Kentucky CPA Exam Requirements 2026
Kentucky's current exam-eligibility formula is A bachelor's or master's degree with 27 accounting hours and 12 business hours; no separate total-hour threshold. It is not expressed as one separate total-credit threshold. Check your education, application route, current known fees, deadlines, and next steps in one place.
Kentucky CPA requirements at a glance
Exam eligibility and CPA licensure are different decisions. This page leads with the rules to sit and keeps licensing information in a separate comparison.
Recent rule activity: Do not treat a proposed or future-effective pathway as current.
- Enacted And Effective: Kentucky now offers three licensure pathways pairing bachelor's, bachelor's-plus-30-hours, or post-baccalaureate education with either two years/4,000 hours or one year/2,000 hours of experience. Effective July 15, 2026.
Are you eligible for the CPA Exam in Kentucky?
Kentucky's current sitting rule is: A bachelor's or master's degree with 27 accounting hours and 12 business hours; no separate total-hour threshold. No separate total-hour number should be inferred. The application authority makes the final decision from official documents.
What to confirm before applying
- Be at least 18 years old.
- Provide a Social Security number unless an official exception applies.
- Meet the published good-moral-character requirement.
- Complete bachelor's or master's degree.
- Complete 27 qualifying accounting semester hours.
- Complete 12 qualifying business semester hours.
Named coursework and accreditation
- Accounting courses are identified by course content that includes auditing, tax, accounting standards, principles, or processes.
- Business-related subjects include business, finance, marketing, management, economics, computers, statistics, and accounting.
- Accounting hours may also satisfy the business-hour requirement, but business hours may not satisfy the accounting-hour requirement.
The bachelor's or master's degree must be conferred by an accredited college or university.
| Question | Current answer | Action |
|---|---|---|
| Can I sit before 150 hours? | Yes, if every other requirement is met. | Keep licensing education separate from exam eligibility. |
| Can I apply before the degree is awarded? | No published pre-degree application route is available. | Follow every final-transcript deadline. |
| Must I live in the jurisdiction? | No Kentucky jurisdiction-residency rule was identified. | Check separate U.S. residency, citizenship, SSN, and identity rules. |
| Are nontraditional credits accepted? | Treatment differs by credit type. | Use the credit-treatment checklist below and confirm unknowns. |
Education-hour details
| Requirement | Semester hours | Quarter hours | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total college credit | Degree + courses | Degree + courses | A bachelor's or master's degree with 27 accounting hours and 12 business hours; no separate total-hour threshold |
| Accounting | 27 | Not yet confirmed | Course classification is determined by the application authority. |
| Business | 12 | Not yet confirmed | Course classification is determined by the application authority. |
Published education pathways
Conferred-degree route
- Completed bachelor's or master's degree
- 27 accounting hours
- 12 business hours
- Accounting content includes auditing, tax, accounting standards, principles, or processes
- Accounting hours may also count toward the business block
- The degree must be conferred before applying.
Credit types to confirm
- Community-college credit: Confirm with the application authority
- Online credit: Confirm with the application authority
- CLEP credit: Not accepted under the published rule
- AP credit: Confirm with the application authority
- Pass/fail credit: Confirm with the application authority
- Internship credit: Allowed subject to the published conditions
Kentucky eligibility gap planner
Enter your education and personal details to compare them with the published Kentucky requirements. Nuanced course classifications still require an official evaluation.
Check 6 published eligibility gates
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How to apply for the CPA Exam in Kentucky
Kentucky Board of Accountancy is the application authority. Application method: Notarized paper application submitted to the Kentucky Board of Accountancy.
Your application sequence
- Audit your transcriptsMatch total hours, degree status, accounting, business, and named-course requirements.
- Read the current official instructionsConfirm personal rules, deadlines, fees, and the exact application route.
- Submit the applicationApply through Kentucky Board of Accountancy and pay the amount shown in the live application.
- Send official documentsArrange transcripts and evaluations through the method required by the application authority.
- Resolve follow-up requestsMonitor the applicant portal and respond to education or identity questions.
