Summary Education Requirements for CPA Licensure (FL)

Important Notes

The summary requirements below were compiled in reference to the Florida Board of Accountancy (FBOA) licensure rules. See the full text of the rules on the .

The requirements below apply to the state of Florida only. While the requirements are generally similar between states, some of the specifications about course coverage can be very different between states. Visit the website of the state board of accountancy through which you would like to apply for licensure (a license in any state allows you to practice in other states).

Students are responsible for reviewing their own coursework to make sure that they meet the education requirements in the state they plan to become licensed in (do not assume that you meet the requirements just because you completed an undergraduate degree in accounting and are now enrolled in a MAcc program). 

You may begin sitting for the CPA exam before you meet all the education requirements for licensure. The requirements to sit for the exam and the requirements to become certified (i.e., activate your license after passing the exam) are summarized separately.

Instructions to apply for the CPA exam and have your Education Requirements reviewed by the FBOA are .

Summary Requirements to Begin Sitting for the CPA Exam

• Requirement #1: A total of 120 credit hours of college education at an accredited college or university
• Requirement #2: 24 semester hours of Accounting Education at the upper division level
  • Coverage (3 credit hours) of each of the following four topics: 
    • Auditing
    • Financial Accounting (based on US GAAP)
    • Taxation (based on US tax law)
    • Cost and managerial accounting or accounting data analytics
• Requirement #3: 24 semester hours of General Business Education at the upper division level
  • Must include 3 semester hours in business law (based on US law). 
  • Upper division accounting hours above the minimum requirement (24 hours) may be substituted for general business hours.
  • One course (3 of the 24 credit hours required) may be at the introductory level for purposes of taking the exam. Five courses (15 of the 36 credit hours required) may be at the introductory level for purposes of activating the CPA license, following successful completion of the exam. See Requirement #3 below for acceptable introductory courses.

Summary Requirements to Activate License (after passing the exam)

• Requirement #1: A total of 150 credit hours of college education, including a baccalaureate degree or higher conferred by an accredited college or university with a major in accounting, or its equivalent.
• Requirement #2: 30 semester hours of Accounting Education at the upper division level
  • Must include coverage (3 credit hours) of each of the following four topics: 
    • Auditing
    • Financial Accounting (based on US GAAP)
    • Taxation (based on US tax law)
    • Cost and managerial accounting or accounting data analytics
  • Not more than 3 semester hours may be internship programs (internship courses must be taken in conjunction with other traditional coursework at an institution and must appear on the transcript)
  • Any remaining internship credit if otherwise acceptable would be applied to the general business requirement
• Requirement #3: 36 semester hours of General Business Education at the upper division level
  • Must include 3 semester hours in business law (based on US law). 
  • Upper division accounting hours above the minimum requirement (30 hours) may be substituted for general business hours.
  • All general business courses, including accounting courses in excess of the 30 hours required, must be taken at the upper division level except for the following five introductory courses:
    • Introductory Macro and Micro Economics
    • Business Law
    • Introductory Statistics
    • Introduction to Computer Information Systems
    • Any written or oral communication course if they have a business or accounting prefix or if they are reflected in the catalog in the school or college as relating directly to the school or college鈥檚 business or accounting requirements. 
• Despite exceptions for introductory courses, a minimum of 21 hours of general business courses must be at the upper division level. Meaning that five courses (15 of the 36 credit hours required) may be at the introductory level for purposes of activating the CPA license, following successful completion of the exam. 

Upper Division Level

• Upper Division Level generally refers to courses that are offered at the 300 (3000) level or higher and usually require prerequisites to register for, the FBOA may request to review course syllabi and learning objectives should a question about a course arise.
• Courses titled 鈥渋ntroductory,鈥� 鈥渇undamentals鈥� or 鈥減rinciples鈥� are not considered upper division level, even if they are offered at the graduate level.
• Elementary accounting subjects are not accepted as general business education, including principles of financial and managerial accounting, even if they are covered in a three course sequence.
• A CPA exam review course does not count as upper division level accounting education

Official Education Requirements for CPA Licensure (FL)

Concentrations in Accounting and Business (as of 10/06/2023)

