Pursuant to A.R.S. § 32-721(A) and (B), those certification candidates who have passed the Uniform CPA
Exam in another jurisdiction and are not licensed in Arizona or another jurisdiction
can apply for Certification by Grade Transfer.
Laws 2017, Chapter 323, HB 2372 provides for a fee waiver for an applicant whose family
income does not exceed 200 percent of the federal poverty level. If you believe that you
may be eligible, submit the Certification Application Fee Waiver to determine your
eligibility BEFORE submitting a certification application. If the fee waiver is
approved, you will not be required to submit an application fee with your certification
application.
A.R.S. § 41-1093.04 allows a person with a criminal record to petition the Board, at any time, including
before obtaining any required education or experience, taking any examination or paying any fee for a
determination of whether the person’s criminal record disqualifies the person from obtaining a certificate.
If you would like to submit such a petition, please fill-out and submit the below form.
The table below lists six qualifications that are required for Certification by Grade Transfer.
It states the additional materials, forms and fees that are necessary to complete
your application.
Character and Fitness Qualifications
- At least 18 years of age
- Is of good moral character
- Has not engaged in conduct that would constitute grounds for discipline,
revocation or suspension of a certificate or other disciplinary action pursuant
to A.R.S. § 32-741
Birth data and professional fitness questions are part of the application.
- Must have passed the Uniform CPA Exam
Applicants for Certification by
Grade Transfer must contact the jurisdiction(s) and provide proof of successful
completion of the Uniform CPA Exam. These results must be included with your
application packet.
Helpful Hints - Grades never expire.
Helpful Hints -
Transfer of Grades: If you are transferring grades from another
jurisdiction for proof of meeting Arizona’s educational requirements, please check with
that jurisdiction's State Board of Accountancy where you applied and were approved to sit for the
Uniform CPA Exam to determine their requirements and any associated fees that might
be required to enable the release of your grades to the Arizona State Board of
Accountancy.
Status Confirmation of Certified Public Accountant Form
- Baccalaureate degree or higher degree and 150 semester hours from an accredited
institution or a college or university that maintains standards comparable to
those of an accredited institution
- 36 semester hours of non duplicative accounting courses of which 30 semester hours must be upper level
- 30 semester hours of related courses
You must present satisfactory evidence of your education.
Only official transcripts are accepted which can be submitted either in a sealed
envelope or emailed from the college or university to
[email protected].
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 -
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:
Certification FAQs
Transcript Request Form
Experience Qualifications
- 2,000 hours of paid or unpaid experience that has exposed the
applicant to and provided the applicant with experience in the practice of accounting
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 accounting education and experience is
similar to that of a CPA.
The COE must be submitted as part of your application packet.
The signer is allowed to provide you a copy per your request so you have the same
information that the Board will have.
Certificate of Experience Form
- 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.
A.A.C. R4-1-341(A)(2)(d) 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.
Professional Ethics for CPAs Order Form
$100 payable to the Arizona State Board of Accountancy