Board Rule Making 2025: CPA License Requirements – Education and Experience

After holding a public rule-making hearing on October 17, 2025, the Board amended the following rules:

  • WAC 4-30-060 Education requirements.
  • WAC 4-30-070 Experience requirements.
  • WAC 4-30-072 What are the responsibilities of a verifying CPA?
  • WAC 4-30-080 Initial individual CPA license requirements.   

The Board amended the rules to:

  • Maintain the current pathway and add additional pathways to CPA licensure.
  • Provide additional options for education and experience requirements.

The pathways are:

Pathway 1

1. Baccalaureate degree with an accounting concentration or equivalent, which includes:

a. Twenty-four semester hours (36 quarter hours) or the equivalent in accounting subjects; and

b. Twenty-four semester hours (36 quarter hours) or the equivalent in business administration subjects at the undergraduate or graduate level.

2. Two years of experience consisting of a minimum of 24 months and 4,000 hours, which must be verified by an active CPA licensee who has held their license for a minimum of 5 years.

Pathway 2

1. Post-baccalaureate degree with an accounting concentration or equivalent, which includes:

a. Twenty-four semester hours (36 quarter hours) or the equivalent in accounting; and

b. Twenty-four semester hours (36 quarter hours) or the equivalent in business administration subjects at the undergraduate or graduate level.

2. One year of experience consisting of a minimum of 12 months and 2,000 hours, which must be verified by an active CPA licensee who has held their license for a minimum of 5 years.

Pathway 3 – Current pathway.

1. Baccalaureate degree with an accounting concentration or equivalent plus 30 semester hours (45 quarter hours) of college education, which includes:

a. Twenty-four semester hours (36 quarter hours) or the equivalent in accounting subjects; and

b. Twenty-four semester hours (36 quarter hours) or the equivalent in business administration subjects at the undergraduate or graduate level.

2. One year of experience consisting of a minimum of 12 months and 2,000 hours, which must be verified by an active CPA licensee who has held their license for a minimum of 5 years.

Pathway 3 will expire for periods after December 31, 2035.

The specific changes for each rule are as follows:

WAC 4-30-060 Education requirements.

  • Update the education requirements to provide additional education requirement options to align with the pathways listed above.
  • Maintain the current education requirement with language that conforms to Uniform Accountancy Act (UAA) language.
  • Add a sunset date, December 31, 2035, for the current education pathway to licensure.
  • Remove the “upper level” language for accounting hour coursework.
  • Allow excess accounting hours to count towards the required business administration hours.
  • Remove unnecessary and unused language regarding accreditation.

WAC 4-30-070 Experience requirements.

  • Update the experience requirements to provide additional experience requirement options to align with the pathways listed above.
  • Remove applicant responsibilities language and add the language to WAC 4-30-072.

WAC 4-30-072 Applicant and reviewer verification requirements.

  • Add applicant responsibilities language removed from WAC 4-30-070.
  • Remove the reference to practice privileges from verifying CPA qualifications.
  • Add language mirroring the guardrails for the updated practice privilege rule.
  • Update pronouns to a gender-neutral word.
  • Rename the rule.

WAC 4-30-080 Initial individual CPA license requirements.   

  • Reformat the rule language.
  • Update language for clarity.

The Board’s Rule Making Order (CR-103) is available:

The changes will take effect November 20, 2025.