CPA exam and license
New York CPA requirements: the 120-hour pathway and the 2027 deadlines
From November 21, 2026, New York accepts 120 college semester hours, usually a bachelor’s degree, with two years of experience, alongside the 150-hour route with one year. Type your hours and experience and pick when you will apply.
Independent site: not run by, or affiliated with, any body that sets these exams or charges these fees.
Step 1: which licensure route fits you in New York
Example, not your result yet· change a figure to see yours
Route this example fits (120 hours, 2 years): type your own hours and years above
120-hour route
| 150-semester-hour pathway with one year of experience (course content rules of the 150E pathway from August 1, 2027) | short 30 hours |
| 120-semester-hour pathway with two years of experience | this example fits |
From August 1, 2027 the 150-hour route follows the course content of the 150E pathway; content rules apply on top of the hours.
New York’s Office of the Professions, part of the State Education Department (NYSED), licenses CPAs under Article 149 of the Education Law. Every applicant must be of good moral character, at least 21 years old, and meet the education, examination and experience requirements. From November 21, 2026, a new 120-semester-hour pathway opens, paired with two years of full-time experience or the part-time equivalent. The 150-semester-hour pathway with one year of experience remains, but its current version is phased out on August 1, 2027: applicants must complete the whole licensing process before that date, and NYSED asks for all materials by May 1, 2027. After August 1, 2027, the 150-hour route follows the course content of the “150E” pathway. The fee for licensure and the first registration is $427, paid with Form 1. The exam application fee was not read and is not shown.
Step 2: what the exam and New York board fees cost
Example, not your result yet· change a figure to see yours
No retake counted yet: CPA exam and New York board fees if all four sections pass the first time, prep not included
$1,501
| Four sections, $268.59 each | $1,074 |
| Retakes you expect: 0 × $268.59 | none typed |
| New York board, license and first registration | $427 |
| New York, exam application fee | not counted: ask the board |
| Your review course and books | not included: type it above |
Type how many sections you think you will retake to add them. Exam fees $1,074, plus $427 of New York board fees we could confirm. One retake costs $268.59, the same in every state. Pass rates for each section are published by the AICPA (American Institute of Certified Public Accountants), which writes the exam; this site does not copy them, so retakes are the ones you type.
Fees read and totals checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Method and sources
Which pathway on which date
| Application completed | Routes open |
|---|---|
| Before November 21, 2026 | 150 hours and 1 year only |
| November 21, 2026 to July 31, 2027 | 150 hours and 1 year, or 120 hours and 2 years |
| From August 1, 2027 | 150E pathway and 1 year, or 120 hours and 2 years |
The dates change the answer for the same person. A candidate with 150 hours and one year of experience who completes the file in June 2027 is licensed under the current 150-hour rules; the same candidate in September 2027 needs coursework that meets the 150E content. A candidate with 120 hours and two years cannot use the new pathway before November 21, 2026.
Education content, not just hours
NYSED counts hours in content areas. For the 150-hour pathway, its page lists, among others, 33 semester hours in accounting with at least one course in each of financial accounting and reporting, cost or managerial accounting, taxation, and auditing and attestation, and 36 hours in general business. Graduates of a NYSED-registered licensure-qualifying program, or of an AACSB-accredited master’s in accounting for the current 150-hour route, meet the requirement directly; others have their transcripts reviewed.
Experience: one year or two
Experience is verified by a supervisor on Form 4B. On the 150-hour pathway, one year of full-time experience or its part-time equivalent is required; on the 120-hour pathway, two. The supervisor and the kind of work that qualify are set out in NYSED’s instructions for Form 4B.
What it costs
New York adds $427 for the license and first registration. With the four sections passed the first time, $1,074 in section fees, the total read for New York is $1,501 before any review course; each section retaken adds the $268.59 section fee again, so one retake brings it to $1,770. The Step 2 calculator above adds the number of retakes you type. The exam application fee charged on the way in was not on the pages we read, and is left out.
If you are on the 150-hour route and want to stay on the current content rules, the practical deadline is May 1, 2027, the date by which NYSED asks for all materials.
For the four other states, see the comparison of licensure routes; Pennsylvania has offered a lower-credit route for longer.
Who gains from the new pathway
A graduate who stops at a bachelor’s degree with the required accounting and business content gains the most: from November 21, 2026, two years of work replace the fifth year of study. A candidate already enrolled in a 150-hour program gains little, except the option of a second route if the program runs late. And a candidate who planned to finish the current 150-hour pathway in late 2027 should check the 150E content before assuming the old rules still apply.