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Virginia CPA License

Virginia CPA License

Here is a five-step guide on how you can become a licensed CPA in Virginia:

Step 1. Get Your Education

  1. Find and contact the institutions in Virginia that offer accounting programs, in order to get detailed information. All the licensed accountants in Virginia have to meet the educational requirements of the Virginia Board of Accountancy. It includes a bachelor’s degree consisting of at least 150  semester hours of college credit.
  2. Make sure that the program which you are planning to take is acceptable to the Virginia Board of Accountancy.
    If your program is not accredited or you take your program in a foreign college or university, first, the Board-approved education evaluation firm needs to review your credits and make a decision whether your credit acceptable or not. Then you can take the Uniform CPA Exam.
  3. Take the right course. In Virginia, you need a minimum of 120 semester hours of college coursework and to be able to take the Uniform CPA Exam you need to have at least a bachelor’s degree. For a license, you need 150 semester hours.

Step. 2. Take The Uniform CPA Exam

Once you have gained 120 semester hours of the total requirement of 150 and get a bachelor’s degree, you are able to take the Uniform CPA Examination.

  1. First, you need to fill the Virginia Board of Accountancy’s online application in order to register for the Uniform CPA Exam. Also, you must know your Jurisdiction ID to use this application. To know it, call the Board at (804) 367-8505.
  2. Send all the documents to the Virginia Board of Accountancy by mail. Including:
    1. Original college transcript, it must be mailed directly from the institution
    2. A copy of your driver’s license
    3. Payment of exam and application fees
    4. If you require testing facilities due to a disability, you can attach the appropriate documentation and request changes to testing.
  3. Once the Board gets your application, required documents, and fees, they will be forwarded to the Authorization to Test (ATT) to the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA), and then you will get your Notification to Schedule (NTS).
  4. Once you receive your NTS, contact Prometric to schedule your exam on Virginia’s easy-to-use website. Virginia has cities such as Alexandria, Bristol, Fairfax, Glen Allen, Lynchburg, Newport News, and Roanoke.
  5. Come to the Prometric center of your choice on the exam day assigned to take the test.
  6. The test scores will be posted online on the Virginia Accounts Chamber website as soon as they are mailed to you after they have been counted.

To find more details about the Uniform CPA Exam, click here.

Step 3. Gain The Necessary Experience

As one of the requirements for a CPA license, you need to complete the work experience.

  1. It is necessary for The Virginia Board of Accounting that you take the American Institute of CPAs Institute (AICPA) in-home professional ethics course of 8 semester hours. Find it here.
  2. According to Virginia law, you must have work experience for a year. The experience should be paid, can be full or part-time, and must be in academia, industry, government, or public accounting. Also, the supervising CPA should confirm it.

Step 4. Get Your Virginia CPA License

Once you have met all the requirements you are ready to apply for the CPA license.

  1. Check that you meet all the requirements.
    1. Have 120 semester hours and earn a bachelor’s degree, take and pass the Uniform CPA Exam.
    2. Get the rest of the 150-semester hour educational requirement for a license
    3. Send official college transcripts to the Virginia Board of Accountancy,
    4. Take the AICPA’s home-study ethics course.
    5. Have experience for one year
  2. Apply for your Virginia CPA License online at the Virginia Board of Accountancy’s website.

Interstate Reciprocal License

If you have a license from the other state that is equal to Virginia by the NASBA rules, you can apply for the CPA Certificate by Endorsement via the Board’s online application for a license.

Step 5. Stay Current Through Continuing Professional Education in Virginia

According to the Virginia Board of Accountancy in order to keep your license, you need to meet the professional education (CPE) requirements:

  1. Complete 120 hours of CPE every 3 years, 20 hours you must complete every year.
  2. Take the approved forum for CPE credit
  3. Save all the copies of the certificate that you will get

How many CPAs are in Virginia?

By September 2, 2020, there are 658,267 legally licensed CPAs in Virginia.

Can you call yourself a CPA without a license in Virginia?

No, you need to have a license to work as a CPA.

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Karine H

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