Washington

Washington State Board of Accountancy
acb.wa.gov

CORRECTED 2026-09-30 — an earlier record in this file claimed Washington required 150 semester hours before Exam eligibility itself; that was wrong even as of its own research date and is now doubly outdated. Washington has required only 120 semester (180 quarter) hours, including a baccalaureate degree, to SIT for the Exam since April 1, 2023 — the ordinary 120-to-sit pattern most states use, not an outlier. For full LICENSURE, effective November 20, 2025 (WSR 25-21-108) Washington offers two pathways: the traditional 150-semester-hour pathway (bachelor's + accounting/business coursework, preserved but set to sunset December 31, 2035), or a new alternative — a bachelor's degree (120 hours) with the required accounting/business coursework plus 2 years of verified experience, with no additional 30 hours needed.

1 year (minimum 2,000 hours) of qualifying experience under the traditional 150-hour pathway (typically paired with a master's degree or the extra 30 hours); 2 years (minimum 4,000 hours) under the new 120-hour bachelor's-plus-experience pathway (effective November 20, 2025). Experience must be in accounting, attest, management advisory, financial advisory, tax, tax advisory, or consulting work, verified by a licensed CPA.

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).

Washington is NOT the sit-at-150 outlier an earlier version of this record claimed — that claim was wrong. The real, current nuance is the reverse: Washington was one of the earlier states to move to a 120-to-sit standard (April 2023) and has since (November 20, 2025) added a full 120-hour bachelor's-plus-2-years alternative LICENSURE pathway alongside the traditional 150-hour one, which sunsets December 31, 2035. Confirm current pathway specifics directly with the Board given how recent the November 2025 change is.

https://acb.wa.gov/about-us/board-rule-making/board-rule-making-2025-cpa-license-requirements-education-and-experience — accessed 2026-09-30