CPA Exam Requirements in Virginia

The Virginia Board of Accountancy (BOA) administers the CPA Exam in Virginia. The following requirements must be met to obtain your CPA certification in the Commonwealth.

Ethics | Top

Each applicant must be a person of good character.

Education | Top

To be eligible to take any part of the CPA Exam, a candidate must have obtained from one or more accredited institutions or from the National College:

At least 120 semester hour credits of college education, including:

  • baccalaureate or higher degree, and
  • an accounting concentration or equivalent

A candidate may take any part of the CPA Exam with 120 semester hours of education, but 150 semester hours of education is required to be licensed as a CPA in Virginia. 

Accounting Concentration or Equivalent

An accounting concentration or equivalent requires 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 may not be considered in determining whether an individual has obtained the 48 minimum number of semester hours required for an accounting concentration or equivalent.  The course number or name does not dictate whether a course is considered a principles or introductory accounting course.

For more details on the course requirements visit the Virginia Board of Accountancy website, www.boa.virginia.gov.  

Examination | Top

Applicants for a Virginia CPA license must have taken and passed the CPA Exam.

Examination Sections

The CPA Exam has four 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.

Experience | Top

Prior to applying for a Virginia CPA license, a candidate must be employed for at least one year (full-time equivalent) in academia, a firm, government, or industry in any capacity involving the substantial use of accounting, financial, tax, or other skills that are relevant, as determined by the VBOA, to providing services to the public using the CPA title or to an employer using the CPA title. Whether other skills are relevant will be determined by the VBOA on a case-by-case basis. Self-employment does not meet the definition of prior experience.During the licensure application process, candidates are required to complete an Experience Verification Form.

For more information:

Refer to the Virginia Board of Accountancy (BOA) Regulations located at http://www.boa.virginia.gov/boardregulations.asp for more information.