Exam Tips

How to Become a Licensed CPA in Wyoming

Wyoming requires 150 college credit hours to take the CPA exam and be eligible for licensure. This is the new standard educational requirement that most states are adopting along with a bachelor’s degree and a work experience program. WY also mandates that candidates must be residents, regularly employed in the state, or a graduate of U of W in order to sit for the exam. Keep this in mind, if you are an out-of-state-student.

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

Wyoming CPA Exam Requirements

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

  • Must be at least 18 years old
  • Not Required to be a US citizen
  • Must be a WY resident
  • Valid Social Security Number Required
  • WY does participate in the International Examination Program

Educational Requirements to Sit

Since Wyoming doesn’t allow students to take the exam before graduation, you must complete a bachelor’s degree including at least 150 credit hours before you will be eligible to sit for the exam. Here is what you need:

 

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

  • 24 hours of Accounting courses
  • 24 hours of General business courses

Exam Fees

The total cost to take the CPA exam in Wyoming is $853.08 including an initial one-time $110 application fee. The cost for each section is listed below.

 

AUD – Audit $195.35
FAR – Financial Accounting and Reporting $195.35
BEC – Business Environment and Concepts $176.25
REG – Regulation $176.25

 

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

IMPORTANT – I know you are excited to register, but don’t sign up for all four sections at once. This will end up costing you more down the road because your notice to sit will expire in 6 months if you don’t take the exam. This means you will have to re-register and pay an additional registration fee. 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 application process is complicated especially for initial applicants. Don’t get discouraged; you can do it! Your application is the first step in becoming a Certified Public Accountant in WY. It will be over soon. We’ve all have been there; it’s kind of a right of passage. After you pass the exam, here are the things you need to do before you can legally call yourself a CPA.

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 already completed your 150 credit hours before you took the exam, you don’t need any more college classes.

Work Experience Requirements

Wyoming 1-year work experience program is pretty standard among most states. Here are the details.

1-year or 2,000 hours of general accounting or auditing skills in Public Accounting, Academia, or Private Industry verified by an active CPA.

More Exam Resources and Information

Your first application is kind of intimidating particularly if you attended more than one school. The Wyoming State Board of Accounting will need copies of transcripts from each college you’ve attended.

This is the main reason why I recommend calling the state during your application process. They will let you know what they have on file and what they need before your application can be accepted. Nothing is worse than finding out you overlooked something at the end of the process.

 

State boards rarely notify you that something is missing. Sometimes mail gets lost. It happens. Unfortunately, I know this firsthand. One of my college transcripts got lost in the mail. I had to send them twice! It was a huge pain. Not to mention, it added two weeks on the process.

Directly contacting the board is the best way to make sure they have everything they need before you get too far along in your application.

Here is the contact info for the state board.

Wyoming State Board of Accountancy

Wyoming CPA Application Forms

    • 2020 Carey Avenue, Suite 702
    • Cheyenne, WY 82002-0610

 

  • Phone: 307-777-7551
  • Fax: 307-777-3796