California CPA Requirements

California State Requirements & Education Options

General Requirement

Applicant must have a valid Social Security Number. Read the Board policy regarding the collection of a Social Security Number (SSN), as required by CA Bus. & Prof. Code § 30 — the Code prohibits the issuance of a license if the applicant fails to disclose or is unable to provide a SSN.

Applicant must not have committed acts or crimes constituting grounds for denial of a license.

Education/Experience Requirement

Applicant may meet the education requirements as follows:

Applicant must have a baccalaureate degree from an accredited institution with 150 semester hours, including 24 semester units in accounting and 24 semester units of business related subjects. See the CPA Licensing Applicant Handbook and 16 CCR § 9.2 for specific required courses. The 150 semester hours must also include ten (10) semester hours of ethics study (including a minimum of three (3) semester or four (4) quarter units completed in courses devoted to accounting ethics or accountants’ professional responsibilities) and 20 additional semester hours of accounting study.