Exam Tips

How to Become a Licensed CPA in Oregon

Oregon requires at least a bachelor’s degree and 150 credit hours before you can take the exam. This is unfortunate for students looking register for the test early. All applicants must wait until all educational requirements have been completed before they apply. Also, OR is unique in that you must demonstrate acceptable levels of achievement in seven areas including knowledge of the code and ability to prepare work papers. This is pretty intense! Like a few other states, OR does allow you to get either a CPA or PA license.

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

Oregon CPA Exam Requirements

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

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

Educational Requirements to Sit

Oregon educational qualifications are pretty simple. At least a bachelor’s degree with 150 semester hours is required before you take the test. It must also include the following courses:

 

Bachelor’s Degree (at least 150 semester hours) including:

  • 24 credit hours of Accounting courses including financial and managerial accounting, and auditing.
  • 24 credit hours of General Business courses like Economics, Finance, and Management.

OR does not have current provisions for students to take the exam before they graduate.

Exam Fees

The total cost to take the CPA exam in Oregon is $823.08 including an initial one-time $100 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 $50, so only sign up for the exams that you are ready to sit for in the next 6 months.

CPA License Requirements

The CPA exam process is involved and usually overwhelming for first time applicants. Don’t worry. You will make it! Applying for the test is just the first step in becoming a CPA or PA in OR. We have all done it and know what you are going through. It’s kind of like a right of passage. Once you pass the exam, here is what you need to do before you can legally call yourself a Certified Public Accountant.

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 you are required to complete entire 150 credit hours requirements before you take the exam, you won’t need any more college courses. You will however have to develop your competencies in the seven area’s required by the board.

  • Understanding the Code of Professional Conduct.
  • Ability to assess the achievement of an entity´s objectives
  • Experience in preparing working papers
  • Understanding transactions streams and information systems
  • Skills in risk assessment and verification
  • Skills in decision making, problem solving and critical analytical thinking
  • Ability to express scope of work, findings and conclusions

Work Experience Requirements

Oregon has a one-year work experience qualification that is standard among most states. You will need to complete:

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

More Exam Resources and Information

I know that the application process, gathering your paperwork, and taking the exam is extremely involved especially if you attended more than one college. The Oregon state board will need proof of all of your education. You will have to send in transcripts from every college you’ve attended if more than one.

Contacting the state board during the application process is always a good idea. You can find out if they need anything to approve your application and what they have on file. Nothing is worse than finding out they need something after the fact.

 

Things can get lost or forgotten about. It happens. Unfortunately, most state boards rarely notify you that something is missing. This happened to me. My transcripts actually got lost in the mail. I had to send them twice from one of my colleges! It was a major pain.

Directly contacting the board is the easiest way to confirm that they have everything they need before you get too far along in your application.

Here is the contact info for the state board.

Oregon State Board of Accountancy

Oregon CPA Application Forms

    • 3218 Pringle Road S.E., #110
    • Salem, OR 97302-6307

 

  • Phone: 503-378-4181
  • Fax: 503-378-3575