Minnesota CPA Requirements

Minnesota offers a welcoming professional landscape for certified public accountants (CPAs). As one of the top states for economic opportunity and Fortune 500 companies per capita, Minnesota also hosts thriving advanced manufacturing, technology and innovation, and finance and insurance industries.

The North Star State relies on CPAs to support organizations' financial health and manage compliance needs. CPAs need to complete a combination of education, experience, and examination to receive licensure. The credential could become more accessible in Minnesota in the near future thanks to proposed legislation that would reduce the education requirements.

Examine Minnesota CPA requirements in detail to help you navigate the changing pathway to this promising profession.

Education Requirements for CPAs in Minnesota

Like many other states, Minnesota has pushed for alternate educational pathways to CPA licensure for several years. In 2023, the state first proposed legislation to reduce the credits needed for licensure from 150 to 120. As of now, prospective CPAs still need to meet two levels of educational requirements.

• To qualify for the CPA examination, each candidate needs a bachelor's degree with at least 24 accounting credits from an accredited school.
• To qualify for CPA licensure, they need at least 150 credits, including a minimum of 48 credits in business-related and accounting subjects.

The section below delves into the specifics of these educational requirements.

Concentrations, Courses, and Credits

According to the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA), there are four possible educational pathways to the CPA exam:

1. A graduate degree in accounting from an accredited accounting program or department
2. A graduate degree from an accredited business program with at least 24 undergraduate accounting credits or 15 graduate accounting credits
3. A bachelor's degree from an accredited business program with at least 24 accounting credits
4. A bachelor's degree from an accredited school with at least 24 accounting credits

The 24-credit accounting requirement must cover the following areas:

• Financial accounting
• Auditing
• Taxation
• Management accounting

To satisfy the 150-credit CPA licensure requirement, you need to complete at least 48 credits of the following:

• 24 accounting credits used to qualify for the Uniform CPA Examination
• Credits in any business-related courses
• Credits from intermediate or higher accounting courses
• Internship credits that do not also count toward experience hours

Courses that are not accepted include:

• CPA review courses
• Transfer credits

Minnesota Experience Requirements

Professional experience is a critical component of CPA licensure requirements. In Minnesota, you need a minimum of one full year of professional accounting experience to qualify for licensure. The experience must be supervised and include at least 2,000 hours completed in 1-3 years.

Eligible experience includes employment in public practice, the government, or academia. It can also include any services that apply the following skills:

• Accounting
• Attest
• Compilation
• Management advisory
• Financial advisory
• Tax
• Consulting

If the proposed CPA licensure pathway legislation passes, the experience requirements may also change. The new 120-credit pathway would require two full years of accounting experience.

CPA Exam Requirements

All CPAs must pass the CPA exam, which is developed and scored by the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants (AICPA). The four-section CPA exam features three mandatory core sections and a fourth section that offers you a choice of three disciplines.

While all CPA candidates take the same test, the process leading up to the exam varies by state. To help you prepare for the CPA exam in Minnesota, we've detailed the eligibility requirements and application process below.

Eligibility to Take the Exam

To apply for the CPA exam in Minnesota, you need at least a bachelor's degree from an accredited institution. Your program must have an accounting focus or adequate accounting coverage (minimum of 24 credits).

Candidates can apply for the exam up to 180 days before graduation and can sit for the exam 90 days before graduating. Early test-takers must submit their transcripts to NASBA within 150 days of taking the exam.

Additional exam requirements include:

• Minnesota residency
• Good moral character

Internationally educated candidates can take the CPA exam in Minnesota, but they need to have their education evaluated by an approved service, such as NASBA International Evaluation Services.

Along with the CPA exam, candidates must pass AICPA's professional ethics exam within six months (before or after) of applying for licensure.

Applying for and Scheduling the Exam

To apply for the CPA exam, you must first create a NASBA account. From there, you can access the CPA portal and enter your application information.

You need to submit a transcript from every school you attended to NASBA CPA Examination Services (CPAES), which your schools send on your behalf, along with a $93 education evaluation application fee.

If you're still pursuing a degree when you apply, your school must also send a Certificate of Enrollment on your behalf.

Once CPAES verifies your eligibility, you can apply for one exam section per application. You will choose the section you wish to take (including the discipline if applicable) and pay the $355.64 exam section application fee.

You will then receive a Notice to Schedule (NTS), which gives you a six-month window to take the approved exam section. You can take the sections in any order if you pass all four within a rolling 30-month period that starts when you pass your first section.

You can submit applications for more than one section, but you should only apply for sections you can complete within the six-month NTS window. If you fail a section, you must wait at least 72 hours to reschedule.

After Passing the Exam

After you pass all four sections within 30 months, your exam scores will no longer expire. You can begin the licensure application process at any time, as long as you can provide evidence of 120 hours of continuing professional education (CPE) three years before your application.

Once you start, you have six months to complete the application before it expires.

To apply, you must complete your profile with the Minnesota Board of Accountancy (BOA) and pay the $150 license application fee. You can then submit the following:

• AICPA ethics exam (within six months)
• Official transcripts documenting 150 credits (except for those already with NASBA)
• Supervisor-verified experience verification forms
• Evidence of 120 hours of CPE in the previous three years

The BOA reviews your application within 60 days. You or future employers can verify your license using the BOA's Find a CPA directory.

Maintaining Licensure

In Minnesota, CPA licenses expire every year on Dec. 31. The renewal process begins in the fall and costs $100. There is no grace period, so failure to renew on time leads to an inactive license and additional fees.

A Minnesota CPA must maintain licensure by completing 120 CPE hours every three years, including at least 20 hours each year. A minimum of eight CPE hours must come from regulatory (technical) or behavioral (nontechnical) ethics.

Failure to complete or report your CPE to the board will put your license in a noncompliant status and incur a late processing fee of $50 for the first month and $25 for every following month until the license is compliant.

CPAs report their hours once annually before Dec. 31. They must complete all hours by June 30 to count for that reporting year.

Here are some of the limitations on CPE hours:

• Maximum of 60 hours for presenting or instructing
• Maximum of 60 hours for authoring content
• Minimum of 24 hours from group or blended learning programs
• Minimum of 60 hours from technical learning activities
• Minimum of 72 hours from board-approved CPE sponsors

Out-of-state CPAs can practice in Minnesota if they are licensed in a substantially equivalent state. Firms that offer CPA services in Minnesota require a permit to practice in the state, which requires a CPA-licensed sole proprietor or two-thirds of the ownership from licensed CPAs.

Questions About Minnesota CPAs