Louisiana

1. Official transcript(s). Submission by you or school to CPAES.
2. Affidavit for Course Substitution, if applicable. Submission by you to CPAES.
3. Course descriptions, if applicable. Submission by you to CPAES.
4. Signed References Form. Submission by you to CPAES.
5. International Evaluation, if applicable. Submission by you or evaluation agency to CPAES.
6. ADA Accommodation Form, if applicable. Submission by you to CPAES.

Please allow up to two 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.

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 ADA Modification Form for more information.

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.

Transfer of Examination Credit

If you wish to transfer credit(s) from another jurisdiction into Louisiana, you must have earned credit under the same rules as are in effect in Louisiana. If you have passed one or more sections of the CPA examination under another jurisdiction, you shall be given conditional credit by this board provided you have established residence in Louisiana and are still eligible to be considered a re-examination candidate in the original state where credit was earned.

You are able to apply for one or more sections of the examination at a time; however, you are advised to only apply for a section of the examination if you are ready to take it within the next nine months.

Examination Fees

Registration fees

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.

• have earned a baccalaureate or higher degree from an academic institution recognized by the Board; and
• have completed a minimum of 150 semester (225 quarter) hours of postsecondary, graduate or postgraduate education at an institution(s) recognized by the Board (refer to the “150 Hour Requirement” section below); and
• have completed 24 semester (36 quarter) hours of business courses other than accounting, including at least 3 semester (4.5 quarter) hours in commercial law as it affects accountancy; and
• have completed an accounting concentration of 24 semester (36 quarter) hours at the undergraduate level OR 21 semester (31.5 quarter) hours on the graduate level in courses distributed as follows:

Accounting electives must include 3 semester (4 quarter) hours in advanced financial accounting, not-for-profit accounting/auditing, or accounting theory; and 6 semester (8 quarter) hours in accounting above the elementary or introductory level.

All educational transcripts and/or foreign evaluations are required to be submitted at the time of application. You may submit official educational transcripts and/or foreign evaluations to CPAES.

150 Hour Requirement

If you obtained a baccalaureate degree before 1992 from a Louisiana college or university which includes a concentration in accounting, please contact the Board to determine if you qualify for an exemption. If you took an examination approved by the Board prior to December 31, 1996, you remained eligible to take the examination until December 31, 1999. If you earned conditional credit which expires after December 31, 1999, you remain eligible until your conditional credit expires. The educational requirements cannot be circumvented by taking the CPA examination as an applicant of another state. Additional information about the 150 hour requirement is available upon request.

> Download a Pre-evaluation Application (optional)

If your programs of study from institutions outside Louisiana do not include credit hours in the prescribed courses as described above, you may petition the Board for course substitution. The Board may, when good cause is shown, allow substitution of courses that are substantially equivalent to any of those prescribed.

Documentation of good cause for any requested substitution should be submitted in the form of an Affidavit for Course Substitution sworn to and subscribed by you and an officer of the institution where the course to be substituted was taken.

Transcripts

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

• submit to CPA Examination Services relevant official transcript(s) from each institution at which original credit toward the educational requirement has been earned at the time of application.
• The award of the baccalaureate degree must be reflected on the transcript.
• The official transcript(s) may be submitted by you.
• Photocopies of transcripts are not acceptable.
• Transcripts “Issued to Student” are not acceptable.
• If required documentation is not provided, you will not be able to take the examination, and you will forfeit the application fees paid.
• 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 have completed educational requirements at institutions outside the U.S. at the time of application, you must:

• have your credentials evaluated by the Foreign Academic Credentials Service (FACS). All education transcripts and/or international evaluations are required to be submitted at the time of application.
• obtain the form to request this service from the evaluation service agency.
• submit your foreign transcript(s) from each institution at which original credit toward the educational requirement has been earned to the evaluation service agency.
• The evaluation of the foreign transcript(s) must be a course-by-course comparison to Louisiana requirements.
• Completed original evaluations must be submitted to CPA Examination Services. The original evaluation may be submitted by you. Photocopies are not acceptable.
• If required documentation is not received, the application will be determined to be incomplete and you will not be permitted to take the examination and will forfeit the application fee paid.
• 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.

Course Requirements

• Commercial Law must cover the Uniform Commercial Code and other topics of special relevance to accounting and must have been developed specifically for accounting majors and CPA examination applicants. Graduate or undergraduate courses emphasizing consumer protection and the regulatory environment will NOT be accepted in fulfillment of the Commercial Law or Accounting Elective requirement.
• Accounting and business internships are not accepted toward the accounting or business requirements.
• Under the 150 hour requirement, no more than six semester hours of accounting and business internships are acceptable.
• Credit obtained from accredited “junior,” “community,” or “two-year” colleges prior to, or concurrently with, the enrollment at a four-year institution, will be recognized to the extent it is recognized by the four-year institution and transferred to its official transcript as credit earned. Credit obtained at junior, community, or two-year colleges after the completion of course work at a four-year institution will not be accepted unless the candidate received advance approval by the Board.
• Correspondence and online courses are acceptable when you receive credit for the courses at a regionally accredited university. These courses must appear on an official transcript.
• CLEP courses are only acceptable to the extent they satisfy your degree requirements.
• Commercial CPA Review Courses are not acceptable.
• Course descriptions of all accounting and business courses taken at academic institutions outside Louisiana not clearly identified by titles are required.

References

As a first time applicant, you must submit reference signatures from three individuals that can attest to your moral character. References should be from CPAs or substantial and representative business or professional individuals. They should NOT be submitted by the following individuals:

• Current or former employer
• More than one member of a household
• Relative (by blood or marriage)
• Roommate
• Fellow student
• University or college instructor (unless they have had significant contact with you outside the classroom)
• Person with which you have a financial or business investment

> Download the Reference Signature Form

Residency

You must have maintained continuous residency in Louisiana for 120 days within one year preceding the application date to take the examination.