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The AICPA Uniform CPA exam is known to be challenging on its own, but this process is further complicated by each state providing their own set of requirements to fulfill before the applicant qualifies both to sit the exam and to apply for licensure. Therefore, we have compiled a detailed summary of the Tennessee State Board of Accountancy’s requirements. This also includes details on transferring your existing credits or CPA license to Tennessee, or to maintain your existing Tennessee CPA license. As these requirements are subject to change, we recommended confirming all information with the Tennessee State Board of Accountancy to make sure you qualify, and to verify that the charges have not been updated since this piece was published.
There is no minimum age requirement to sit the CPA exam in Tennessee.
There are no residency requirements for the CPA exam in Tennessee.
Tennessee has no citizenship requirements to sit the CPA exam.
Tennessee has a requirement of a bachelor’s degree or higher from a four- year college or university education to sit the CPA exam. This includes fulfilling credit requirement of 150 semester hours by the time of sitting the exam. However, the course requirements for sitting the exam varies slightly from those required for licensure as follows:
If an institution was not accredited at the time that an applicant’s degree was received but was accredited at the time the application was filed with the board, the institution will be recognized as acceptable to the board on condition that:
Tennessee CPA applicants are required to acquire at least 2,000 hours of work experience either before or after passing the CPA exam. These must be acquired between no less than one year and no more than three years. This must be completed within ten years prior to applying for licensure.
This experience may consist of providing any type of services or advice using accounting, attest, management advisory, financial advisory, tax or consulting skills under the employment of either government, academia, industry or public practice. They must be fulfilled and tracked under the direct supervision of a CPA whose license is valid and in good standing with their issuing board.
The Tennessee State Board of Accountancy requires the candidate to take the AICPA Professional Ethics Comprehensive Course and Exam “For Licensure.” The applicant must achieve 90% or higher in order to apply for licensure. This must be completed within 90 days of completing your experience requirement.
The Tennessee State Board of Accountancy outsources thir CPA exam application process through NASBA as follows:
| Application Fee | $170.00 |
| Auditing & Attestation (AUD) | $226.15 |
| Financial Accounting & Reporting (FAR) | $226.15 |
| Regulation (REG) | $226.15 |
| Business Environment & Concepts (BEC) | $226.15 |
| Registration Fees 4 sections – $150.00 3 sections – $125.00 2 sections – $100.00 1 section – $75.00 | $300.00 |
| Total | $1,374.60 |
Fees are non-refundable. Most exams can be rescheduled.
You will receive your Notice to Schedule (NTS) upon paying for your Payment Coupon from NASBA. You will have 6 months from the date of issuance in which to write your CPA exam, or the NTS will expire. You will then need to reapply for the exam. Therefore, before trying to save money by applying for multiple exams at once, make sure that you will be able to study for them and schedule them in beforehand.
To apply for CPA licensure in Tennessee, you will need to:
A CPA who holds an out-of-state license recognized as substantially equivalent to that of Tennessee’s, can practice in Tennessee without needing to obtain a license or permit from the Board on condition that:
Tennessee recognizes interstate reciprocity of CPA licenses from jurisdictions and states that are considered to be substantially equivalent to that of Tennessee. In order to apply for CPA license conversion, you will need to me the following requirements as well:
Tennessee recognizes international license reciprocity for licensing bodies of foreign associations who have entered into Mutual Recognition Agreements (MRAs) with the US International Qualifications Appraisal Board (IQAB.) License holder from these institutions will be able to take the International Qualification Examination (IQEX) in lieu of the full CPA exam. The exam fee is $835.00. Additionally, they will still need to meet the work requirements stipulated above. Other foreign license holders will need to follow the same path as outline under ‘Foreign Educations’ above.
This applies for licenses issued by the following bodies:
Tennessee CPA license holders are required to renew their licenses biennially by December 31st. The year will be either even or odd based on their birth year. During this time, the applicant must acquire 80 hours of continued professional education (CPE) and is required to submit 20 CPE per year.
They must also fulfill the following CPE educational hours:
Tennessee CPA license holders can apply to change their license status to ‘inactive.’ This will allow them to maintain their license by paying the annual the ‘inactive’ renewal fees, without the need to meet the CPE requirements. However, they will need to reactivate their license, should they choose to resume practicing public accountancy.
This entails:
Failure to pay the renewal fee or meet the CPE requirements on time will result in the license’s lapsing. The license holder will then have 6 months to renew their license, meet the CPE requirements and pay both the late and renewal fees, or their license will expire. The license holder will then need to reactivate their license as follows:
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