CPA Practical Experience Requirements 2026 — Hours, Supervision, and How to Qualify

CPA Practical Experience Requirements — Overview

The practical experience requirement for CPA licensure is set by your state board of accountancy — not the AICPA. This means requirements differ across the 55 US jurisdictions (50 states + DC, Guam, Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands, and the Northern Mariana Islands). Most states follow one of two models:

1-year (1,800+ hours) model: States like California, Texas, Florida, and New York require 1 year of qualifying experience. Some of these states require the experience to be in 'public accounting' (at a CPA firm), while others accept experience in industry, government, or academia.

2-year (2,000–4,000 hours) model: Some states require 2 full years of qualifying experience. The exact hour requirement depends on the state's definition (40-hour weeks for 1–2 years = 2,080–4,160 hours).

Key components required by most states:

• Minimum number of hours (1,800–4,000 depending on state)
• Verification and signature from a licensed CPA supervisor
• Experience in qualifying areas (accounting, auditing, tax, advisory, or management)
• Employment period meeting the state's timeframe requirement

CPA Experience Requirements by State — Selected States

The following are current requirements for major states. Always verify directly with your state board of accountancy — requirements are updated periodically.

California: 1 year (500 hours of attest experience required; total 12 months full-time or equivalent part-time). Must be under a CPA who is licensed in California or another US state. No requirement that the experience be at a public accounting firm.

Texas: 1 year under a licensed CPA — 2,000 hours total. Experience must be verified by a licensed CPA. Can be in public accounting, industry, government, or academia. Texas requires the CPA supervisor to attest that the work required the use of accounting, attest, compilation, management advisory, financial advisory, tax, or consulting skills.

New York: 1 year (1 year of full-time, 40 hours/week employment in public accounting, government, industry, or academia), under a licensed CPA. The experience must include accounting skills — purely administrative or clerical work does not qualify.

Florida: 1 year of experience in accounting under the supervision of a licensed CPA. Experience can be in public accounting, private industry, government, or academia.

Illinois: 1 year of full-time employment (52 weeks, not counting vacation) under the supervision of a licensed CPA. Part-time experience counts proportionally.

Colorado, Virginia, Michigan: 1 year, similar to the above states with qualifying experience definitions.

North Dakota, Rhode Island, Virgin Islands: 2 years of experience required — verify current requirements with those state boards.

What Counts as Qualifying CPA Experience

Most states accept experience in any of the following areas, as long as it's performed under CPA supervision:

• Accounting: Preparing or reviewing financial statements, bookkeeping, reconciliations, general ledger management
• Auditing and attest: Financial statement audits, reviews, compilations, internal audit work, attestation engagements
• Tax: Preparing or reviewing tax returns (individual, corporate, partnership), tax research, tax planning
• Management advisory / consulting: Business advisory services, management consulting involving accounting or financial principles
• Financial advisory: Financial analysis, budgeting, forecasting, mergers and acquisitions due diligence
• Government accounting: Working in federal, state, or local government accounting or audit roles under a CPA supervisor

What typically does NOT qualify:

• Purely clerical or administrative work without accounting content
• Experience not supervised by a licensed CPA
• Accounting coursework or academic work (internships may count — see below)
• Bookkeeping at a non-CPA firm without CPA supervision

How to Document and Submit CPA Experience

Experience documentation is submitted to your state board when you apply for your CPA license (after passing all 4 CPA exam sections and meeting the education requirement).

Documentation process:

1. Obtain the experience verification form from your state board — each state has its own form. Download it from your state board of accountancy website.
2. Complete your section — employer information, dates of employment, description of duties, and total hours.
3. Have your CPA supervisor complete and sign their section — they certify that you performed qualifying accounting work under their supervision.
4. Submit with your CPA license application — include the completed experience form with your license application, transcripts, and exam score verification.

Tips for smooth verification:

• Don't wait until you've passed all exam sections to start building experience documentation — keep records as you go
• Get a signed verification from each supervisor at the time of employment, not years later when they may be harder to reach
• If you change jobs, get the experience form signed before you leave
• Keep copies of all signed forms — if a supervisor later becomes unavailable or their license lapses, you'll need backup documentation