To become a CPA in Florida, you’ll need to meet the following requirements:
- Education: 120 semester hours to sit for the exam; 150 hours to get licensed
- Exam: Pass all four sections of the Uniform CPA Exam, within a rolling 30-month window
- Experience: 1 year (2,000 hours) of qualifying work experience
- Ethics: No standalone ethics exam – covered instead through ongoing CPE
- International candidates: No citizenship, residency, or Social Security Number required to sit for the exam
- Licensure & CPE: Apply to the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR) for your license, then maintain it with 80 hours of CPE every 2 years
Florida gives you only 3 years after passing your last exam section to complete your full licensure application – miss this deadline and your exam credit expires entirely, requiring you to reapply through licensure by endorsement instead.
The sections below cover education, the exam itself, experience, ethics, international candidates, ongoing CPE and FAQs in detail.
Florida CPA requirements: A quick summary
| CPA Requirement | Florida |
|---|---|
| Hours to sit for exam | 120 semester hours |
| Hours to get licensed | 150 semester hours |
| CPA exam | Pass all 4 sections (AUD, FAR, REG + 1 discipline) |
| Work experience | 1 year (2,000 hours) |
| Ethics requirement | No standalone exam – 4 hours CPE every 2 years |
| Credit window | 30 months, rolling |
| Post-exam licensure deadline | 3 years to apply, or credit expires |
| CPE | 80 hours per 2 years |
| Tier system | One-tier |
| International candidates | No citizenship, residency, or SSN required to sit |
Florida requires you to submit your complete licensure application within 3 years of NASBA notifying you that you’ve passed your last exam section. Miss this window and your exam credit expires – you’d need to reapply via licensure by endorsement under Section 473.308(7)(a) of Florida law.
Jump to: Education | Exam | Experience | Ethics | International candidates | CPE | FAQ
What are the CPA education requirements in Florida?
Florida separates what you need to sit for the exam from what you need to get licensed afterward – both requirements are set out in the same Board rule, but apply at different stages.
To sit for the CPA exam:
| Requirement | Detail |
|---|---|
| Total credit hours | 120 semester hours (180 quarter hours) |
| Upper-division accounting coursework | 24 semester hours, including auditing, cost accounting or accounting data analytics, 3 hours financial accounting, and 3 hours taxation (all USA-standards-based) |
| Upper-division general business coursework | 24 semester hours, including 3 hours business law (USA-based) |
To obtain your CPA license (after passing the exam):
| Requirement | Detail |
|---|---|
| Total credit hours | 150 semester hours (225 quarter hours) |
| Upper-division accounting coursework | 30 semester hours, including auditing, cost accounting, 3 hours financial accounting, and 3 hours taxation |
| General business coursework | 36 semester hours, including 3 hours business law |
| Upper-division requirement | All accounting courses, plus at least 21 semester hours of business courses |
All your accounting courses, plus a minimum of 21 semester hours of your business courses, must be taken at the upper-division level. Elementary or introductory accounting courses never count, even at the graduate level, and CPA review courses are considered duplicate coursework and won’t be accepted.
CLEP credit can’t be used to satisfy your accounting or business coursework requirements, though it can count toward the general 30 semester hours you need beyond your core degree.
If you graduated from a non-accredited school, you can still qualify by completing 15 semester hours of graduate coursework at an accredited institution, including at least 9 hours of graduate-level accounting with 3 hours specifically in graduate tax.
What are the CPA exam requirements in Florida?
| Detail | Florida |
|---|---|
| Education evaluation fee | $50 (paid to DBPR directly) |
| Registration fee per section | $96 |
| Exam section fee | $268.59 |
| Total exam fees, 4 sections + fees | $1,532.36 ($268.59 x4 + $50 + $96 x4) |
| Credit window | 30 months, rolling from first passing score |
| Post-exam licensure deadline | 3 years to complete full licensure application |
| Citizenship/residency required | No |
| Social Security Number required | No |
| Minimum age | None |
To apply, submit your application and official transcripts to the Florida Board along with the $50 application fee.
Once the Board confirms your eligibility, you’ll receive a Jurisdiction ID number, which you use to set up your NASBA CPA Portal account before applying for individual exam sections.
You can only apply for one section per application, and you’re advised to apply only when you’re genuinely ready to test within the next six months, since fees aren’t refundable if you don’t sit for a section you’ve registered for.
Once you pass your first section, your 30-month credit window begins from that section’s score release date, not the date you sat the exam. If you don’t pass all four sections within that window, credit for any section passed outside the window expires and must be retaken.
Jump to: Education | Exam | Experience | Ethics | International candidates | CPE | FAQ
What are the CPA experience requirements in Florida?
| Detail | Florida |
|---|---|
| Experience required | 1 year (2,000 hours) |
| Earliest start date for experience | After completing the 120-hour sit-requirement |
| Weekly hour calculation (part-time) | 20 hours/week, over no more than 104 weeks |
| Weekly hour calculation (full-time) | 40 hours/week, over no more than 52 weeks |
| Verification | Signed by a CPA licensed in any US state or territory |
| Acceptable experience types | Accounting, attest, compilation, management advisory, financial advisory, tax, or consulting skills |
Your experience must start after you’ve completed the 120 semester hours required to sit for the exam – not the full 150 – and can be earned in government, industry, academia, or public practice, as long as it forms a substantial part of your duties.
