State of Ohio
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CPA Certification
Experience Requirement

The experience required for the CPA certificate in Ohio consists of performing one or more public accounting activities as defined by Board rule. The experience must be verified by a CPA. Experience may be earned through employment in public accounting or employment outside public accounting (i.e., business, government, or academia). Self-employment experience also qualifies if it is properly verified. Part-time experience (fewer than 40 hours per week) is evaluated at the rate of 2,000 hours per year. The amount of experience required is defined as follows:

  • One year experience is required if a candidate has a bachelors degree and 150 semester hours of college credit prior to sitting for the CPA examination.
  • One year experience is required if a candidate does not need to meet the 150-hour requirement because the candidate sat for the CPA examination prior to 2000.
  • Two years if a candidate has a bachelors degree but fewer than 150 semester hours of college credit prior to sitting for the CPA examination, but has the 150 semester hours of college credit prior to CPA certification.
  • Four years if a candidate has obtained a partial waiver of the 150 semester hours by achieving a total score of 620 on the Graduate Management Admission Test.

Applicants for the Ohio CPA certificate need to complete a Record of Experience Form for each employer. If the applicant's supervisor is (or was) not a CPA, the applicant must also complete a Statement of Verifying CPA for the relevant position.

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