North Dakota CPA Exam Requirements 2026
A qualified candidate can use the North Dakota route with 120 semester hours, subject to every other published rule. Check your education, application route, current known fees, deadlines, and next steps in one place.
North Dakota 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: 30 months from score release. Effective April 1, 2024.
- Adopted And Effective: Internship credit is excluded from accounting and limited to three semester hours of the business concentration. Effective January 1, 2026.
Are you eligible for the CPA Exam in North Dakota?
North Dakota allows a qualified candidate to sit at 120 semester hours. The application authority makes the final decision from official documents.
What to confirm before applying
- Meet the published good-moral-character requirement.
- Complete at least 120 semester hours.
- Complete 24 qualifying accounting semester hours.
- Complete 24 qualifying business semester hours.
Named coursework and accreditation
- Accounting: accounting, auditing, or taxation courses above principles.
- Business: business, management, finance, economics, or marketing.
Degree and coursework must satisfy North Dakota 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? | A degree is not required to sit; complete every published credit-hour and subject requirement by the applicable deadline. | Follow every final-transcript deadline. |
| Must I live in the jurisdiction? | No North Dakota 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 | 120 | 180 | Principles courses do not count toward either 24-hour block. Effective January 1, 2026, internship credit does not count as accounting and may count for no more than 3 semester hours of the business block. A bachelor's degree is required for licensure, but the Board may permit the Exam with 120 semester hours. |
| Accounting | 24 | 36 | Named subjects: accounting, auditing, or taxation courses above principles. |
| Business | 24 | 36 | Named subjects: business, management, finance, economics, or marketing. |
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: Allowed subject to the published conditions
North Dakota eligibility gap planner
Enter your education and personal details to compare them with the published North Dakota requirements. Nuanced course classifications still require an official evaluation.
Check 4 published eligibility gates
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How to apply for the CPA Exam in North Dakota
North Dakota State Board of Accountancy is the application authority. Application method: online through the Board's Certemy 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 North Dakota 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
- Certemy examination application.
- transcripts uploaded to the application or sent to the Board.
- notarized no-SSN affidavit when applicable.
- 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 North Dakota 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: $120.00
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.
North Dakota 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.
North Dakota 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
The six-month NTS and 30-month credit window took effect April 1, 2024. Credit begins from score release.
- 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: No—use an evaluator accepted by the jurisdiction
- Approved evaluation services: Foreign Academic Credentials Service (FACS), NASBA International Evaluation Services (NIES)
- Certified translation: Required
A course-by-course U.S.-equivalency evaluation is required for non-U.S. education.
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 North Dakota 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.
North Dakota 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 | 120 semester hours plus all applicable degree and coursework requirements | 150 hours under the current comparison route |
| Experience | Not treated as an exam-sitting requirement unless the application instructions expressly say otherwise | 1 year required |
| Ethics exam | Separate from the Uniform CPA Exam | Required |
| Alternative pathway | Do not apply a licensure alternative automatically to exam eligibility | No Change Identified: No enacted alternative licensure pathway was identified in the official sources reviewed for this update. |
Pathway timing matters: Confirm the current licensing pathway after passing the exam.
North Dakota CPA Exam requirements FAQ
How many college hours do I need to sit for the CPA Exam in North Dakota?
North Dakota currently lists 120 semester hours for exam eligibility. A degree is not required to sit, but every accounting, business, and personal requirement still applies.
Do I need 150 semester hours to sit in North Dakota?
No. North Dakota allows a qualified candidate to begin testing before completing 150 hours. Licensure education is a separate requirement.
Do I have to live in North Dakota to take the CPA Exam?
No North Dakota jurisdiction-residency requirement applies to exam eligibility. Other personal requirements can still apply.
Can I apply before my degree is awarded in North Dakota?
North Dakota does not require a degree to sit. Every published credit-hour and subject requirement must still be complete by the application deadline unless the official instructions expressly provide otherwise.
How much does the CPA Exam application cost in North Dakota?
North Dakota'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 North Dakota CPA Exam credits last?
North Dakota 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 North Dakota?
North Dakota 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 North Dakota page as your eligibility command center, then move into application timing and study-material research.
Official North Dakota 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 North Dakota State Board of Accountancy.
- Requirements to Become a CPANorth Dakota State Board of Accountancy · State Board
- ApplicationsNorth Dakota State Board of Accountancy · Official Application
- Rule Changes Effective April 1, 2024North Dakota State Board of Accountancy · Official Rulemaking
- 2025 Rule Takes Effect January 1, 2026North Dakota State Board of Accountancy · Official Rulemaking
- North Dakota CPA ExamNational Association of State Boards of Accountancy · NASBA
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 8, 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.