The timing relative to your exam sections doesn’t matter: you can complete your experience before, during, or after testing, or split across both periods, as long as the combined total reaches at least one year (52 to 104 weeks, depending on whether you’re working part-time or full-time).
License fees
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Initial licence | $50.00 |
| Annual license renewal | $100 (after $5 ULA waiver) |
What are the CPA ethics requirements in Florida?
| Detail | Florida |
|---|---|
| Standalone ethics exam | None required |
| Ethics CPE | 4 hours every 2-year renewal period |
| Approval requirement | Must be a Florida Board-approved ethics course specifically |
Unlike many states, Florida doesn’t require a separate ethics exam for licensure – there’s no PETH-style course or standalone test to pass. Instead, ethics is folded into your ongoing CPE requirement: 4 hours every two years, but only from a course the Florida Board has approved directly. The Board won’t accept an ethics course approved solely by NASBA or another state’s board, even if other jurisdictions recognize it.
Jump to: Education | Exam | Experience | Ethics | International candidates | CPE | FAQ
What are the CPA requirements for international candidates in Florida?
| Detail | Florida |
|---|---|
| Citizenship required | No |
| Residency required | No |
| Social Security Number required to sit for exam | No |
| Foreign transcript evaluation required | Yes, by a Florida Board-approved service |
| Same educational requirements as domestic candidates | Yes |
Florida doesn’t require citizenship, state residency, or a Social Security Number to apply for the exam – confirmed directly by NASBA’s own Florida candidate page.
If your degree was earned outside the US, your transcripts need evaluation by a service the Florida Board has approved specifically for Florida (an evaluation prepared for another state or organization won’t be accepted).
You’ll also need to submit a Verification of Work Experience form for your required year of experience, signed by a CPA who was licensed both during your period of work and at the time they sign the form.
Florida’s licensure application (a separate, later step from sitting the exam) may require additional identifying information depending on your circumstances – if you’re applying for licensure as an international candidate, confirm current form requirements directly with the DBPR, since this can differ from the exam application’s requirements.
What are the CPE requirements for CPAs in Florida?
| Detail | Florida |
|---|---|
| Total CPE | 80 hours per biennial period |
| Accounting & auditing minimum | 8 hours |
| Ethics (Florida Board-approved) | 4 hours |
| Behavioral subjects maximum | 20 hours |
| License renewal fee | $100 (after $5 ULA fee waiver) |
| Renewal cycle | Biennial, generally 1 July – 30 June |
Florida’s CPE period generally runs July 1 to June 30 across two years, though your first cycle as a newly licensed CPA is calculated from your issuance date through the third subsequent June 30.
If you miss the June 30 deadline, two automatic extensions are available: until September 15 if you complete an additional 8 hours of accounting and auditing credit (96 total, 28 of which must be technical), or until December 31 with an additional 16 hours (96 total, 36 technical).
Missing the December 31 deadline pushes your license to delinquent status, and it becomes null and void after two years if not reactivated.
FAQs about Florida CPA requirements
Most candidates take 5-7 years total: around 4-5 years to complete 150 semester hours of education, 6-18 months to pass all four exam sections, and 1 year of work experience, which can overlap with your studies or exam preparation. Florida’s flexible experience timing – before, during, or after the exam – can help some candidates finish slightly faster than in stricter states.
Yes – Florida offers licensure by endorsement through five different pathways, depending on your situation:
– transferring your exam grades if you’ve never held a license elsewhere,
– holding a current license from another substantially equivalent state,
– holding a license elsewhere for at least 10 years, or qualifying as a Chartered Accountant from a country with a mutual recognition agreement (Australia, Canada, Ireland, Mexico, New Zealand, or South Africa).
Each pathway has its own documentation requirements, but all carry a flat $300 application fee.
This is different from mobility, which lets you practice in Florida temporarily without a new license at all. Reciprocity makes sense if you’re permanently relocating to Florida or want a Florida license specifically; mobility is enough if you’re just serving Florida clients occasionally while based elsewhere.
Yes – Florida, like most US states, is experiencing a CPA shortage as retiring CPAs outpace new entrants. Florida’s large population of retirees and businesses relocating from higher-tax states has kept demand for accounting services strong, adding to the pressure on the state’s CPA pipeline.
CPA salaries in Florida vary by region and industry, with Miami, Tampa, and Orlando generally offering the most competitive salaries given their concentration of finance, real estate, and corporate headquarters. For a full breakdown by experience level and specialization, see our CPA salary guide.
No – Florida doesn’t require US citizenship, state residency, or a Social Security Number to sit for the CPA exam, making it one of the more accessible states for international candidates. You will need your foreign education evaluated by a Florida Board-approved service.
Generally yes – Florida is one of 55 jurisdictions recognized as substantially equivalent under the Uniform Accountancy Act, so a CPA licensed in good standing in Florida can typically practice in other states without a new license, as long as Florida remains your principal place of business. This is mobility, distinct from reciprocity, which you’d need if you permanently relocated your practice.
Florida itself operates a similar model for incoming CPAs: an actively licensed CPA from another substantially equivalent state can practice in Florida without notification or fee, as long as they don’t open a Florida office. Always verify specific rules with NASBA’s CPA Mobility Tool before practicing in a new state.
For the most current information, visit the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation.
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