US CPA — Certified Public Accountant (United States)
A CPA is a state licence, not a single national certificate: you sit the Uniform CPA Exam (AICPA writes it, NASBA/state boards administer it) and then apply for licensure in one jurisdiction; practice in other states relies on mobility rules. Confirmed exam is active nationwide, still structured as 4 sections (consistent with the CPA Evolution Core+Discipline model in effect since Jan 2024: 3 Core sections + 1 Discipline section).
- Issuer
- AICPA / NASBA / State Boards of Accountancy
- Industry
- Finance & Accounting
- Domain
- Accounting & Chartered Qualifications
- Level
- Expert
- Exam fee
- Exam section fees set per jurisdiction (roughly USD 250–350 per section x 4 sections, plus application fees); licence fees vary by state
Prerequisites & eligibility
Experience: Licence (not the exam) is issued by a state board: '3 Es' – education, exam, experience. Most states now accept 120 credit hours + 2 years or 150 hours + 1 year of supervised experience; plus an ethics exam in many states
Renewal & maintenance
Valid for 3 years, 120 CPE credits per cycle. Renew by cpe.
Typical rule: 120 CPE hours per 3 years (min 20/yr) incl. ethics; exact CPE and licence-renewal fees are set by each state board
Recognition
The US public-accounting licence; required to sign audit opinions
Related certifications
- ACCA ACCA Qualification (Chartered Certified Accountant)
- CA (India) Chartered Accountant (India)
- CA (Singapore) Chartered Accountant of Singapore
- CA ANZ CA Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand – Chartered Accountant
- CA(SA) Chartered Accountant (South Africa)
- CAI CA Chartered Accountants Ireland – Chartered Accountant
Career paths that include US CPA
- Internal / External Auditor — Advanced phase
- Accountant → Controller → CFO — Advanced phase
- Tax Professional — Advanced phase