New Mexico CPA Requirements

New Mexico State Requirements & Education Options

General Requirement

Applicant must be of good moral character and lack a history of dishonest or felonious acts.

All applicants are required to provide the Board with fingerprints and other information necessary for a state and national criminal background check. GEMALTO is now the fingerprinting service for NM applicants. Click here to be directed to the GEMALTO website, and click on Process Overview – Registration, Fingerprinting & Results under Useful Information for an overview of the process.

Applicants that passed the Uniform CPA Exam as a New Mexico candidate have no residency requirement for licensure. You may reside outside the state and apply for a New Mexico license BY EXAMINATION.

Applicants seeking initial licensure BY GRADE TRANSFER are subject to a residency requirement. If you passed the Uniform CPA Exam in another state and now wish to have your scores transferred to New Mexico for the purpose of licensure, you will be required to provide proof of New Mexico residency or intended residency.

New Mexico candidates must apply for an initial license within ten (10) years of passing the final section of the CPA examination, or the scores will no longer be valid and the candidate will be required to register for and pass the examination again as a first-time candidate.

Education Requirement

Applicant must have 150 semester hours of college education including a baccalaureate or higher degree equivalent granted by an educational institution approved by the New Mexico Public Accountancy Board. The total education program must include a minimum of 30 semester hours in accounting, auditing and auditing related courses – three (3) semester hours may be in business law. All courses must appear on an official college transcript and 15 of the 30 semester hours in accounting, auditing and auditing related courses must be taken by physically attending courses on the campus. Any course for which credit has been awarded by the university will be accepted toward meeting the 150-semester-hour requirement.

A prospective CPA examination or CPA certificate candidate is considered as having graduated from an accredited college or university acceptable to the New Mexico Public Accountancy Board if, at the time the educational institution grants the Applicant’s degree, it was accredited at the appropriate level as required by the New Mexico Public Accountancy Board. Please click here to view the rules on accreditation levels.