CPA Exam - Eligibility Requirements
The Nebraska Board of Public Accountancy has engaged CPA Examination Services (a division of the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy) for exam application processing, exam administrations, and grade reporting.
If you have any questions about the exam or need exam application materials, please contact CPA Examination Services (CPAES) at 1-800-CPA-EXAM and inform them that you are a Nebraska Candidate. You can also download information on their website at https://nasba.org/exams/cpaexam/.
Steps to Become a Nebraska CPA
Education Guidelines October 2019
Education Requirements to Sit for CPA Exam as a Nebraska Candidate
Link: Title 288 - Board's Rules and Regulations
NAC Title 288 - Chapter 9 Education (eff. 6/23/25)
Chapter 9.004 Educational Requirements;
Preface: The Nebraska State Board of Public Accountancy is dedicated to ensuring that the educational preparation of CPAs reflects a broad-based educational program which incorporates the latest information and knowledge in the areas of accounting, auditing, and general business as well as an understanding of the world and the relationships between business enterprises, government, and not- for- profit entities.
The Board will not furnish or prescribe specific curriculum which colleges or universities should adopt; rather it urges colleges and universities to adopt innovative approaches and programs designed to best meet the needs of the profession and society.
004.0l CPA Examination Candidates - For the Purpose of Nebraska Revised Statutes, Section 1-106 et. seq., as revised, the education requirements to sit for the Uniform CPA Examination shall be a baccalaureate or higher degree which contains, as a minimum, 120 semester hours or 180 quarter hours from an accredited college or university (as defined and specified in Title 288, Chapter 9-00l and 9-002) and the subject area requirements as outlined within Sections 004.02A & B.
004.02 Eligibility. The candidate will be required, as a condition of acceptance for sitting for the first time for the Uniform CPA Examination, to provide the Board or its designee with an official transcript or transcripts that show his or her postsecondary education program has included, as follows:
004.02A 24 semester or 36 quarter hours in accounting beyond principles of accounting. The subjects to be covered in these hours shall include some or all of the following:
(l) Financial accounting theory and problems
(2) Cost and managerial accounting
(3) Tax preparation and planning
(4) Auditing
(5) Accounting information systems
(6) Governmental and not-for-profit accounting.
004.02B 24 semester or 36 quarter hours in general business. The subjects to be covered in these hours shall include some or all of the following:
(l) Macro and microeconomics
(2) Business law
(3) Marketing
(4) Management
(5) Finance
(6) Business Ethics
(7) Principles of accounting
(8) Business communication
(9) Quantitative applications in business
(10) Data analytics
004.03 Any person making initial application to take the Uniform CPA examination shall be deemed to have met the educational requirement contained in the law and these rules if the applicant has earned a graduate degree in accounting from an accounting program or department that is accredited in accounting by an accrediting agency recognized by the Board.
004.04 Upon applying for and receiving a certificate, a certificate holder may apply for a permit to practice, as outlined within Section 1-136 et. Seq., as revised, after meeting all other requirements as outlined within the law and these rules.
004.04A Upon application for a permit to practice, a certificate holder shall have completed, at a minimum:
(1) 150 semester hours or 225 quarter hours from an accredited college or university (as defined and specified in Title 288 Chapter 9-001 and 9-002).
(2) 24 semester hours or 36 quarter hours in accounting beyond principles of accounting. The subjects to be covered shall include all of the subjects listed under 004.02A (1-6).
(3) 24 semester hours or 36 quarter hours in general business. The subjects to be covered shall include some or all of the subjects listed under 004.02B (1-10).
(4) Content covering the subject of Business Ethics.
004.04B If the time elapsed exceeds five years since the applicant has completed the examination prior to applying for a certificate or permit to practice, the applicant shall file with the Board properly completed affidavits of successful completion of 120 hours of approved courses of continuing education, including 4 hours of ethics courses, within the three years preceding application for a certificate or permit to practice.
004.05 Review of Transcripts; Appropriate level of coursework; transfer hours. For purposes of meeting the educational requirements and for issuance of a certificate or permit to practice, an applicant’s official transcript or transcripts shall be reviewed by the Board or its designee to determine if the applicant’s educational program complies with the requirements of the law and these rules. In reviewing the transcript or transcripts, hours in courses which have contained the required subjects listed in 9-004.02A and B which have been earned at a non- four-year institution and are transferred to a four-year institution shall be considered as acceptable in meeting the educational requirements.
004.05A A maximum of 12 semester or 18 quarter hours can be earned at a two-year institution after a four-year degree has been granted. Any semester or quarter hours included on the four-year degree transcript are not subject to the 12 semester or 18 quarter hour maximum rule.