How to Apply for the CPA Exam
Start with your jurisdiction. That one choice determines whether CPAES handles the application or whether you must follow a board-specific path.
Quick answer
First choose the jurisdiction where you will apply. If it appears on the current CPAES list, use the NASBA CPA Portal workflow. If it does not, follow the board or its designated processor. Apply for one exam section, receive the NTS, then schedule with Prometric.
Step 1: choose the correct application path
Use the NASBA CPA Portal
CPAES handles services such as application processing and credential evaluation for the current listed jurisdictions. Florida eligibility is determined by the Board before the NASBA application.
Open the CPA Portal guideUse the board-specific instructions
Do not send transcripts or fees to CPAES unless your jurisdiction tells you to. Follow the board or authorized processor listed in its current application materials.
Find your state boardEligibility review and an Exam Section Application are different decisions
First, the jurisdiction or its processor decides whether your education and other application materials make you eligible. After that approval, you select and pay for an exam section through the workflow assigned to your jurisdiction. Exact portal labels vary, but an eligibility file and an Exam Section Application do not answer the same question.
This distinction matters when a dashboard looks incomplete. A paid section application cannot cure a transcript that never reached the eligibility evaluator, and a completed eligibility evaluation does not create an NTS until the required section application and payment are finished. Identify which stage owns the missing action before submitting anything again.
Build the application packet before opening the portal
Collect the decision inputs in one place before paying. This does not replace the jurisdiction checklist; it gives you a reconciliation sheet so names, destinations, and dates stay consistent across the board, evaluator, NASBA, and Prometric.
| Packet item | What to record | Failure it prevents |
|---|---|---|
| Identity | Legal name exactly as it will appear on acceptable test-day identification | An NTS and ID mismatch at Prometric |
| Jurisdiction | The board whose eligibility rules and application path you are using | Choosing from residence or test-center location instead |
| Education documents | Every transcript or evaluation, its required sender, and its exact recipient | Paying while the eligibility file remains incomplete |
| Exam section | One section you can prepare for and take inside the NTS validity period | Buying an authorization that expires before use |
| Special conditions | International testing, accommodations, name changes, or another required approval | Discovering a separate process only after scheduling |
| Current cost | Application, evaluation, section, and applicable international amounts with source dates | Using an old fee summary as a current quote |
Three illustrative application-path examples
These CPAPass scenarios show how the official source boundaries change the workflow. They do not replace the selected jurisdiction's current instructions or promise the same processing time.
CPAES example
New Jersey candidate
The candidate confirms New Jersey is on the current CPAES list, follows the CPA Portal eligibility instructions, sends each document to the stated destination, waits for the file and eligibility decision, then submits one Exam Section Application. After the NTS appears, the candidate checks the name, section, and expiration before scheduling with Prometric.
Board-specific example
California candidate
The candidate begins with the California board's current application instructions because California is not on the CPAES list. Transcripts, fees, and eligibility actions follow that published route. Only after the responsible organizations issue the authorization does the candidate use the scheduling information supplied for Prometric.
International example
Testing outside the United States
The candidate still applies through a participating U.S. jurisdiction. After receiving an NTS, the candidate completes the international-testing registration and applicable payment before scheduling an authorized international location. Prometric requires a passport for CPA testing at an international location, so the registration name must be checked against that passport.
Use the application period productively
Once you know the section you plan to apply for, create a free account and begin section-specific practice while the responsible organization reviews the administrative file.
View the 36 current CPAES jurisdictions
List reviewed 2026-08-02. Confirm the current official list before submitting documents or fees.
Steps 2-5: complete the application and schedule
- Verify eligibility with the selected jurisdiction. Education, residency, evaluation, and document requirements vary. Requirements ownership remains with the relevant board and our CPA Exam requirements guide.
- Send documents to the destination in that application. Do not assume every transcript goes to CPAES. Follow the exact recipient and delivery method for your path.
- Apply for one exam section. Current NASBA guidance permits one section per exam section application. Apply only when you can test within the NTS validity shown for your jurisdiction.
- Receive and save the NTS. Check your name, section ID, jurisdiction, and expiration date. The NTS period is not universally six months.
- Schedule with Prometric. NASBA recommends scheduling about 45 days ahead and requires at least five days. Seat availability and test-center hours vary.
Who owns each application stage
A stalled application becomes easier to diagnose when you contact the organization that controls the current stage. The board or authorized evaluator owns eligibility requirements. CPAES owns the processing steps it performs for listed jurisdictions. Prometric owns appointment delivery, not the eligibility decision or the contents of an NTS.
Documents or evaluation not complete
Owner: Board, CPAES, or the evaluator named by the application
Next action: Match each required document to delivery evidence and ask which item remains incomplete.
Eligibility decision pending
Owner: Board or application processor
Next action: Confirm the file is complete before asking for timing or resubmitting a paid item.
NTS missing or incorrect
Owner: The organization that issued the authorization
Next action: Resolve the name, section, jurisdiction, or date before scheduling the appointment.
Seat or appointment problem
Owner: Prometric
Next action: Use the correct section ID and NTS validity, then retain the appointment confirmation.
Read every field on the NTS before scheduling
Treat the NTS as an authorization with boundaries, not as a generic admission ticket. Confirm the candidate name, jurisdiction, exam section, section ID, Launch Code, and the dates that control when the authorization can be used. The section ID is used when scheduling with Prometric; the Launch Code is used to begin the exam at the test center. Download and print the NTS, keep a saved backup, and bring the current document as the Candidate Guide directs. Do not rely on portal access at the test center or reuse a section ID for another appointment.
If the name does not match the identification you will present, or the section or regional designation is wrong, contact the issuing organization before scheduling. Prometric can deliver an appointment only against the authorization it receives; it cannot rewrite an eligibility decision made by the board or application service.
Prepare the application before you pay
Put the legal name you will use for testing, the selected jurisdiction, one selected exam section, and the required document destinations in one checklist. Confirm whether transcripts must come directly from a school and whether a foreign-education evaluation applies to your path. Then record the current fee total and the NTS validity shown by the jurisdiction.
This prevents a common mismatch: paying through the correct portal while sending a transcript to the wrong processor. The portal receipt proves payment, but it does not prove that every required document reached the organization responsible for the eligibility decision.
Before paying
If the application or NTS is wrong
- The status does not move: compare the portal checklist with delivery confirmation for every transcript or evaluation. Ask the application service which requirement is incomplete before resubmitting a document or paying again.
- The name, jurisdiction, or section is wrong: contact the responsible application service before scheduling. Do not assume Prometric can correct an NTS issued by another organization.
- The NTS may expire before a seat is available: search current Prometric availability immediately and use the expiration printed on the NTS. A general validity estimate does not extend it.
- The jurisdiction is not on the CPAES list: return to that board's current application instructions instead of forcing the CPAES path.
Use the waiting period
Start free practice for the section on your application
Create a free CPAPass account while documents are processed or while you wait for your test date. Keep the section you selected and your practice history together.
Official application and scheduling links
Application is not licensure
Turn application time into practice time
Create a free account and begin targeted practice for the exact CPA Exam section you plan to schedule.
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