California Application for the CPA Examination

Welcome to the California Board of Accountancy (CBA) Uniform CPA Examination (CPA Exam) application process. It is the CBA's intention to provide an online application and information for the CPA Exam to best assist you. Should you have questions at anytime during the application process, please contact the Exam Unit by telephone at (916) 561-1703 or by e-mail at examinfo@cba.ca.gov. You are responsible for fulfilling all requirements pertaining to your CPA Exam application. Requirements to sit for the CPA Exam as a California candidate are provided in the CBA's Uniform CPA Examination Handbook, which is available on the Publications page on the CBA website at www.cba.ca.gov. The CBA strongly encourages you to thoroughly read all requirements prior to submitting your application. Failure to comply with all requirements will result in delays in processing your application.

Please be advised that the submission of your online application is just one of the requirements that must be met to qualify to sit for the CPA Exam as a California candidate. You also are required to:

• Mail your signed Application Remittance Form and fee to the CBA. The CBA is not responsible for applications lost in the mail. The CBA encourages applicants to mail their remittance form and fee by Certified Mail with return receipt requested. To expedite delivery, you may wish to use a company that guarantees a delivery date and tracks the item.
• Request that your transcripts and/or foreign credentials evaluations be sent directly to the CBA, from the college or university, or CBA-approved foreign credentials evaluation service. Educational documents submitted directly by the applicant to the CBA are considered unofficial and will be returned unevaluated. Official transcripts or evaluations previously submitted remain on file and do not have to be resubmitted. Transcripts or foreign credential evaluations must indicate that all educational requirements are met. If additional transcripts, foreign credential evaluations, or any other educational documents are being sent by an educational institution(s), the document should be addressed to: California Board of Accountancy
  Examination Unit
  2450 Venture Oaks Way, Suite 300
  Sacramento, CA 95833

IMPORTANT: Conferral of a baccalaureate degree and completion of coursework MUST be posted on official transcripts. If you are enrolled in a program that results in the conferral of a baccalaureate degree upon completion of either a master's degree or the 150 semester units required for CPA licensure, you may be approved to sit for the CPA Exam prior to conferral of the required baccalaureate degree if certain conditions are met.

In order to qualify you must have completed all baccalaureate degree requirements, including 24 semester units each in accounting and business-related subjects. You also must have your college or university mail your official transcript, or its equivalent, together or separately with a letter signed by the institution's registrar, or its equivalent, directly to the CBA. The letter must include all of the following information:

1. A statement that you are enrolled and in good standing in a program that will result in the conferral of a baccalaureate degree upon completion of either a master's degree or the required 150 semester units.

2. A statement that you have completed all requirements, including general education and elective requirements, for a baccalaureate degree and the only reason the college or university has yet to confer the degree is because you are enrolled in a program that confers a baccalaureate degree upon completion of either a master's degree or the required 150 semester units.

3. The date on which you met all of the college or university's requirements for conferral of a baccalaureate degree. You will be able to check your application status online. The application status is located under the "Status" tab in your Client Account. It is anticipated that application approval could take at least four to six weeks after the payment has been received.