California

California Board of Accountancy
www.dca.ca.gov/cba

To sit for the Exam: a baccalaureate degree or higher including 24 semester units each of accounting and business-related subjects, or enrollment within 180 days of meeting that requirement ("early entry"). For full licensure: 150 total semester units, including 24 units of accounting subjects, 24 units of business-related subjects, 20 units of accounting study, and 10 units of ethics study. Assembly Bill 1175 has moved California toward a bachelor's-degree-with-accounting-concentration standard rather than a flat 150-unit count — confirm the current post-AB-1175 framing with the Board.

General licensure experience is not fully detailed on the page CARE reviewed; California's Practice Privilege pathway (for already-licensed out-of-state CPAs) separately requires one to four years of verified experience depending on pathway. Confirm first-time-licensure experience specifics with the Board.

Yes, a separate ethics exam/course is required.

Yes — candidates can typically sit for the Exam before finishing all coursework required for full licensure (e.g. at 120 semester hours, finishing the rest before licensure).

California publishes a dedicated Ethics Study Guidelines page and an "Early Entry to CPA Exam" pathway. AB 1175 is actively changing California's education framework — treat any specific unit count here as provisional pending the Board's finalized post-AB-1175 guidance.

https://www.dca.ca.gov/cba/applicants/cba_semester_educational_req_flyer.pdf — accessed 2026-09-30