Eligibility

International candidates are eligible to qualify as U.S. Certified Public Accountants (CPAs) as long as they meet Board of Accountancy eligibility requirements in one of 54 U.S jurisdictions - the 50 states, District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands and Guam. (The 55th jurisdiction, the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands, is not yet ready to accept CPA applicants).

Candidates must be able to take the CPA Examination in English. (It is not available in any other language).

Qualifying through a board of accountancy is the ONLY route to the CPA designation. There is NO central professional body in the U.S. through which candidates may qualify as CPAs.

Applying for the Uniform CPA Examination

The application process is basically the same for U.S. and international candidates alike. Prospective candidates must select the U.S. jurisdiction to which they will apply, contact the Board of Accountancy (or its agent) in that jurisdiction to obtain application materials, submit completed applications and required fees as instructed, and once deemed qualified, schedule the examination. Any special requirements that international applicants must meet (such as arranging for an evaluation of their educational credentials by an agency approved by the board) are explained in accountancy board application instructions.

Prospective candidates who are undecided about the jurisdiction to which they should apply may wish to review the requirements of several Boards of Accountancy before making their decisions. Contact information for all boards is available at www.nasba.org.

Testing in International Locations

Starting on August 1, 2011, the eligible candidates have the opportunity to take the CPA Examination at Prometric test centers in Bahrain, Kuwait, Japan, Lebanon, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). In order to qualify to take the CPA Examination outside the U.S., candidates will have to first establish their eligibility through application to a state board participating in the International CPA Examination Administration Program.

For specific instructions on how to apply to take the CPA Examination, please visit the CPA Exam section of the NASBA website.

Common questions regarding the International CPA Examination Administration Program are answered in the International CPA Exam FAQs. 

Applying for IQEX (International Uniform Certified Public Accountant Qualification Examination)

IQEX is a four-and-a-half hour examination designed to facilitate the U.S. CPA qualification process for those accounting professionals from other countries whose professional bodies have entered into reciprocity agreements with the U.S. accounting profession. Such agreements are currently in effect with the following organizations:

• Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants (CICA)
• Instituto Mexicano De Contadores Publicos (IMCP)
• Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland (ICAI)
• Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia (ICAA)
• Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants (HKICPA) 
• New Zealand Institute of Chartered Accountants (NZICA)

The International Topics: Frequently Asked Questions may address many of your questions.

Detailed information about IQEX eligibility requirements and IQEX application materials are available from NASBA at www.nasba.org.

Announcement: In November 2012, IQEX will transition to a new format that will use an administration of the Uniform CPA Examination's Regulation section. As part of the transition, the IQEX exam will no longer have a dedicated content specification outline (CSO) and will instead assume the content outlined in the Regulation section of the Uniform CPA Examination CSOs. For more information please read the November 2012 IQEX Transition Information announcement.