Utah CPA Requirements

Age

Utah has no minimum age limit to sit the CPA exam.

Residency

There are no residency requirements for the state of Utah.

Citizenship

Utah does not require US citizenship to take the exam, however you will be required to provide your social security number.

Exam Educational Requirements

Utah CPA candidates require either a bachelor’s degree or higher in Accounting or Taxation, or a Master of Business Administration degree from an institution that is accredited by the American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), or the Association of Collegiate Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP) in order to acquire licensure. The will also need to meet the standard 150 college credit hour requirement.

However, in order to sit the CPA exam itself, they are required to have acquired at least 120 college credit hours prior to sitting the exam. This applies even if you are currently completing the required credits. This includes the following course requirements:

• 24 semester hours (36 quarter hours) in upper division and graduate level accounting courses covering the following subjects:
  • Financial Accounting
  • Auditing
  • Taxation
  • Management Accounting; AND
• 24 semester hours (36 quarter hours) in non-accounting business or related courses covering each of the following subjects:
  • Business Law
  • Computers
  • Economics
  • Business Ethics
  • Finance
  • Business Statistics and Quantitative Methods
  • Written and Oral Business Communications
  • Business Administration such as Marketing, Production, Management, Policy or Organizational Behavior

In order for the Master of Business Administration to qualify, it must include:

• 24 semester hours (36 quarter hours) in upper division accounting courses covering the following subjects:
  • Financial Accounting
  • Auditing
  • Taxation
  • Management Accounting; OR
• 15 semester hours (23 quarter hours) graduate level accounting courses covering the following subjects:
  • Financial Accounting,
  • Auditing,
  • Taxation, And
  • Management Accounting; OR
• an equivalent combination of graduate and upper division accounting courses covering the subjects of Financial Accounting, Auditing, Taxation, and Management Accounting with one hour of graduate level course work being equivalent to 1.6 hours of upper division course work.

Non-accredited institutions

The Utah Board of Accountancy will accept credits that have been evaluated and approved by one of the state board-approved credit and licensing evaluation services listed below. Additionally, sometimes the state board will accept credits for individual courses from institutions that do not meet NASBA’s

Foreign Educations

Foreign students can have their credentials evaluated by the credit and license evaluation services listed below. If they are found to be substantially equivalent, they will be able to sit the CPA exam.

Recognized Credits

• College credits that are accredited through either the AACSB or ACBSP are accepted
• Online course credits will be accepted if accredited through an AACSB or ACBSP accredited institution
• AP credits are not accepted

Recognized Credit and Licensing Evaluation services

Utah accepts substantially equivalent transcripts and license evaluations provide by:

• NASBA’s International Evaluation Services (NIES)
• The National Association of Credential Evaluation services

Work Experience

There is a work requirement of 2,000 hours experience in accounting under the supervision of a CPA before you will qualify for licensure. This means that you must work in positions that require you to apply accounting and auditing skills and concepts that are taught as a part of the professional education that qualifies a person for CPA licensure in Utah. You can meet the work experience requirement either before or after taking the CPA exam. There is no timeframe in which to meet this requirement, and they can be completed through multiple jobs.

Ethics

The Utah Board of Accountancy requires the candidate to take the self-study Professional Ethics: AICPA’s Comprehensive Course (For Licensure) and the corresponding exam. The applicant must achieve 90% or higher in order to apply for licensure. This can be done before of after taking the CPA exam.

How to Apply for the Utah CPA Exam

The application process is conducted through NASBA as follows:

• Submit official transcripts from all institutions’ Registrar’s Office with the official unopened seal to NASBA. The degree earned must be posted on the official transcript. This can be done by paper mail to NASBA directly from the institution or submitted by the institution electronically to this email address
• Submit the application form
• Pay the relevant fees

Fees

All fees are non-refundable, but the exams can be rescheduled.

Locations

• Prometric Testing Centers both in and out of state
• Certain International Prometric testing centers. This should be confirmed with the Board
• At-home, provided that your computer can run ExamRoom.AI

How to Apply for the Utah CPA License

When submitting their application for their initial licensure, the applicant must:

• Have the sealed, official transcripts proving 150 semester hours of education from their accredited institutions sent directly to the Utah Board of Accountancy
• Have a bachelor’s degree or higher with an accounting concentration
• Pass all four sections of the Uniform CPA exam within an 18-month timespan and have NASBA forward the results to the Utah Board of Accountancy
• Submit the CPA License Application form, including the filled-out ‘Verification of Experience’ section to the board
• Passed the AICPA exam
• Passed the Utah Law & Rules Exam.
• Pay $85.00 licensing fee

License Reciprocity

Interstate License Endorsement

Utah allows for CPA License holders from other states to apply for Licensure by Endorsement on condition that they submit the following:

• Proof of completion of the Uniform CPA Examination
• Proof of obtaining licensure at least a year prior to applying for licensure in Utah
• A list of all states or jurisdictions in which the applicant holds or has ever held a license to practice accountancy
• Documentation proving that the applicant has passed the AICPA Ethics exam

Alternatively, the licensee can apply for licensure upon meeting ONE of the following conditions:

