With accounting firms, corporations and government agencies continuing to seek qualified CPAs, understanding Kansas licensure requirements is an important first step toward advancing your career.
The Kansas Board of Accountancy holds candidates to a specific set of education, examination and experience benchmarks, and missing any one of them can delay your path to licensure by months or years. Pittsburg State University’s online Master of Professional Accountancy (MPAcc) program is built around these benchmarks, giving Kansas-area accounting graduates a direct route to the credit hours, coursework and CPA exam readiness the state expects.
This guide outlines the Kansas CPA requirements you need to meet, including the credit-hour rule, coursework, the four sections of the CPA exam and the post-exam work experience requirement. It also shows how Pitt State’s online MPAcc program prepares professionals for each of these steps, and how licensure in Kansas compares with neighboring Missouri, Oklahoma and Colorado.
Kansas CPA Requirements: Education, Exam and Licensure Steps
Kansas now offers three distinct pathways to CPA licensure under House Bill 2573, a law the Kansas Society of CPAs helped write and Governor Laura Kelly signed on April 9, 2026. Pathway One lets candidates with a bachelor’s degree and an accounting concentration qualify for a CPA permit after two years of verified experience, without ever reaching 150 semester hours. Pathway Two keeps the traditional route: a bachelor’s degree plus 30 additional semester hours (150 total) paired with one year of experience.
Pathway Three covers candidates who hold a post-baccalaureate degree, such as an MPAcc, with an accounting concentration and one year of experience. This is the route Pitt State’s program is designed to satisfy. Regardless of pathway, the Kansas Board of Accountancy requires a specific concentration of coursework comprised of:
- At least 30 semester hours in accounting theory and practice, including financial accounting, managerial accounting beyond the introductory level, auditing, U.S. income tax, and as of January 2024, a course in data analytics
- 42 semester hours in business and general education subjects such as economics, business law, statistics and finance
- 11 semester hours in written and oral communication
Kansas is also a two-tiered state, which means candidates first apply for a CPA certificate after passing the exam and completing the ethics course, then apply separately for a permit to practice once the experience requirement is met.
The experience requirement varies by pathway but always requires verification by a CPA holding an active Kansas permit to practice. Candidates following Pathway Two or Pathway Three need one year of accounting experience gained through employment in government, industry, academia or public practice. In contrast, candidates on the new bachelor’s-only Pathway One need two years to offset the reduced education requirement.
How to Become a CPA in Kansas: A Step-by-Step Guide
Becoming a CPA in Kansas involves six main steps, from meeting education requirements to earning your permit to practice. Here’s what each step entails:
Step 1: Choose your education pathway and complete the required coursework.
Decide early whether you are working toward Pathway One, Two or Three, since the pathway you choose determines whether you need 120 hours, 150 hours or a post-baccalaureate degree. Map your remaining coursework against the Board’s accounting, business and communication requirements so you do not discover a missing course after you have already applied to sit for the exam.
Step 2: Apply to sit for the CPA exam.
Kansas candidates apply through CPA Examination Services, NASBA’s application service for the state, rather than directly through the Kansas Board of Accountancy. You may apply and sit for your first section up to 60 days before finishing your education requirements, as long as you submit final transcripts within 120 days of your first exam section.
Step 3: Schedule and pass all four sections of the exam.
Once the Board issues your Notice to Schedule, you have six months to book your sections at a Prometric testing center, including the four Kansas locations in Topeka, Wichita, Overland Park and Hays. You must pass three Core sections and one Discipline section within a 30-month rolling window that starts once you pass your first section. Each section is scored on a 0 to 99 scale with a score of 75 required to pass.
Step 4: Pass the AICPA ethics exam.
After clearing all four sections, Kansas requires you to pass the AICPA’s Professional Ethics course before the Board will issue your CPA certificate. This is a self-study exam and most candidates complete the ethics exam within a few weeks of passing the CPA exam.
Step 5: Apply for your CPA certificate.
Submit the Application for Certificate by Passing Examination along with a $50 fee once you have passed the exam and the ethics course. At this point, you can use the CPA designation as a credential, but you cannot yet perform attest or non-attest services for the public.
Step 6: Complete your experience requirement and apply for your permit to practice.
Gain the one or two years of verified accounting experience required for your pathway, then apply for your permit to practice. Only after receiving this permit can you sign reports, provide public accounting services or otherwise present as a practicing CPA in Kansas.
Following these six steps in order sets you up to earn your CPA license in Kansas without costly delays or missed deadlines. Once you hold your permit to practice, you’re fully licensed to serve the public as a CPA in the state.
CPA Exam Requirements You Need to Know Before You Apply
The Uniform CPA Exam changed structure in January 2024 under the CPA Evolution model. Candidates in every state, including Kansas, sit for the same exam. Every candidate must pass three Core sections — Auditing and Attestation (AUD), Financial Accounting and Reporting (FAR) and Taxation and Regulation (REG), plus one Discipline section chosen from Business Analysis and Reporting (BAR), Information Systems and Controls (ISC) or Tax Compliance and Planning (TCP). Each section runs four hours and the Discipline section you choose does not limit which area of public accounting you can practice once licensed.
Passing scores are set at 75 on a 0 to 99 scale for every section, and candidates no longer have to sit for all four sections within a tight window. In 2023, NASBA extended the rolling window for completing the remaining sections from 18 months to 30 months after your first pass, a change Kansas and most other states have since adopted. Continuous testing means you can reapply for a failed section as soon as you receive your score, rather than waiting for a fixed testing window to reopen.