- Download the NTS and scheduleUse the exact name and expiration printed on the Notice to Schedule.
Documents to prepare
- completed and notarized Kentucky examination application.
- original official transcript from each college or university.
- check or money order for the Kentucky Board fees.
- foreign credential evaluation when applicable.
- supporting court, licensing, or denial records when a disclosure answer requires them.
Processing time
2-4 weeks after the application and transcripts are received
Always follow the live application instructions in case a recipient, document method, address, or fee has changed.
Build your Kentucky application plan
The calculators use currently published numeric fees and time limits. Any amount or period not published is excluded.
Incomplete public fee snapshot
The official sources do not publish the current provider examination charge needed for a reliable total.
Known published line items—not a total:
- First-time application or evaluation: $30.00
Open the official application page and confirm every Board, evaluation, application, administration, and provider section charge before paying. No total is calculated until the provider fee is established.
Never pay for all four sections at once. Life happens. Purchase only the section or sections you can realistically study for and sit before the NTS expires. Keeping flexibility is more valuable than loading all four sections into one NTS or application cycle.
6-month NTS planner
Estimate the end of the published NTS period before purchasing more sections than you can reasonably take.
Kentucky application checklist
Check off each step as you finish it. Progress is stored only in this browser.
See what the CPA Exam journey feels like—while fighting off zombies.
Open CPA Exam Survival inside the CPA Exam Arcade and choose Story Mode. You will experience a playful version of the journey from signing up through studying and sitting for the exam.
Choose Story Mode when the game opens. This is an educational game, not an official AICPA or Prometric exam simulator.
Kentucky exam, NTS, and retake rules
Eligibility gets you into the exam. These rules determine how long your authorization and passing scores remain useful.
Pass four sections with a 75
Pass AUD, FAR, and REG plus one discipline: BAR, ISC, or TCP. Each required section uses a passing score of 75.
- Core sections are generally available through continuous testing.
- Discipline sections follow the applicable AICPA administration windows.
- Schedule only sections you can reasonably prepare for before the NTS expires.
Your 30-month credit window
An expired six-month NTS requires a re-examination application. Kentucky candidates may test at an approved Prometric site in the United States while the Kentucky Board processes their scores.
- A candidate may not retake the same section until its score has been released.
- The 30-month window begins when NASBA releases the first passing score and ends on the date the candidate sits for the final passed section.
- One extension request is granted through the last day of the calendar quarter measured from the relevant section date; the Board may grant additional extensions for good cause beyond the candidate's control.
- More than one NTS may be open at the same time.
Check CPA score-release timing · Compare how long CPA Exam scores last.
Compare review courses by the support you actually need.
Evaluate teaching style, practice tools, access length, guarantees, and total price before spending.
Important limits for international candidates
Foreign-education acceptance, the application jurisdiction, and the country where you physically test are separate decisions.
If your education was earned outside the U.S.
- Foreign education accepted: Yes, subject to evaluation conditions
- Credential evaluation required: Yes
- NIES required: No—use an evaluator accepted by the jurisdiction
- Approved evaluation services: NASBA International Evaluation Services (NIES), Any member of the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (NACES)
- Certified translation: See official instructions
The evaluation must establish U.S. degree equivalency, the accounting concentration, course titles, and credit awarded. Original transcripts and evaluation documents are required; chartered-school credits are not eligible. The published exam instructions do not separately state a certified-translation rule.
If you want to test outside the United States
An international Prometric location does not create independent CPA Exam eligibility. You must first qualify through a participating U.S. jurisdiction.
Confirm that Kentucky participates for the country where you want to test and check the international administration fee before scheduling.
Check NASBA's current international administration list · Compare CPA jurisdictions for international candidates.
