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the maryland association of cpas presents Congratulations You are on your way to becoming an esteemed professional and one of the pillars of our economy: a certified public accountant. HERE’S EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW TO GET THERE.
 
CPA Exam Application Checklist
 
Do these things before you apply to take the Uniform CPA Examination and don’t miss a step. The Maryland Board of Public Accountancy has very specific requirements. We hope this checklist makes it clear for you!
 
 
1. Do you have a bachelor's degree or higher?
2. Is the college or university you graduated from
a business or accounting member of American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business? (see list)
OR
a member of Association of Collegiate Business Schools and Programs? (see list)
OR
accredited by or is a constituent of an institution accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education or the equivalent regional accrediting accrediting association for other regional areas (see list); or is recognized and approved by the Board?
3. Have you satisfactorily completed at least 120 semester hours*?
Have you taken 3 hours in auditing?
AND
Have you taken 3 hours in cost accounting or managerial accounting?
AND
Have you taken 3 hours in U.S. Federal Income Tax?
AND
Have you taken 9 hours in financial accounting?
AND
Have you taken 9 hours in additional accounting courses?
AND
Have you taken 3 hours in ethics (either business ethics, accounting ethics, or philosophy of ethics)?
4. Have you contacted your school asking them to submit a transcript showing type of degree and date of graduation to Maryland Board of Public Accountancy, 500 N. Calvert Street, Third Floor, Baltimore, MD 21202?
*Graduate level semester credits are considered to be the equivalent of 1.5 undergraduate level semester credits.
 
 
If you answered YES to ALL of the above questions, CONGRATULATIONS! You are now ready to apply to take the Uniform CPA Examination.
 
Apply for the CPA Exam
 
APPLY NOW You will be directed to the official Maryland DLLR webpage
 
 
Tip Completing the Core Course Inventory Worksheet may help you fill out the application faster.
Read "3 Things To Know About Passing the CPA Exam"
 
 
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU APPLY It may take up to 45 days for a completed application to be approved by Maryland during peak times (after May and December graduations).  Usually, it does not take this long.  Once approved it may take a few days to receive the Notice to Sit (NTS) from NASBA. Once approved, the Board will email you a Notice to Schedule (NTS) to sit for the exam. The NTS is valid for 180 days from the date issued. You will be directed to create an online account which you will use to register for each section of the exam.
Date and location options for each exam section will be provided.
 
 
LEARN ABOUT THE EXAM Download AICPA's Uniform CPA Examination Blueprints
 
 
EXAM SECTIONS
regulation REGULATION
financial-accounting-reporting FINANCIAL ACCOUNTING & REPORTING
business-environment-concepts BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT & CONCEPTS
auditing-attestation AUDITING & ATTESTATION
 
NOTE Once you have passed one section of the exam, you are granted conditional credit and have 18 months to pass the other three sections. If the conditional credit expires you are required to pass that section again. You may take the exam sections in any order, however you may not take a failed section during the same exam window.
 
 
 
Continuous Exam Testing The CPA exam now operates under a continuous testing model. This provides greater candidate flexibility and convenience. Under the continuous testing model, scores are released on a rolling basis. Candidates wishing to learn more about continuous testing, as well as how the score release process works, should visit the AICPA’s CPA Exam Score Release page.
 
 
AVOID THESE COMMON APPLICATION MISTAKES!
Do not omit any information that is requested in the application. Include all transcripts and documents for every college credit that you have earned including, advanced placement, CLEP, DANTES, etc.
Do not try to substitute a business law or other course for a three-credit hour course in ethics. The Board's requirement for an ethics course is a full three-semester credit course devoted exclusively to ethics. Courses titled "US Business Law," "Law and Ethics," "Auditing and Ethics," or "Legal and Ethical Environment of Business" are not acceptable to fulfill this requirement. The Board will deny your application if the course you submit for this requirement is not devoted entirely to the study of ethics.
Credits that are listed on a college transcript as being transferred from another college will not qualify unless the college transcripts from where the credits were originally obtained are received by the Board.
Individuals with foreign education may not substitute a course in foreign income taxation to meet the requirement for a course in U.S. Federal Income Taxation.
College credits earned through AP, CLEP or other qualified alternative learning organizations will not qualify unless listed on a regionally accredited college transcript and a separate transcript from the credit-issuing alternative learning organization is received by the Board.
If you have completed a course with a title that does not match one of the course titles listed in the pop-out for each course type under section 3 of the examination checklist, you will have to submit a copy of the course description in the school's catalog and the syllabus used for the course from the academic year in which you completed the course.
Be sure to indicate your full legal name at the time you attended the educational institution. Your transcript may not include your Social Security Number, and this field will be the only way to align the information.
Courses covering essentially the same subject manner, regardless of the title of the course will only be counted once.
 
