How to Become a CPA in Arizona: Exam, Ethics, and Experience

To become a CPA in Arizona, you need 150 semester hours of college education with specific accounting coursework, passing scores on all four sections of the Uniform CPA Examination, 2,000 hours of accounting experience, a passing score on the AICPA ethics exam, and an approved application to the Arizona State Board of Accountancy. The Board administers each piece under A.R.S. Title 32, and most candidates finish the full process in two to three years after their bachelor’s degree.

Education: 150 Hours With the Right Mix

Arizona requires at least 150 semester hours from an accredited institution, including a bachelor’s degree or higher. Within those hours, 36 must be non-duplicative accounting courses, and at least 30 of those accounting hours must be upper-division. You also need 30 semester hours of related coursework in fields such as economics, finance, business law, statistics, or management.¹

The upper-division piece is where planning matters. Introductory accounting classes don’t count toward the 30 advanced hours, so you need enough coursework in areas like auditing, taxation, financial reporting, and cost or managerial accounting to clear that threshold. Everything else in your 150 total can come from any college-level coursework, which leaves room for electives, a minor, or a graduate program.

Sitting for the Exam Before You Hit 150

You do not need all 150 hours to start testing. Arizona lets candidates sit for the CPA exam once they have 24 semester hours in accounting (12 at the upper level) plus 18 semester hours of related business courses. Many candidates begin the exam during their final year of school or right after their bachelor’s, then finish the remaining credits before applying for the certificate itself. Sitting eligibility and licensure eligibility are two different thresholds, and confusing them is one of the most common planning mistakes.

The Uniform CPA Exam

Under the CPA Evolution model that took effect in 2024, you take three core sections and one discipline section. The core sections are Auditing and Attestation (AUD), Financial Accounting and Reporting (FAR), and Regulation (REG). For the discipline, you choose one of Business Analysis and Reporting (BAR), Information Systems and Controls (ISC), or Tax Compliance and Planning (TCP).²

Each section requires a minimum score of 75. Arizona uses a 30-month rolling credit window: once you pass your first section, you have 30 months to pass the other three, or the earliest passing score expires and you retake that section.³

Costs add up quickly. The initial application fee to the Arizona Board is $100 for first-time candidates and $50 for re-examinations. On top of that, each section carries a testing fee of roughly $263 for 2026, so all four sections run about $1,150 before the application fee.

Ethics Exam

Every Arizona applicant must complete the AICPA’s “Professional Ethics: The AICPA’s Comprehensive Course” and pass the accompanying exam with a score of 90% or higher.⁴ It’s a self-study course covering the AICPA Code of Professional Conduct, including independence, conflicts of interest, and confidentiality.⁵

Watch the clock on this one. You have to finish the exam within one year of buying the course, and your passing score is only valid for two years in Arizona.⁴ Take it too early and your application drags, and you may end up retaking it. Most candidates slot it in during or just after their CPA exam sections.

Experience: 2,000 Hours of Real Accounting Work

A.R.S. § 32-721 requires at least 2,000 hours in the practice of accounting. Arizona counts both paid and unpaid work, which means qualifying internships and some volunteer positions can contribute. Hours earned before or after passing the exam both count, so work you do during school isn’t wasted.¹

What the Board cares about is the substance of the work. The statute looks for your ability to critically analyze financial information such as balance sheets, income statements, cash flow statements, or tax returns, and to communicate findings in writing or verbally to an employer, client, or third party.¹ Public accounting firms, corporate finance departments, government agencies, and tax preparation offices all qualify as long as your actual duties involve accounting judgment rather than clerical processing.

You verify these hours on a Certificate of Experience, signed by someone familiar with your work who can attest that your tasks met professional standards. Keep contemporaneous notes on what you did and when. Reconstructing a year of work from memory is miserable, and it slows down the one step of the process that can’t move without your supervisor’s cooperation.

Character, Background, and Age

Arizona reviews conduct history alongside technical qualifications. Under A.R.S. § 32-721(A)(3), an applicant cannot have engaged in conduct that would constitute grounds for suspension, revocation, or other discipline against an existing CPA, including fraud, misrepresentation on official documents, and failure to meet tax obligations.¹

You’ll need an active fingerprint clearance card from the Arizona Department of Public Safety, which runs state and FBI background checks.⁶ You must also provide evidence of lawful presence in the United States⁷ and be at least 18 years old.¹

A criminal record is not an automatic bar. The Board weighs the nature and severity of the offense and has discretion to deny a certificate. If something in your history gives you pause, raising it with the Board early is far better than letting it surface at the end of the application.

Submitting Your Application

Once the education, exam, ethics, and experience pieces are in place, you file an application with the Arizona State Board of Accountancy. The required documents:

The Application for Certified Public Accountant Certificate, which collects your personal information and professional conduct history.
Official transcripts sent directly from every post-secondary institution you attended, so the Board can verify your 150 hours and the accounting and related coursework breakdown.
The Certificate of Experience documenting your 2,000 qualifying hours.
Proof of passing the AICPA ethics exam with a 90% or higher score within the preceding two years.
An active Arizona fingerprint clearance card.

The non-refundable application fee is $100. You can file through the Board’s online portal or by mail. Processing generally takes one to three months depending on volume, and the Board won’t begin review until every document is on file. Transcript delays are the usual bottleneck, so request them early. Once the Board approves your application, you receive your certificate number and are licensed to practice as a CPA in Arizona.

Keeping Your License Active

An Arizona CPA license renews every two years during your birthday month, with the cycle tied to whether your birth year is odd or even. The current biennial registration fee is $300.⁸

Renewal requires 80 hours of continuing professional education (CPE) each two-year period. At least four of those hours must be in ethics, including one hour on Arizona-specific rules and one hour on the AICPA Code of Professional Conduct. The remaining 76 hours cover technical accounting topics, tax updates, auditing standards, or other professional subjects. Missing the CPE requirement at renewal can let your license lapse, and reinstatement means extra fees and paperwork. Track CPE as you earn it rather than at the deadline.

Practicing in Other States

If your work crosses state lines, CPA mobility rules decide whether you need a second license. The system runs on “substantial equivalency,” a NASBA framework that compares each state’s licensing standards to the Uniform Accountancy Act’s benchmarks: 150 semester hours, at least one year of experience, and a passing CPA exam.⁹ Arizona meets all three, so an Arizona CPA can generally practice in other substantially equivalent states without a separate license. Rules vary by state, so confirm before taking on cross-border work.

1
Arizona Legislature. Arizona Revised Statutes Title 32 – Section 32-721
2
NASBA National Association of State Boards of Accountancy. CPA Exam Transition FAQs
3
AICPA & CIMA. CPA Exam Credit Extension Deadline in June 2025
4
Arizona Society of CPAs. Order the Ethics Exam
5
AICPA & CIMA. Professional Ethics: The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants Comprehensive Course (For Licensure)
6
Arizona Department of Public Safety. Fingerprint Clearance Card
7
Arizona Secretary of State. Arizona Administrative Code R4-1-341 – CPA Certificates and Firm Registration
8
Justia Law. Arizona Revised Statutes Title 32 – Section 32-730
9
NASBA National Association of State Boards of Accountancy. Substantial Equivalency