All accounting courses and at least 21 semester or 32 quarter hours of general business courses must be at the upper-division level.
All general business courses must be taken at the upper-division level, except for Introductory Macro and Micro Economics, Introductory Statistics, Business Law, Introduction to Computer Information Systems, and any written or oral communication course described in Rule 61H1-27.002(2)(b), F.A.C.
Upper-division accounting courses in excess of the accounting requirement may be used to meet the general business requirement. Elementary accounting courses are not accepted for accounting or general business credit. Elementary accounting subjects include principles of financial and managerial accounting courses even if they are covered in a three-course sequence, are titled “introductory,” “fundamentals,” or “principles,” and even if they are at the graduate level.
Other important information: Staff cannot determine if courses taken meet education requirements via telephone, fax, or email. CPA Board staff determines eligibility by conducting an official evaluation which includes submitting an application, transcripts, and other required documents and paying the required fee.
No credit will be given for courses that duplicate another course for which the applicant has received credit. Review courses are considered duplicates.
CLEP courses cannot be used to satisfy the Accounting Education Program requirements or the General Business Education Program. CLEP hours may be used toward the 30 semester hours in excess of the degree.
The Board accepts degrees from schools accredited by the following associations:
If you have graduated from a school or college which is not accredited by the above-mentioned means, then you must use the provisions of 61H1-27.001(5), F.A.C.
Applicants who have graduated from a non-accredited school may still qualify to sit for the CPA examination. The candidate must take 15 semester hours of graduate classes from an accredited institution. The 15 semester hours must include at least nine hours of graduate-level accounting courses to include three semester hours of graduate tax. The applicant must complete the graduate school courses to validate the non-accredited degree. These courses cannot duplicate other courses that the applicant has taken and cannot satisfy the educational requirements.
Applicants with a foreign transcript must submit a transcript evaluation completed by an evaluation service approved by the Board (see Board Approved Evaluation Service). The applicant must instruct the evaluation service to prepare an evaluation specifically for the Florida Board of Accountancy. The Board will not accept an evaluation prepared for another entity.
For purposes of satisfying the educational requirements of 61H1-27.001, F.A.C., taxation courses are generally the only courses for which the Board is able to grant accounting credit. The Board will not grant credit for Wills and Estate or Gratuitous Transfer classes that do not emphasize taxation topics. The Board will not allow credit for law school courses, which duplicate courses for which the applicant has previously received credit. Law School courses, Federal Taxation I and II, are substantially equivalent to Taxation I and II (or Individual Taxation and Corporate, Partnership Taxation) classes taught in accounting programs. They will be considered duplicates. The following courses are generally accepted for General Business credit:
| Consumer Law | Corporation Finance & Reorganization |
| Bankruptcy | Fiduciary Administration |
| Marketing | Real Estate |
| Business Organization | Estate Planning |
| Corporations | Commercial Paper |
| Insurance | Debtor’s Estates |
| Security in Goods | Property |
| Torts | Contracts |
| Agency & Partnership | Anti-Trust |
| Sales | Secured Transactions |
The above list is not complete, but consists of general categories for courses.
(Chapter 61H1-27.002)
Applicants who were accepted to sit for (not necessarily passed) the AICPA Uniform CPA Examination in 1983 or earlier may use the “old rule” educational requirements. Applicants who use the “old rule” requirements will need to demonstrate one year of public or governmental accounting experience under the supervision of a CPA or 30 semester hours of graduate school, to include 12 semester hours of accounting and 15 semester hours of general business before they can become licensed. The “old rule” requires a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university, unless one is using the provisions of the unaccredited institutions rule as explained below. The education program must include 18 semester hours of accounting courses, which are above the elementary level, and 27 semester hours of business courses.
Regardless of the educational rule used, elementary accounting classes are never acceptable for credit. Courses for non-accounting majors and any MBA courses that are equivalent to elementary accounting are not accepted. Accounting courses taken at a community college or junior college are not accepted towards the accounting requirements. Courses offered at the freshman and sophomore levels are also unacceptable towards meeting the accounting requirement.