Exam Tips

How to Become a Licensed CPA in Mississippi

Mississippi is one of the few states that require both residency status and 150 credit hours of college courses in order to sit for the exam as well as obtain a CPA license. These rules are pretty strict compared with other state requirements because the 150-hour rule includes at least a bachelor’s degree in accounting along with specific courses.

Let’s take a look at what you need to do to take the exam and get licensed.

Mississippi CPA Exam Requirements

In order to be eligible to sit for the exam in Mississippi, candidates must meet the following personal qualifications and educational requirements.

  • No minimum age limit
  • Not Required to be a US citizen
  • Must be an MS resident
  • Valid Social Security Number required
  • MS does not participate in the International Examination Program

Educational Requirements to Sit

Mississippi enacted a full 150-credit rule that does not allow candidates to sit for the exam until they have completed at least a bachelor’s degree and other courses. Students usually accomplish this by either double majoring or getting a master’s degree after their undergraduate. Here’s what you will need to do:

 

Bachelor’s Degree (at least 120 semester hours) or higher including:

  • 24 credit hours of upper level Accounting including:
    • 3 hours in financial accounting
    • 3 hours in auditing
    • 3 hours in cost accounting
    • 3 hours in taxation
  • 24 credit hours of General Business courses including: Management, Finance, Business Law, and Computer Information Systems

Unfortunately, MS does not currently allow student candidates to sit for the exam until all of the educational courses have been completed.

Exam Fees

The total cost to take the CPA exam in Mississippi is $879.08 including an initial one-time $150 application fee. The cost for each section is listed below.

 

AUD – Audit $192.03
FAR – Financial Accounting and Reporting $192.03
BEC – Business Environment and Concepts $172.51
REG – Regulation $172.51

 

The fees are typically based on the duration of the exam. That’s why the FAR and AUD exams cost the most.

IMPORTANT – Don’t try to get ahead of yourself and register for all four sections at once. Your notice to sit (NIT) will expire if you don’t take the exam in 6 months and you will have to re-register. The bummer is you will have to pay again in order to register. Re-registration application fees are $100 and varied depending on how many you register for, so only sign up for the exams that you are ready to sit for in the next 6 months.

CPA License Requirements

The whole exam process can be kind of overwhelming when you first start looking into it. It’s okay! You can make it. Applying and registering for the test is just the first step in becoming a CPA in MS. Once you pass the exam, there are a few simple things you have to do before you can legally call yourself a Certified Public Accountant.

It’s important to know that you must obtain your license within 5 years from passing the exam. Here is the basic process.

Pass the Exam

You’ll have to pass all four sections of the exam with a score of at least 75 in an 18-month period.

Paperwork

Submit all the required paperwork to the state board usually includes transcripts, license application, and proof of work experience.

Fees

Pay the license/certification fees with your application.

Ethics Exam

Take and pass the AICPA Professional Ethics exam (found on the AICPA website)

Additional Education

Since MS requires that you complete 150 hours before you are eligible to take the exam, there are no more additional courses that you need to take.

Work Experience Requirements

Mississippi’s one-year work experience requirement is pretty standard among all states. This must be completed after you pass all four sections of the exam in order to get your full license. Here are the details.

1-year or 2,000 hours of general accounting and auditing skills in Public Accounting, Governmental Accounting, or Private Industry supervised and verified by a CPA in good standing.

 

Note: Universities and academic settings will not fulfill the work experience requirements.

More Exam Resources and Information

I know gathering your paperwork to be mail to the state, the application process, and taking the exam can be pretty involved. It can be even worse if you transferred to multiple colleges during your undergraduate program. Yes, the Mississippi state board needs proof of all of your education. This means so you’ll need to send in transcripts from every college you’ve attended. This can be a pain. I know.

This is why I think it’s always a good idea to contact the state board directly. You can find out what they already have on file and more importantly what they need to complete your application. Nothing is worse than finding out they need something after the fact.

 

For example, sometimes the state doesn’t receive your test scores from Prometrics. Unfortunately, most state boards rarely notify you that something is missing. Directly contacting the board is the fastest way to confirm that they have everything they need before you get too far along in the process.

Here is the contact info for the state board.

Mississippi State Board of Accountancy

Mississippi CPA Application Forms

    • 5 Old River Place, Suite 104
    • Jackson, MS 39202-3449

 

  • Phone: 601-354-7320
  • Fax: 601-354-729