• Be of good moral character;
• Be at least 18 years of age;
• Possess the equivalent of a U.S. bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited college or university which includes at least 30 hours must be in accounting. No more than three of the 30 hours may be in business law.

All education requirements must be completed at the time of application. All education transcripts and/or international evaluations are to be submitted at the time of the first-time application to CPA Examination Services directly from the academic institution(s).

Applicants for a certificate will be required to have the equivalent of at least 150 semester hours of college education (Rule 61-28B 8).

Transcripts

If you have completed all educational requirements at the time of application:

• You must submit an official transcript from each school you attended. Transfer credits are not acceptable; you must submit a transcript from each institution.
• Official transcripts are those that have been issued by the institution’s Registrar’s Office and include the Registrar’s official seal.
• The degree you have earned must be posted on your official transcript.
• Your official transcript(s) must be submitted directly from the institution(s).
• Transcripts may be submitted electronically provided they are official. Some schools do not offer this service. Contact your Registrar’s office for additional information. If an email address is required for electronic delivery, use etranscript@nasba.org. Electronically delivered transcripts must be submitted directly from the institution(s).
• Photocopies of transcripts are not official and cannot be accepted.
• If required documentation is not received within 45 days of the submission date of your application, your application will be marked as incomplete and will not be processed further. Failure to submit all required supporting documents will result in the denial of your application, forfeiture of your application fee, and the secure destruction of all documents submitted.
• Please Note: If you have not yet applied when you submit your transcripts, your education documents will be kept on file for one year. After that time, the documents will be destroyed, and you will need to resubmit new education documents when you apply.
• If you completed courses at a campus located outside the U.S. for a school located in the U.S., the official transcript must be issued by the registrar from the U.S. campus. Transcripts issued by the registrar for the campus located outside the U.S. will not be accepted.

If you have completed educational requirements at institutions outside the U.S., you must:

• have your educational credentials evaluated by:
  • NASBA International Evaluation Services, or
  • any member organization of the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (NACES).
• obtain the form to request this service from the evaluation service agency,
• submit a translated copy of each international transcript used for the evaluation,
• require the agency to evaluate as follows:
  • An equivalency summary that indicates the analogous academic degrees in the U.S. you hold;
  • A credential analysis that specifies:
    • The name of the country;
    • The degree awarded;
    • The year the degree was awarded; and
    • The entity that awarded the degree;
  • A course-by-course listing; and
  • A course credit analysis that includes:
    • Total credits earned toward the degree as stated on transcripts submitted;
    • Total accounting credits earned; and
    • Total business credits earned.
• Completed original evaluations must be received by CPAES directly from the evaluation service at the time of application. Photocopies are not acceptable.
• If required documentation is not received within 45 days of the submission date of your application, your application will be marked as incomplete and will not be processed further. Failure to submit all required supporting documents will result in the denial of your application, forfeiture of your application fee, and the secure destruction of all documents submitted.
• A copy of the international transcript must be included with the report sent to NASBA for each individual evaluation from the evaluation service. The application will be considered incomplete without these documents and the processing of the application will not move forward until transcripts are provided.
• Please Note: If you have not yet applied, education documents received will be kept on file for one year. After that time, these documents will be destroyed, and you will need to resubmit new education documents at the time of application.
• If you completed courses at a campus located outside the U.S. for a school located in the U.S., the official transcript must be issued by the registrar from the U.S. campus. Transcripts issued by the registrar for the campus located outside the U.S. will not be accepted.
• Education requirements must be met through academic coursework completed at an accredited institution. Professional training is not acceptable toward these requirements. Coursework completed as part of a Chartered Accountant or similar program is considered professional training and is, therefore, not accepted toward the education requirements for the U.S. Uniform CPA Examination.
• You must have the equivalent of a U.S. bachelor’s degree. A three-year baccalaureate completed outside the U.S. is not equivalent to a U.S. bachelor’s degree.

Course Requirements

• Commercial CPA review courses are not acceptable.
• Finance courses are not acceptable in lieu of accounting courses.
• Photocopies or transcripts “Issued to Student” are not acceptable.
• Education earned at a regionally accredited community college or two-year degree granting institution is acceptable.
• Correspondence, pass/fail grades, and CLEP credit are acceptable when you receive credit for the courses at a regionally accredited university. These courses must appear on an official transcript.

Residency

There is not a residency requirement for the state of New Mexico.

Examination Fees

Registration fees