Education for the CPA certificate: the 150-hour route and the new bachelor’s-plus-two pathway

In this lesson you will

List the three education pathways in UAA Section 5(c)(2)
Match each pathway to its UAA experience requirement
Distinguish the education needed to sit from the education needed to be licensed
Determine whether a pathway is available in a given state

Two education tests, not one

The Uniform Accountancy Act (UAA), the model law jointly owned by the AICPA and NASBA, separates two education points. Section 5(c)(1) sets what you need to apply for the exam: a baccalaureate or higher degree with an accounting concentration or equivalent, as defined by board rule. Section 5(c)(2) sets what you need for the certificate. Many candidates sit before they finish the certificate education.

The three pathways in the Ninth Edition

NASBA and the AICPA published the UAA Ninth Edition in July 2025. Section 5(c)(2) lets an applicant meet the certificate education requirement through any of these:

Pathway	Education (UAA 5(c)(2))	Experience (UAA 5(f))
A	Post-baccalaureate degree with an accounting concentration or equivalent	One year
B	Baccalaureate degree plus an additional 30 semester credit hours, with an accounting concentration or equivalent	One year
C	Baccalaureate degree with an accounting concentration or equivalent	Two years

Pathway B is the familiar "150-hour" route: a typical 120-credit bachelor's degree plus 30 more credits. Pathway C is new in the Ninth Edition: a bachelor's degree, two years of experience and the exam. The accounting concentration under every pathway is defined by board rule, and the board decides which colleges are acceptable.

Adoption is state by state

The UAA is a model. NASBA's announcement states that individual states must formally enact legislation, adopt rules and regulations, or both before candidates can use the new pathway. ThisWayToCPA states that the master's-plus-one and bachelor's-plus-30-plus-one paths are currently recognized in all states, while each state must enact legislation or update rules to adopt the bachelor's-plus-two path. So the answer to "can I use pathway C?" is in your board's statute and rules, not the UAA.

The Ninth Edition also rewrote mobility (lesson 10). Section 23(a)(1) lists all three combinations of education and experience as meeting the mobility standard, and Section 23(a)(2) adds safe-harbor language for CPAs who held a valid active license and practice privileges as of December 31, 2024. Mobility for a pathway C licensee still depends on the host state: ThisWayToCPA notes that the master's-plus-one and bachelor's-plus-30-plus-one routes are recognized in every state, while flexibility under the bachelor's-plus-two route grows only as more states adopt it.

How firms apply this

Recruiting and HR teams now plan around pathways:

A graduate with 120 credits in a state that has adopted pathway C can start the clock on two years of experience immediately rather than returning to school.
A graduate in a state that has not adopted it still needs 30 more credits for pathway B.
Credit counts follow the board's rules on acceptable institutions and on what counts toward the accounting concentration. Transcript evaluation, not the candidate's own tally, decides.

The pathway guide covers the change, and the 150-hour guide covers how the older route works.

Mistakes to avoid

Assuming the exam eligibility rule and the certificate rule are the same.
Citing the UAA as if it were a state's law. Only adopted statutes and board rules bind.
Counting graduate or certificate courses the board does not accept toward the concentration.
Moving to a pathway C state mid-process without checking how the new board treats experience already earned.

Worked example

Counting credits under two pathways

Lena Brooks graduates with a bachelor's degree in accounting earned with 120 semester credit hours. Her board has adopted UAA pathways A, B and C. The board has confirmed that her accounting coursework meets its concentration rule.

Pathway B: she needs a bachelor's degree plus an additional 30 semester credit hours: 120 + 30 = 150 in total, so 30 more credits, then one year of experience. If she takes 9 credits a semester, 30 / 9 = 3.33, so four semesters of part-time study, then one year of experience.

Pathway C: she needs only the bachelor's degree with the concentration, plus two years of experience as defined by board rule.

She starts full-time work at Fairmont Lane CPAs in July. Under pathway C she meets the experience requirement after two years, provided the experience meets the board's definition and is verified by a licensee. Under pathway B she would finish the 30 credits after four semesters and then still need one year of qualifying experience; if she worked while taking classes, her board's rule decides whether those months count toward the year.

Conclusion: pathway C gives Lena a clean two-year path with no extra credits, available only because her board adopted it.

Self-check

Answer each question before you open the answer.

Which UAA section sets the education required to apply for the exam, and which sets the education for the certificate?
Show answer
Section 5(c)(1) sets the education to apply for the exam; Section 5(c)(2) sets the three pathways for the certificate.
How much experience does UAA Section 5(f) require for an applicant under the bachelor’s-only pathway?
Show answer
Two years, as defined by board rule, under Section 5(f)(2). Applicants under the post-baccalaureate and bachelor’s-plus-30 pathways need one year under Section 5(f)(1).
A candidate reads that the UAA added a bachelor’s-plus-two pathway. Can she rely on it in her state?
Show answer
Only if her state has adopted it. The UAA is a model; NASBA states that states must enact legislation or adopt rules before candidates can use the new pathway.

Sources

Back to the syllabus

Standards are paraphrased from the primary sources listed above; read the source before relying on a requirement. This lesson is training material, not professional advice. Report an error