Pennsylvania Accounting Requirements

Candidates may qualify under one of the three following requirements:

A Baccalaureate degree from a college or university approved at the time of graduation by the Department of Education, to include 24 semester hours in accounting, and auditing, business law, finance, or tax subjects.

NOTE: The 24 semester hours must include a minimum of 3 semester hours in accounting AND 3 semester hours in either auditing, business law, finance, or tax subject.

OR

A Master's degree or other post-graduate degree, from a college or university approved at the time of graduation by the Department of Education, to include 24 semester hours in accounting, and auditing, business law, finance, or tax subjects.

NOTE: The 24 semester hours must include a minimum of 3 semester hours in accounting AND 3 semester hours in either auditing, business law, finance, or tax subject.

OR

A Baccalaureate or higher degree, from a college or university approved at the time of graduation by the Department of Education, and have completed a total of 150 semester credits of post-secondary education to include 24 semester hours in accounting and auditing, business law, finance, or tax subjects. An additional twelve semester credits in accounting, auditing, and tax subjects are required.

NOTE: The 24 semester hours must include a minimum of 3 semester hours in accounting AND 3 semester hours in either auditing, business law, finance, or tax subject. (See state board web site information.)

All education must be met at the time of application. This will be strictly enforced.

Candidates with educational credentials earned outside the United States must be evaluated by one of the following professional credentials evaluation organizations to show U.S. equivalency:

Educational Credential Evaluators, Inc. (414) 289-3412, www.chs.org

Foreign Academic Credentials Service, Inc. 618-656-5291, www.facsusa.com

Josef Silny & Associates, Inc. 305-273-1616, www.jsilny.com

Note: The amount of education completed at the time of application is directly related to the amount of work experience necessary to obtain licensure.

For more information you may view the website for the State Board of Accountancy at www.dos.state.pa.us/account

Credit Hour Calculator

Enter in the number of credit hours that you've already earned for each required course. The form will calculate the number of credit hours you need in order to meet the requirements for your state.

Click Here to Download a List of Post University Courses That Can Be Used to Meet Pennsylvania's 24 Credit Hour Requirement