Accountants

Eligibility

1. Examination candidates must have obtained from one or more accredited institutions or from the National College at least 120 semester hours of education, a baccalaureate or higher degree, and an accounting concentration or equivalent prior to taking any part of the CPA examination.

   For the purpose of complying with the Board of Accountancy’s Regulation 18 VAC 5-21-30 (subdivision B1) and with subsection A1a of § 54.1-4409.2 of the Code of Virginia, obtaining an accounting concentration or equivalent requires obtaining at a minimum:

   • 24 semester hours of accounting courses, including courses in auditing, financial accounting, management accounting, and taxation; and
   • 24 semester hours of business courses, no more than six semester hours of which could be considered accounting courses.

   Principles or introductory accounting courses cannot be considered in determining whether a person has obtained the 48 minimum number of semester hours required for an accounting concentration or equivalent.

   Candidates with foreign educational credentials may take the examination provided they have their credentials evaluated by a Foreign Credentials Evaluation Service.

   Examination candidates must meet all of the educational requirements listed above at the time of application.

   Note: Once a candidate has passed all 4 sections of the exam, CPA licensure requires at least 150 semester hours of education in accordance with the above provisions.

2. Examination candidates must provide a valid social security number or driver’s license number (required by Virginia State Law).

3. Examination candidates must be of good character (lack of a history of dishonest or felonious acts).

Examination Sections

The names and length of the examination sections are:

• Auditing and Attestation (AUD) – 4.5 hours
• Financial Accounting and Reporting (FAR) – 4 hours
• Regulation (REG) – 3 hours
• Business Environment and Concepts (BEC) – 2.5 hours

 Testing Windows

The CPA Examination is offered the first two months of each calendar quarter. These months of testing are known as “testing windows”:

• January – February
• April – May
• July – August
• October - November

The exam is not given during the third month of each calendar quarter to allow for systems maintenance.

Exam candidates may take one or more sections of the exam during any testing window and in any order. However, a candidate may not take the same section more than once during any one testing window.

It is important that you plan accordingly; it is your responsibility to schedule the remaining unpassed sections of the exam within 18 months of passing one or more sections. In the event that all four sections of the exam are not passed within the 18-month period, credit for any section(s) passed outside of that 18-month period will expire and that section(s) must be retaken.

Scheduling and Scoring

After eligibility to take the examination is determined by Board of Accountancy staff, an Authorization to Test (ATT) will be sent to the National Candidate Database (NCD) at the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA). Once NASBA receives the ATT they will issue a payment coupon to the exam candidate with instructions on how to pay the examination fees.

NASBA will issue a Notice to Schedule (NTS) to the exam candidate following receipt of examination fees. Exam candidates typically receive their NTS within 1-2 business days of paying exam fees, depending upon how they selected to be contacted. Regular mail processing typically takes 7-10 business days.

Upon receipt of the NTS, exam candidates are required to contact Prometric at www.prometric.com/cpa or at 1-800-580-9648 to schedule their exam section(s). Exam candidates must ensure that all information on the NTS is correct. The name appearing on the NTS must match EXACTLY to the name on the identification documents that the exam candidate will use during check-in at the testing center. If the information does not match EXACTLY, contact the Board of Accountancy to request a correction. Please note: The Board of Accountancy does not control space availability or location of the test centers.

IMPORTANT NOTE TO ALL EXAM CANDIDATES: Once an NTS has been issued, a Virginia exam candidate has one year from the date of the NTS to schedule and take the approved examination section(s). If a candidate does not take all sections for which they registered before the NTS expires, the candidate will forfeit all exam fees. Once a NTS has expired, exam candidates will have to re-submit their application to take the exam, and will have to pay all examination fees again. Exam candidates should not apply to sit for a section of the examination until they are ready to take it. Exceptions to the one year rule may only be made in extreme circumstances (i.e., health, death in family, military). Exception requests must be submitted to the Virginia Board of Accountancy prior to the expiration of the NTS.

After an exam candidate has made an appointment for an examination section(s), a candidate may find it necessary to change an appointment. Exam candidates must contact Prometric at www.prometric.com/cpa or at 1-800-580-9648 to reschedule an appointment. Depending on when a candidate notifies Prometric of the change, rescheduling fees or a forfeiture of fees may occur. Exam candidates that cancel an exam section and do not reschedule prior to the NTS expiration date will forfeit all exam fees, will have to re-apply, and will be required to pay all examination fees again. Please reference the Uniform CPA Examination Candidate Bulletin for a Rescheduling/Cancellation Fee Schedule.

Exam candidates must bring their NTS with them to the examination testing center. The NTS contains an “examination password” that must be entered on the computer as part of the log-in process. Exam candidates will not be admitted into the test center without the NTS, nor will they be admitted if the name on the identification that is presented does not match EXACTLY to the name on the NTS, resulting in the forfeiture of all fees.

