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Character and Fitness Qualifications |
- At least 18 years of age
- Good moral character
- Has not engaged in conduct that would constitute grounds for discipline
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Birth data and professional fitness questions are part of the application. As a
part of evaluating moral character, the following must be submitted in addition
to your application.
Reference Letter – One signed and dated reference letter from an actively licensed
CPA must be submitted with your application.
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Exam Qualifications |
- Must have passed the Uniform CPA Exam
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This is covered as part of the application and there are no additional forms required.
Helpful Hints - Grades never expire.
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Education Qualifications |
- 150 semester hours from an accredited institution or a college or university
maintaining standards comparable to those of an accredited institution
- 36 semester hours of accounting courses of which 30 semester hours must
be upper level
- 30 semester hours of related courses
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A.R.S. 32-721(B)(2) requires that you present satisfactory evidence of your education.
Only original and sealed transcripts signed by the Registrar’s Office are accepted.
You may want to request an unofficial copy of your transcript(s) for your records so
you can have a copy of what will be submitted with your application.
Helpful Hints - Transcripts on File: If you have applied to take the Uniform CPA
Examination in Arizona within the past 5 years, the transcripts provided with
your exam application will be on file. However, the transcripts on file may need to
be supplemented with additional transcripts as the education requirements for
certification are more rigorous than those for exam.
Helpful Hints - Transfer Credit: If you have any courses that have been transferred from
another institution and you need those hours to count toward fulfilling your
accounting or related hour requirements rather than your 150 hour requirement,
please be sure that those hours are represented on an original transcript from the
issuing college/university.
Helpful Hints - Foreign Education: Credit for education outside the United States must be
submitted to a professional credit evaluator and must be evaluated course-by-course. The candidate
is free to use any foreign transcript evaluation service of his/her choosing as long as the
organization is a member of either the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services
(NACES) or
the Association of International Credential Evaluators
(AICE).
Only course-by-course evaluations by NACES or AICE members will be accepted.
Please use the following Transcript Request Form to obtain an official copy of your
transcript(s):
Transcript Request Form
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Experience Qualifications |
- One year in the office of a CPA, private industry, or government that has exposed the
applicant to and provided the applicant with experience in the practice of accounting.
or
- Part-time hours - 1500 hours of experience in the practice of accounting
may be substituted for the one-year experience requirement. If you are submitting your
application with one of several Certificates of Experience (COEs) where part-time hours are
included, please have the signer provide a breakdown of the hours (how many hours per
week did you work?), and include a total number of hours you worked for that employer.
Example: 20 hours per week for 3 months (13 weeks) equals 260 hours.
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In order to provide proof of experience, candidates are asked to have either a CPA or
an individual who has education and experience equivalent to a CPA fill out a
Certificate of Experience (COE). If the signer is not a CPA, they must attach a resume
and a job description to verify their education and experience to the COE.
The COE must be submitted in a sealed envelope as part of your application packet
but the signer is allowed to provide you a copy per your request so you have the same
information that the Board will have.
Helpful Hints - You may not use self-employment to meet your experience qualifications.
Certificate of Experience Form
The Board must affirm that CPA signers of COEs are actually licensed. In order to
achieve this, candidates must send a Request for Supervisor License Verification to the
state in which the CPA is licensed and the results should be included with your
application.
Request for Supervisor Licensure Verification Form
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Ethics Qualifications |
- Proof of a passing score (90% or higher) on an examination in professional ethics given
by the AICPA within the two years immediately preceding submission of the application for
certification.
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R4-1-341(A)(3) requires that candidates for certification provide proof of a passing score
(90% or better) on an examination in professional ethics within two years immediately preceding
submission of the application for certification. The AICPA offers the ethics exam.
Helpful Hints - When taking the ethics exam, which is managed by the Arizona Society of CPAs,
specify you are taking it for the Arizona State Board certification. Upon completion of
the exam, a notification will be mailed by the AICPA to the Arizona Board office.
ASCPA Professional Ethics for CPAs Order Form
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Other Qualifications |
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A.R.S. §§ 1-501 and 41-1080 require, in general, that a person applying for a license must
submit documentation to the licensing agency that satisfactorily demonstrates that the
applicant is lawfully present in the United States.
Arizona Statement of Citizenship and Alien Status for State Public Benefits Form
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Application Fee |
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$100 payable to the Arizona State Board of Accountancy |