District of Columbia

Residency

There is not a residency requirement for the jurisdiction of District of Columbia.

Eligibility for Examination

As a first-time applicant who has not previously taken the examination in accordance with District of Columbia’s requirements, you must:

• Have completed a baccalaureate degree consisting of not less than 120 semester hours from an accredited U.S. educational institution, including the completion of:
  • 24 semester hours in accounting, to include:
    • 3 semester hours in Financial Accounting
    • 3 semester hours in Auditing
    • 3 semester hours in Cost or Managerial Accounting
    • 3 semester hours in U.S. Federal Income Tax
  • 3 semester hours in Commercial or Business Law

Education requirements must be met at the time of application. All education transcripts and/or international evaluations are required to be submitted to CPAES. The complete law and rules of the Board may be obtained free online on the District of Columbia Board of Accountancy website.

Course Requirements

• Taxation courses must cover U.S. Federal Tax. Taxation courses focused on another country’s tax will be accepted as an accounting elective. These courses will not be accepted toward the Taxation requirement.
• Auditing courses must cover internal or external auditing. Other auditing-related subjects are not acceptable toward the Auditing requirement.
• Commercial and Business Law courses must cover U.S. commercial and business law. Courses focused on another country’s commercial and business law will not be accepted.
• Credit for CPA Review courses is not acceptable.
• Credit by examination is not acceptable toward the Accounting or Commercial or Business Law requirements.
• Credit earned from a junior college is acceptable.
• Transferred credits, including those transferred from an international school, are acceptable.

1. DC Photo Form to include a 2X2 photo.
2. Copy of Government Issued ID.
3. An official transcript from each school listed on your application. Transcripts must be sent directly from your school to CPA Examination Services.
4. International Evaluation, if applicable. Submission by you or evaluation agency to CPAES.
5. Testing Accommodations Request Form, if applicable. Submission by you to CPAES.

Please allow two to four weeks from your file completion date (when application, fees and all additional required materials have been received) for your application to be processed. Acknowledgment of receipt of application will be sent to you via email, unless otherwise indicated. This notice is sent only as acknowledgment of receipt of application.

Transcripts

If you who have completed the educational requirement at the time of application:

• You must submit an official transcript from each school you attended.
• Official transcripts are those that have been issued by the institution’s Registrar’s Office and include the Registrar’s official seal.
• The degree you have earned must be posted on your official transcript.
• Transcripts may be submitted electronically provided they are official. Some schools do not offer this service. Contact your Registrar’s office for additional information. If an email address is required for electronic delivery, use [email protected]. Electronically delivered transcripts must be submitted directly from the institution(s).
• Photocopies of transcripts are not official and cannot be accepted.
• Please Note: If you have not yet applied when you submit your transcripts, your education documents will be kept on file for one year. After that time, the documents will be destroyed, and you will need to resubmit new education documents when you apply.
• If you completed courses at a campus located outside the U.S. for a school located in the U.S., the official transcript must be issued by the registrar from the U.S. campus. Transcripts issued by the registrar for the campus located outside the U.S. will not be accepted.

If you have completed educational requirements at institutions outside the U.S., you must:

• Have your credentials evaluated by NASBA International Evaluation Services.
• Require the agency to evaluate as follows:
  • An equivalency summary that indicates the analogous academic degrees in the U.S. you hold;
  • A credential analysis that specifies:
    • The name of the country;
    • The degree awarded;
    • The year the degree was awarded; and
    • The entity that awarded the degree;
  • A course-by-course listing; and
  • A course credit analysis that includes:
    • Total credits earned toward the degree as stated on transcripts submitted;
    • Total accounting credits earned; and
    • Total business credits earned.
• Completed original evaluations must be received by CPAES directly from the evaluation service at the time of application. Photocopies are not acceptable.
• A copy of the international transcript must be included with the report sent to NASBA for each individual evaluation from the evaluation service. The application will be considered incomplete without these documents and the processing of the application will not move forward until transcripts are provided.
• Please Note: If you have not yet applied, education documents received will be kept on file for one year. After that time, these documents will be destroyed, and you will need to resubmit new education documents at the time of application.
• If you completed courses at a campus located outside the U.S. for a school located in the U.S., the official transcript must be issued by the registrar from the U.S. campus. Transcripts issued by the registrar for the campus located outside the U.S. will not be accepted.
• Education requirements must be met through academic coursework completed at an accredited institution. Professional training is not acceptable toward these requirements. Coursework completed as part of a Chartered Accountant or similar program is considered professional training and is, therefore, not accepted toward the education requirements for the U.S. Uniform CPA Examination.

Applicants with Disabilities

In accordance with the provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act, examination administration accommodations are available, should you qualify. Please download the Testing Accommodations Request Form for more information.

Education Evaluation Application Before you can apply for an exam section you must first be deemed eligible for the CPA Exam. Your Evaluation Application will determine if you meet the educational requirements needed to take the CPA Exam for your selected jurisdiction. Education Evaluation Application Fee: $90.00 Exam Section Application Once you have been found eligible for the CPA Exam you may then apply for a specific exam section. You can only apply for one exam section per application. You are advised to only apply for the exam section if you are ready to take it. Your Notice to Schedule will be valid for a limited amount of time, and you must take the exam section listed on the NTS within this time frame or you will lose those fees paid. Exam Section Application Fee: $344.80

Refund Policy

There is no provision for withdrawing from the examination and/or requesting an extension of your current Notices to Schedule (NTS). Application and/or examination fees are not refundable. If you have an extreme circumstance, you may request an NTS extension or a partial refund of your examination fees under specific circumstances utilizing the Exception to Policy Form.

You may take the required test sections individually and, in any order, but are required to pass all four sections of the examination within a rolling 18 month period, which begins on the date the first examination section passed was taken. Credit for any section passed shall be valid for 18 months from the actual date the examination sections were taken. Examination credit expires by section. You will lose credit for each section passed outside the 18 month period and will have to retake those sections.