1. For purposes of Section 473.306, F.S., if application for the Uniform CPA Examination was made prior to August 2, 1983, an applicant must have a baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university with a major in accounting, or its equivalent, with a concentration in accounting and business subjects. A concentration in accounting and business is defined as an educational program that includes at least 18 semester hours or 27 quarter hours, or the equivalent, in accounting education above elementary (principles of) accounting and 27 semester or 40 quarter hours, or the equivalent, in general business education. In order to meet the provisions of Section 473.306, F.S., the application must have been filed, completed and approved and show on its face that all educational and other requirements were met prior to August 2, 1983.
2. For purposes of Section 473.308, F.S., if application for licensure is made after August 1, 1983, an applicant must have at least 150 semester hours or 225 quarter hours of college education, including a baccalaureate degree or higher conferred by an accredited college or university with a major in accounting, or its equivalent. The applicant鈥檚 total education program shall include a concentration in accounting and business as follows:
   1. 30 semester or 45 quarter hours in accounting education at the upper division level which shall include coverage of the following topics:
      1. Auditing
      2. Financial accounting
      3. Taxation
      4. Cost and managerial accounting or accounting data analytics.
         
         Of these courses, the applicant must complete 3 semester hours or 4 quarter hours of financial accounting based upon United States Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) and 3 semester hours or 4 quarter hours of taxation for accounting standards based upon United States federal and state laws. Not more than 3 semester or 4 quarter hours may be internship programs which may be applied to the 30 semester or 45 quarter hours in accounting (internship courses must be taken in conjunction with other traditional coursework at an institution and must appear on the transcript). Further, any remaining internship credit if otherwise acceptable would be applied to the general business requirement;
         
         
   2. 36 semester or 54 quarter hours in general business education which shall include not less than the equivalent of 3 semester or 4 quarter hours in business law courses based upon United States federal and state laws. Vocational and clerical type courses will not count either toward the accounting requirement set forth in subsection , F.A.C., or this general business education requirement. Specialized industry courses will be acceptable as general business courses but not as accounting courses unless as defined in subsection , F.A.C., and they have an accounting prefix, further such courses in order to qualify must be certified by the chairman of the school or college鈥檚 accounting department as qualifying for general business credit. Written or oral communication courses will qualify for the general business requirement if they have a business or accounting prefix or if they are reflected in the catalog in the school or college as relating directly to the school or college鈥檚 business or accounting requirements.
3. To be eligible to take the licensure examination, an applicant shall have completed 120 semester or 180 quarter hours as follows:
   1. 24 semester or 36 quarter hours in accounting education at the upper division level which shall include coverage of the following topics:
      1. Auditing
      2. Financial accounting
      3. Taxation
      4. Cost and managerial accounting or accounting data analytics.
         
         Of these courses, the applicant must complete 3 semester hours or 4 quarter hours of financial accounting based upon United States Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) and 3 semester hours or 4 quarter hours of taxation for accounting standards based upon United States federal and state laws. Not more than 3 semester or 4 quarter hours may be internship programs which may be applied to the 24 semester or 36 quarter hours in accounting (internship courses must be taken in conjunction with other traditional coursework at an institution and must appear on the transcript). Further, any remaining internship credit if otherwise acceptable would be applied to the general business requirement;
         
