Nevada CPA Exam Requirements 2026
Nevada's current exam-eligibility formula is A bachelor's degree with an accounting major, or another major plus Nevada's specified 18-hour course block. 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.
Nevada 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.
- Adopted And Effective: Master's plus one year, bachelor's plus 30 semester hours and one year, or bachelor's plus two years. Effective February 27, 2026.
Are you eligible for the CPA Exam in Nevada?
Nevada's current sitting rule is: A bachelor's degree with an accounting major, or another major plus Nevada's specified 18-hour course block. No separate total-hour number should be inferred. The application authority makes the final decision from official documents.
What to confirm before applying
- Provide a Social Security number unless an official exception applies.
- Meet the published good-moral-character requirement.
- Complete bachelor's degree.
Named coursework and accreditation
- Accounting: financial accounting (6 semester hours).
- Accounting: auditing (3 semester hours).
- Accounting: federal income tax (3 semester hours).
- Accounting: cost and managerial accounting (3 semester hours).
- Business: business law (3 semester hours).
Degree and courses must satisfy Nevada Board standards.
| 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 Nevada 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 degree with an accounting major, or another major plus Nevada's specified 18-hour course block |
| Accounting | Varies by pathway | Varies by pathway | Named subjects: financial accounting (6 semester hours), auditing (3 semester hours), federal income tax (3 semester hours), cost and managerial accounting (3 semester hours). |
| Business | Varies by pathway | Varies by pathway | Named subjects: business law (3 semester hours). |
| Upper-level accounting | 15 | Varies by pathway | Shown separately when the jurisdiction publishes an upper-level minimum. |
Published education pathways
Accounting-major route
- Completed bachelor's degree with a major in accounting
- The degree must be awarded before applying.
Other-major route
- Completed bachelor's degree with a major other than accounting
- 15 accounting hours
- 3 business hours
- 6 hours financial accounting
- 3 hours auditing
- 3 hours federal income tax
- 3 hours cost and managerial accounting
- 3 hours business law
- The degree and specified courses must be complete before applying.
- The 18-hour block is the alternative to an accounting major.
Credit types to confirm
- Community-college credit: Confirm with the application authority
- Online credit: Confirm with the application authority
- CLEP credit: Confirm with the application authority
- AP credit: Confirm with the application authority
- Pass/fail credit: Confirm with the application authority
- Internship credit: Confirm with the application authority
Nevada eligibility gap planner
Enter your education and personal details to compare them with the published Nevada requirements. Nuanced course classifications still require an official evaluation.
Check 3 published eligibility gates
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How to apply for the CPA Exam in Nevada
Nevada State Board of Accountancy is the application authority. Application method: Nevada Board application.
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 Nevada State 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
- Board examination application.
- official transcripts.
- required fee.
Processing time
The application authority does not publish a standard processing time.
Always follow the live application instructions in case a recipient, document method, address, or fee has changed.
Build your Nevada 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.
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.
NTS expiration check
The public instructions do not state a reliable numeric NTS-validity period.
Use the expiration printed on your actual Notice to Schedule. Do not calculate from a generic national deadline.
Nevada 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.
Nevada 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
Conditional credit expires after 30 months; the Board may grant an extension for good cause. The NTS expiration shown on the issued document controls scheduling.
- Discipline sections follow AICPA testing windows.
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: See official instructions
- Approved evaluation services: See the official application instructions for accepted evaluation services
- Certified translation: Required
Candidates with foreign education should obtain the Board's current evaluator instructions before ordering a report.
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 Nevada 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.
Nevada 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 degree with an accounting major, or another major plus Nevada's specified 18-hour course block | 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 | Required |
| Alternative pathway | Do not apply a licensure alternative automatically to exam eligibility | Adopted And Effective: Nevada now recognizes a master's degree with an accounting concentration plus one year of experience; a bachelor's degree with an accounting concentration and 30 additional semester hours plus one year; or a bachelor's degree with an accounting concentration plus two years. |
Current licensure pathways
Choose the route that matches your education and experience. These are licensure routes, not automatic exam-admission rules.
Published licensure routes
Nevada now recognizes a master's degree with an accounting concentration plus one year of experience; a bachelor's degree with an accounting concentration and 30 additional semester hours plus one year; or a bachelor's degree with an accounting concentration plus two years.
Effective: February 27, 2026
Pathway timing matters: Effective date: February 27, 2026. The new licensure routes do not change the separate bachelor's-level requirements to sit for the Exam.
Nevada CPA Exam requirements FAQ
How many college hours do I need to sit for the CPA Exam in Nevada?
Nevada's current education formula is: A bachelor's degree with an accounting major, or another major plus Nevada's specified 18-hour course block. The jurisdiction does not express that formula as one separate total-hour threshold.
Do I need 150 semester hours to sit in Nevada?
No. Nevada allows a qualified candidate to begin testing before completing 150 hours. Licensure education is a separate requirement.
Do I have to live in Nevada to take the CPA Exam?
No Nevada jurisdiction-residency requirement applies to exam eligibility. Other personal requirements can still apply.
Can I apply before my degree is awarded in Nevada?
Nevada 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 Nevada?
Nevada'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 Nevada CPA Exam credits last?
Nevada 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 Nevada?
Nevada 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 Nevada page as your eligibility command center, then move into application timing and study-material research.
Official Nevada 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 Nevada State Board of Accountancy.
- Nevada State Board of AccountancyNevada State Board of Accountancy · State Board
- Nevada CPA ExamNational Association of State Boards of Accountancy · NASBA
- Nevada Administrative Code Chapter 628 — AccountantsNevada Legislature · Regulation
- Approved Regulation R054-25Nevada Legislature · Official Rulemaking
- Assembly Bill 510Nevada Legislature · 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.