 
Once you pass the exam, You are ready to apply for licensure in the state of Maryland.
 
State Licensure Application Checklist
 
Do these things before you apply for your CPA license and don't miss a step. The Maryland Board of Public Accountancy has very specific requirements. Any deviation from the requirements will delay your application process. We hope this (long) list makes it clear for you!
 
 
1. Have you passed all four sections of the Uniform Certified Public Accountancy Examination?
2. Have you completed a total of 150 semester hours* of higher education course work?
Have you taken 21 hours in at least five of these nine subject areas?
statistics
economics
corporation or business finance
management
marketing
U.S. business law
business communication
quantitative methods
information technology/systems
If you have taken a course in any of these subject areas that does not match the course names you see when you click on each subject area, you must do the following when you apply for the exam:
  • submit a copy of the course description from your school's catalog
  • submit a copy of your course's syllabus
  • both must be from the academic year in which you completed the course
3. Do you have at least one year (2,000 hours) of practical work experience in accounting, advice using accounting, attest, management advisory, financial advisory, tax, or consulting? (Note: The experience that you report must be earned within the three years immediately preceding your application.)
4. Have you completed the home study course, "Professional Ethics: The AICPA's Comprehensive Course" (click here to take the course)
5. Are you prepared to submit the following documents?
VERIFICATION OF CPA EXAMINATION SCORES from the state and/or country in which you passed the Uniform CPA Examination?
Contact the appropriate Board of Accountancy to request a verification of your scores from the Uniform CPA Examination be sent to the Maryland Board of Public Accountancy.
AND
REPORT OF PRACTICAL WORK EXPERIENCE documenting at least one year or 2,000 hours of accounting-related experience in the most recent three years?
The experience described in this form must be endorsed by an actively licensed CPA who has supervised your work or any other CPA who can attest to your experience.
AND
TRANSFER OF GRADES COURSE CHECKLIST to document the completion of education you had obtained that meets the requirements of the Maryland Board's specific course requirements for licensure?
To expedite the review of your application please submit course description and course syllabi for any course names that do not match course titles listed here.
AND
OFFICIAL TRANSCRIPTS?
An official copy of your transcript from each college and university that you have attended must be sent directly to the Maryland Board of Public Accountancy, 500 N. Calvert Street, Third Floor, Baltimore, MD 21202.
*Graduate level semester credits are considered to be the equivalent of 1.5 undergraduate level semester credits.
 
 
If you answered YES to ALL of the above questions, CONGRATULATIONS! You are now ready to apply for Maryland state licensure.
 
Apply for State Licensure
 
APPLY NOW You will be directed to the official Maryland DLLR webpage a $67 application fee applies
Note: All support documents listed in the Maryland State Licensure Application Checklist section must be received within 90 days from the date an application is submitted to be considered complete by the Board. The Board will deny incomplete applications after 90 days.
 
 
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Are you currently a CPA candidate? Become a CPA Candidate Member of MACPA CPA candidates can become members of MACPA for only $36/year. Gain access to a multitude of resources while extending your professional network.
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About becoming a CPA in Maryland
Becoming a CPA opened up a world of opportunities. I’ve been able to grow both professionally and personally much faster than I ever thought possible. - Harry G. Sturgis, Newly-Licensed CPA
Senior Financial Analyst, Weyrich, Cronin & Sorra
MACPA makes every CPA kinda wish they were licensed in Maryland - Greg Kyte, CPA,
Utah and Accounting Today Top 100 Influencer
Future CPA Employer Guide 2023
 

Working with area firms and organizations, MACPA created this navigational guide to the many organizations in Maryland that could become your professional home.

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