• Verification of having acquired 8,000 hours of work experience as outlined above within the ten years preceding their application
• Proof of receiving licensure in another state prior to 1994

Practice Privilege

An out-of-state CPA license holder or holder of a foreign license of substantial equivalence according to NASBA’s National Qualification Appraisal Service (NQAS) whose principal pace of business is not in New Jersey can obtain a permit from the New Jersey State Board of Accountancy. They can also obtain a permit if they do not practice public accounting. In order to apply, they must have:

• A current, valid license verified has substantially equivalent by NASBA
• Works through a firm that is registered with the board for:
  • A financial statement audit or other engagement to be performed in accordance with the Statements on Auditing Standards (SAS)
  • An examination of prospective financial information to be performed in accordance with the Statements on Standards for Attestation Engagements (SSAE)
  • An engagement to be performed in accordance with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) Auditing Standards.
• Practice privilege will be lost as soon as the CPA license expires in the issuing state

International License Reciprocity

DOPL will only accept a foreign applicant that has obtained verification from NASBA showing compliance with the terms for reciprocal licensure between the foreign country and the International Qualifications Appraisal Board of NASBA (IQAB). This agreement provides the applicant’s examinations, education and experience is determined to be substantially equivalent to the Eighth Edition, January 2018 Uniform Accountancy Act licensure requirements or a version of the Uniform Accountancy Act having substantially equivalent requirements.

As such, this means that applicants from countries that form part of the NASBA mutual recognition agreements (MRA) should be able to sit the IQEX exam for CPA licensure in lieu of the full four-part CPA exam.

The institutions that form part of the MRA are:

• South African Institute of Chartered Accountants
• CPA Australia
• Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand (CAANZ)
• CPA Canada (CPAC)
• Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants (HKICPA)
• Chartered Accountants Ireland (CAI)
• Instituto Mexicano de Contadores Publicos (IMCP)
• Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland (ICAS)

Other foreign license holders

License holders from non-equivalency jurisdictions will need to have their credentials evaluated by a state-recognized credentials evaluation service. Once approved, they will need to sit the full CPA exam. However, in order to receive licensure in Utah, they will also need to meet the rest of the requirements outlined above.

NTS Validation Period

After your application is accepted and you have paid the exam fee, you will receive a Notice to Schedule (NTS.) You will then have 9 months in which to schedule the exam, or the NTS will expire. You will then need to pay the fee again. Therefore, make sure that you are able to take the exams within that time frame before registering.

License Renewal Requirements

Active license holders

Utah CPA license holders are required to renew their licenses every two calendar years. They will be sent a notice of renewal within 60 days of the date of expiration on December 31^st of every even year. In addition to filling out the application form and paying the $63.00 license renewal fee, they will also need to submit proof of fulfilling the 80 Continued Professional Education (CPE) hours within that time frame. Part of these hours must include:

• Ethics (3 hours)
• Utah laws and regulations (1 hour)
• Other subjects can include:
  • Accounting
  • Assurance/Auditing
  • Consulting Services
  • Specialized Knowledge and Applications
  • Management
  • Taxation
• Other subjects may also be acceptable if they can improve a CPA’s professional competence, such as:
  • Information Technology
  • Communication Arts
  • Statistics
  • Mathematics
  • Probability and Quantitative Analysis
  • Economics
  • Business Law
  • Personnel Relations
  • Social Environment of Business

Failure to renew the license by the expiration date listed on the license will result in the license automatically expiring.

Inactive or expired license holders:

A license holder with either an inactive or expired license can apply to have their license reinstated. However, there are limitations to this. Firstly, within two years of non-licensure, they will only need to meet the additional requirement of paying the reinstatement cost. However, this is on condition that this was due to a technical issue such as failure to register on time, inadequate CPE, or similar.

But if it is between two and five years of non-renewal, they will need to meet the following extra requirements:

• A reinstatement application form that includes details as to why the license holder allowed the license to lapse
• 80 CPE hours within the 12 months preceding the application, including:
  • Accounting, Auditing or both (16 hours)
  • Writing the AICPA Ethics Exam, which will count as 8 CPE hours

These requirements may be waived if the applicant:

• has not been practicing within Utah since the expiration of the license being reinstated
• has been continuously licensed and practicing in another state since the expiration
• demonstrates that the applicant has met all the CPE requirements that would have been applicable in Utah during the time the license was expired in Utah

Recognized CPE

• In-house training, on condition that two or more licensed CPAs are involved in training on a qualifying topic within their organization
• All hours can be acquired through self-study in group study or self-study.
• Formal programs must satisfy the ‘Standards for Programs Which Qualify’ according to the Utah State Accountancy Statute
• Pre-approval is recommended, but not mandatory. The courses can be verified with the CPE Approval Committee’s database at (801) 466-8022.
• CPE approval forms and reviews can be found here.

State Board

Utah Board of Accountancy

Mailing Addresses:

• Phone: (801) 530-6628
• Toll Free (Utah): (866) 275-3675
• Fax: (801) 530-6511
• Email: b6@utah.gov
• Website: https://dopl.utah.gov/cpa/
• Hours: Mon-Fri: 8:00-17:00
• Utah Accountancy Laws and Rules