Before you can apply, confirm you meet Kansas’s education requirement for your chosen pathway and gather your transcripts, since the Board requires final documentation within 120 days of your first exam section if you sit early. Application and score reporting run through CPA Examination Services and NASBA rather than the Kansas Board of Accountancy directly, so budget extra time for transcript processing and Notice to Schedule issuance before you lock in a testing date.
How the Pitt State MPAcc Program Satisfies Kansas CPA Requirements
While understanding the requirements is important, many candidates also want to know how to efficiently meet them. That’s where a graduate accounting program can help.
Pittsburg State University’s online Master of Professional Accountancy program prepares graduates for Pathway Three. The post-baccalaureate program with an accounting concentration satisfies Kansas’s education requirement without needing to separately track 150 individual semester hours.
The 30-credit-hour program is delivered across 10 courses through the Gladys A. Kelce College of Business, which is accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), a distinction held by fewer than 6% of business schools worldwide. Admission to the program requires only a bachelor’s degree in accounting from a U.S.-accredited institution, a 3.0 GPA and a resume. No GMAT or GRE scores are required.
The program curriculum lines up directly with CPA exam content areas the Kansas Board requires. Courses such as Financial Statement Auditing, Income Tax Transactions, Financial Statement Analysis and Governmental and Nonprofit Accounting mirror the Core and Discipline topics tested on the AUD, FAR and REG sections. The courses Tax Research and Management Control Systems build the analytical skills auditors and tax preparers use daily. Rounding out the program, the courses International Business, Marketing Strategy, Financial Strategy and Leadership and Behavioral Management add the business and communication depth the Board expects from a concentration in accounting.
Because Pitt State’s online MPAcc is a post-baccalaureate degree with an accounting concentration, graduates move directly into Pathway Three’s one-year experience requirement rather than the two-year requirement attached to the bachelor’s-only pathway. For most students, that difference alone can shave a full year off the timeline to a permit to practice.
Kansas CPA Requirements vs. Neighboring States: Missouri, Oklahoma and Colorado
Kansas is not the only state rethinking the traditional 150-hour rule. Missouri still requires the full 150 semester hours, including at least 30 hours in accounting and 30 hours in business, along with 2,000 hours of experience completed within one to three years, and has not adopted an alternative pathway as of August, 2026. Oklahoma allows candidates to sit for the exam at 120 semester hours with an accounting concentration of at least 24 hours above introductory coursework. However, full licensure still requires 150 total hours and one year (1,800 hours) of experience within the four years preceding application.
Colorado is moving in the same direction as Kansas. Through the end of 2026, Colorado candidates need the traditional 150 semester hours (33 in accounting and 27 in business), plus one year of supervised experience. Starting January 1, 2027, Colorado’s SB26-076 introduces three pathways nearly identical to Kansas’s HB 2573: a bachelor’s degree with two years of experience, a bachelor’s plus 30 hours with one year of experience or a post-baccalaureate degree with one year of experience.
For many students, a post-baccalaureate accounting degree can provide one of the most efficient routes to licensure across the region. Whether you plan to practice in Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma or Colorado, an MPAcc keeps your experience requirement at one year instead of two.
Completing Your MPAcc Online While You Continue to Work
Most CPA candidates are not sitting in a traditional classroom anymore, and Pitt State built its MPAcc program around that reality. Courses run 100% online in a seven-week format with multiple start dates throughout the year (Summer, Fall and Spring terms), so working accountants can start the program CPA without waiting for a single August enrollment date. There are no required campus visits, which matters for candidates spread across Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma and Colorado who are already balancing a job with graduate coursework.
Because the program totals 30 credit hours across 10 courses, most students finish in as few as 12 months. For accounting graduates searching for an accounting master’s online that gets them to the CPA exam and a permit to practice as quickly as possible, the combination of convenience, flexibility and affordability Pitt State offers is difficult to match with a traditional on-campus program.
Meet Kansas CPA Requirements Through Pitt State’s Online MPAcc Program
Whether you are choosing between Kansas’s three CPA pathways or trying to reach 150 semester hours as efficiently as possible, Pittsburg State’s online MPAcc program gives you a route to the CPA exam and licensure, backed by AACSB accreditation. The program lets you complete coursework on your schedule while working, so you can build the credit hours Kansas requires without pausing your career.
Faculty with real accounting practice experience teach the curriculum, giving you preparation that reflects what employers in Kansas and beyond expect from a CPA candidate. Graduates of the program carry a credential recognized across public accounting firms, corporate finance teams and government agencies, opening doors that a bachelor’s degree alone cannot.
Learn more about Pittsburg State University’s online Master of Professional Accountancy program.
About Pittsburg State University
Pittsburg State University is a public university in Pittsburg, Kansas, founded in 1903 and governed by the Kansas Board of Regents. The university is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission, and its Gladys A. Kelce College of Business holds AACSB International accreditation, a distinction held by a small share of business schools worldwide.
Pitt State offers more than 100 undergraduate and graduate programs, including the online Master of Professional Accountancy program featured in this guide. Through its online programs, the university extends that same accredited business education to working professionals across Kansas and beyond who need a flexible path toward an advanced accounting degree and CPA licensure.