Kentucky CPA licensure comparison
Passing the exam is not the same as receiving a CPA license. This limited comparison prevents the licensing threshold from being mistaken for the rule to sit.
| Requirement | To sit for the exam | For licensure |
|---|---|---|
| Education | A bachelor's or master's degree with 27 accounting hours and 12 business hours; no separate total-hour threshold | Varies by pathway; review the current routes below |
| Experience | Not treated as an exam-sitting requirement unless the application instructions expressly say otherwise | Varies by pathway; use the experience term stated for your route below |
| Ethics exam | Separate from the Uniform CPA Exam | Not identified as required |
| Alternative pathway | Do not apply a licensure alternative automatically to exam eligibility | Enacted And Effective: Beginning July 15, 2026, Kentucky licensure applicants may choose: a bachelor's degree with the accounting concentration plus two years/4,000 hours of experience; a bachelor's degree plus 30 additional semester hours with the concentration plus one year/2,000 hours; or a post-baccalaureate degree with the concentration plus one year/2,000 hours. |
Current licensure pathways
Choose the route that matches your education and experience. These are licensure routes, not automatic exam-admission rules.
Published licensure routes
Beginning July 15, 2026, Kentucky licensure applicants may choose: a bachelor's degree with the accounting concentration plus two years/4,000 hours of experience; a bachelor's degree plus 30 additional semester hours with the concentration plus one year/2,000 hours; or a post-baccalaureate degree with the concentration plus one year/2,000 hours.
Effective: July 15, 2026
Pathway timing matters: Effective date: July 15, 2026. The 2026 change affects licensure pathways, not the current education required to sit for the CPA Exam. Because the license has multiple education-and-experience routes, there is no single hours-required-for-licensure value.
Kentucky CPA Exam requirements FAQ
How many college hours do I need to sit for the CPA Exam in Kentucky?
Kentucky's current education formula is: A bachelor's or master's degree with 27 accounting hours and 12 business hours; no separate total-hour threshold. The jurisdiction does not express that formula as one separate total-hour threshold.
Do I need 150 semester hours to sit in Kentucky?
No. Kentucky allows a qualified candidate to begin testing before completing 150 hours. Licensure education is a separate requirement.
Do I have to live in Kentucky to take the CPA Exam?
No Kentucky jurisdiction-residency requirement applies to exam eligibility. Other personal requirements can still apply.
Can I apply before my degree is awarded in Kentucky?
Kentucky does not offer a published pre-degree application route. Wait for the required degree or obtain written direction from the application authority.
How much does the CPA Exam application cost in Kentucky?
Kentucky's official sources publish one or more Board or application charges but not a reliable current provider examination fee. The page lists known components without calculating a misleading total.
How long do Kentucky CPA Exam credits last?
Kentucky provides a 30-month examination-credit window. Follow the jurisdiction's exact start-date rule and the expiration shown in your candidate account.
Can I use education earned outside the United States for Kentucky?
Kentucky accepts foreign education subject to an approved credential evaluation. Use an evaluation service accepted by the application authority.
Your next CPA Exam research steps
Use this Kentucky page as your eligibility command center, then move into application timing and study-material research.
Official Kentucky sources used for this guide
Open the controlling source before paying a non-refundable fee if your education, residency, identity, or pathway is unusual.
Confirm your situation before applying: We reviewed each requirement against the official sources below. Rules, fees, and Board interpretations can change quickly and sometimes without a widely distributed announcement, and your transcript or circumstances may be evaluated differently. Before you apply, pay a fee, or enroll in coursework, confirm your situation directly with Kentucky Board of Accountancy.
- CPA Exam RequirementsKentucky Board of Accountancy · State Board
- Initial Exam Application and InstructionsKentucky Board of Accountancy · Official Application
- 201 KAR 1:190 - Examination sections, applications, and proceduresKentucky Legislative Research Commission · Regulation
- Initial LicenseKentucky Board of Accountancy · State Board
- 2026 Regular Session House Bill 45Kentucky Legislative Research Commission · Official Legislation
Editorial standard: Proposed rules are not presented as effective, and interactive results are planning guidance rather than official eligibility determinations. Official sources last reviewed: August 9, 2026.
Reviewed by Bryan Kesler, CPA
Bryan Kesler is the founder of CPA Exam Guide. Regulatory eligibility is always determined by the applicable Board or examination authority.