Exam candidates must arrive at the test center at least 30 minutes before the scheduled appointment time for their examination. This allows time to complete the sign-in process. Arriving anytime after the scheduled start time may result in the candidate being denied permission to test, resulting in the forfeiture of all fees.

A score of 75 on each examination section is required to pass the exam. No minimum score is required on a failed section(s) to retain a passing score. However, it is your responsibility to schedule the remaining unpassed sections of the exam within 18 months of passing one or more sections. In the event that all four sections of the exam are not passed within the 18-month period, credit for any section(s) passed outside of that 18-month period will expire and that section(s) must be retaken.

Examination scores are sent to NASBA by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) to be entered into the national candidate database. Following update of the exam scores, NASBA will forward the exam scores to the Virginia Board of Accountancy. Upon receipt, the Virginia Board of Accountancy will notify exam candidates of their score(s).

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

The Virginia Board of Accountancy (Board) complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. To ensure equal opportunity for all qualified persons, the Board will coordinate reasonable modifications in the administration of the exam for candidates establishing the need for accommodation due to a disability that limits one or more of his or her major life activities. If a candidate believes he or she has a specific disability which would require accommodation under the ADA, the candidate must provide the Board with appropriate information. The candidate must also submit documentation from an appropriately licensed health care professional that includes a diagnosis of the disability, along with a specific recommendation and justification for the requested modifications. The Board is not responsible for any costs necessary to obtain the required diagnosis, recommendation and documentation; however, the Board will be responsible for reasonable costs associated with necessary and reasonable accommodations.

It is in the exam candidates’ best interest to provide recent and appropriate documentation which clearly defines the extent and impact of the disability(s) on current levels of academic and physical functioning. Any information over three years old may have to be updated.

Additional requirements, if necessary, will be communicated to the exam candidate upon completion of the application process.

Reading Materials

It is recommended that exam candidates fully educate themselves on the CPA Examination process. The Virginia Board of Accountancy’s (Board) website (www.boa.virginia.gov) is an excellent resource and must be utilized in the application for exam and licensure processes. However, a comprehensive overview of each step in the process, to include those outside of the purview of the Board, can be found in the Uniform CPA Examination Candidate Bulletin that is prepared by the AICPA, NASBA and Prometric.

The Candidate Bulletin is the official handbook for individuals who plan to take the CPA Exam and provides an overview of the following steps to the exam process:

• Apply to take the Examination (request, complete and submit an application)
• Payment of Examination Fees
• Candidates are required to review the tutorial and sample tests
• Receive your Notice to Schedule (NTS)
• Schedule your Examination
• Take your Examination(s)
• Receive your Score Report(s)

Exam candidates should visit www.cpa-exam.org to download the Candidate Bulletin and to utilize an on-line tutorial, sample tests and additional reading materials in preparation for the exam. The AICPA (www.aicpa.org) and NASBA (www.nasba.org) websites offer additional materials as well.

The Uniform CPA Examination is one of the “Three E’s” – Education, Examination and Experience that are required for licensure as a CPA. Consequently, passing the examination is not, in itself, sufficient to meet the Virginia Board of Accountancy’s requirements for licensure as a CPA in Virginia.

Licensure requirements vary by jurisdiction and can be found on individual Boards of Accountancy websites. Information on Virginia CPA licensure may be found at www.boa.virginia.gov/cpalicensure.asp.

Required Fees:

 Exam Fees

Welcome to the Board of Accountancy's (BOA) CPA Exam Fees. Initial CPA exam applicants are required to pay both an application processing fee and an examination fee. Reexam CPA exam candidates are not required to pay an application processing fee.

1. All applicants are required to pay a one-time application processing fee of $120.00 upon submission of the online application.
2. There is no provision for withdrawing from the examination. Application fees are NOT refundable. Examination fees may be partially refunded under the following extreme circumstances; medical emergency of candidate or candidate’s immediate family, or death in immediate family. Documentation of such circumstances must be submitted along with written request. Applicants who are deemed ineligible may be approved for a refund of examination fees only.

For More Information, Contact:

National Association Of State Boards Of Accountancy
150 Fourth Ave.North, Suite 700
Nashville, Tennessee 37219-2417
Phone: 615.880.4200
Phone: 800.272.3926
Fax: 615.880.4290
http://www.nasba.org/

AICPA Examinations Team
201 Plaza Three
Harborside Financial Center
Jersey City, NJ 07311-3881
Phone: 800.272.3926
http://www.cpa-exam.org/
cpa-exam@aicpa.org

Accountants
Virginia Board of Accountancy
9960 Mayland Drive, Suite 402
Richmond, VA 23233
Phone: (80.4) .505
Fax: (80.4) .4409
http://www.boa.virginia.gov/
boa@boa.virginia.gov

The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants
AICPA Member Service Center
220 Leigh Farm Road
Durham, NC 27707
Phone: 1 .(88.7077
http://www.aicpa.org/
service@aicpa.org.

The data sources for the information displayed here include: Virginia Career VIEW Research.