         
   2. 24 semester or 36 quarter hours in general business education which shall include not less than the equivalent of 3 semester or 4 quarter hours in business law courses based upon United States federal and state laws. Vocational and clerical type courses will not count either toward the accounting requirement set forth in subsection , F.A.C., or this general business education requirement. Specialized industry courses will be acceptable as general business courses but not as accounting courses unless as defined in subsection , F.A.C., and they have an accounting prefix; further such courses in order to qualify must be certified by the chairman of the school or college鈥檚 accounting department as qualifying for general business credit. Written or oral communication courses will qualify for the general business requirement if they have a business or accounting prefix or if they are reflected in the catalog in the school or college as relating directly to the school or college鈥檚 business or accounting requirements.
4. For purposes of this rule, upper division accounting hours other than elementary above the minimum requirement may be substituted for general business hours. Elementary accounting subjects shall not be accepted as general business education. Elementary accounting subjects include principles of financial and managerial accounting courses even if they are covered in a three course sequence, are titled 鈥渋ntroductory,鈥� 鈥渇undamentals鈥� or 鈥減rinciples鈥� and even if they are offered at the graduate level. All accounting courses and not less than 21 semester or 32 quarter hours of general business courses must be at the upper division level. For the purpose of paragraph , F.A.C., all general business courses, including accounting courses in excess of the 36 hours required, must be taken at the upper division level, except for Introductory Macro and Micro Economics, Business Law, Introductory Statistics, Introduction to Computer Information Systems, and any written or oral communication course described in paragraph , F.A.C. Lower level general business courses, other than those listed above, posted to transcripts after August 31, 1989 will not count. Standardized tests, such as CLEP, are not acceptable for accounting or general business courses; however, advanced placement (AP) courses will be counted if the applicant has been granted college credit for those AP courses by their degree-granting institution.
   1. Upper division, as used in Rule , F.A.C., means courses above the prinicipal introductory level.
   2. If an applicant has taken a course at the lower division at a senior institution, and that institution has reclassified the course to the upper division at the time of application to Florida, the course will be deemed upper division for the purpose of Rule , F.A.C.
5. Re-applicants whose original application for the CPA examination was approved prior to August 2, 1983, may elect to satisfy subsection , F.A.C.
6. For purposes of subsection , F.A.C., and Section 473.306, F.S., a baccalaureate degree will not be considered as meeting the statutory requirement for a major in accounting or its equivalent unless all credit hours accepted by the college or university as part of the degree requirement are listed as courses in the catalogues of all institutions attended.
7. If an applicant takes duplicate courses, only one of these courses will be counted. For purposes of this rule, all CPA Examination Review courses will be deemed to be duplicate courses.
   1. Courses will be considered duplicated if they cover a substantially equivalent professional area of knowledge even if separated by a span of time and even if some of the professional, technical and/or legal issues have been changed or modified.
   2. Regarding CPA Review courses, by definition these courses cover material already studied. Accordingly, no exception will be made to consider a CPA Review course non-duplicative, regardless of statements by applicants, professors, or academic administrators that additional topics are covered or the material covered only superficially in prior courses is covered in more detail in a 鈥渞eview鈥� course.
8. Individuals who are currently licensed in good standing, with at least five (5) years of work experience in the practice of public accountancy in the United States are exempt from the requirements in subsections -, which are in excess of a baccalaureate degree or higher conferred by an accredited college or university with a major in accounting or its equivalent. All experience that is used as a basis for waiving the requirements in excess of a baccalaureate degree must be while licensed by another state or territory in the United States. This experience shall include providing any type of service or advice involving the use of accounting, attest, compilation, management advisory, financial advisory, tax, or consulting skills. This experience shall be verified by a licensed certified public accountant in good standing with a state or territory of the United States. Individuals performing the certification must be licensed and in good standing both during the applicant鈥檚 work experience and at the time of verification.
9. Individuals who are currently licensed in good standing, with at least five (5) years of work experience in the practice of public accountancy or its equivalent in countries approved by the International Qualifications Appraisal Board of the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (IQAB) and whose educational degrees are from accredited institutions as set forth in subsection , F.A.C., shall be deemed to have met the requirements set forth in subsections -, F.A.C. All experience that is used as a basis for waiving the requirements in subsections - must be while licensed by another state or territory in the United States or while licensed in the practice of public accounting or its equivalent in a foreign country that the IQAB has determined has licensure standards that are substantially equivalent to the those in the United States. This experience shall include providing any type of service or advice involving the use of accounting, attest, compilation, management advisory, financial advisory, tax, or consulting skills. This experience shall be verified by a licensed certified public accountant in good standing with a state or territory of the United States or a chartered accountant in good standing recognized by the IQAB, both during the applicant鈥檚 work experience and at the time of verification.

Rulemaking Authority 473.304, 473.306(3), 473.308(3) FS. Law Implemented 473.306(2), (3), 473.308(3), (8) FS. History鈥揘ew 12-4-79, Amended 2-3-81, 8-1-83, 3-21-84, 6-10-84, 6-5-85, 10-28-85, Formerly 21A-27.02, Amended 5-22-88, 3-21-89, 5-20-91, 12-2-92, Formerly 21A-27.002, Amended 11-2-95, 11-3-97, 1-31-05, 5-24-07, 11-30-08, 12-21-09, 12-2-14, 7-11-16, 2-13-18, 7-29-18, 2-3-20, 1-12-21, 5-14-23, 10-26-23.