.

Applicants who pass the Uniform CPA Examination and complete the required experience must apply for a CPA certificate within 3 years of meeting the licensure requirements. If the applicant does not apply within this period, the applicant must reapply as an initial candidate, unless the Board grants a waiver for good cause.

Education Requirement

Applicants must complete at least 150 semester hours of college education and earn a bachelor’s degree or higher from a regionally accredited college or university with a major in accounting or an equivalent course of study approved by the South Dakota Board of Accountancy.

If the applicant does not hold a degree in accounting, the Board may accept a course of study determined to be substantially equivalent to an accounting degree.

The education must include at least 24 semester hours in accounting at the undergraduate or graduate level, including introductory accounting and at least 1 course in each of the following subjects: intermediate or advanced accounting, auditing, taxation, and cost accounting.

Applicants must also complete at least 24 semester hours in business courses other than accounting at the undergraduate or graduate level.

A transcript from a post-secondary educational institution located outside the United States shall be certified by the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy’s (NASBA) International Evaluation Service (NIES) or a credentialing agency that is a member of the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services, Inc.