§ 40-2-35 — Requirements for license to practice; fulfilling education, examinations, and experience requirements.

(A) The board shall grant a license to practice as a certified public accountant to persons who make application and provide the following: (1) evidence of good moral character, which includes a lack of a history of: (a) any conviction of a felony that has an element of dishonesty or fraud or any other crime that has an element of dishonesty or fraud, under the laws of the United States, of this State, or of any other state if the acts involved constitute a crime under state laws; (b) an active or stayed revocation or suspension of any occupational license, privilege, or other authority to practice any licensed occupation by or before any state, federal, foreign, or other licensing or regulatory authority, provided that the grounds include wrongful conduct, such as fraud, dishonesty, or deceit, or any other conduct that evidences any unfitness of the applicant to practice public accountancy; and (c) any acts that would be grounds for the revocation or suspension of a license if committed by a licensee; (2) a transcript or transcripts showing that the candidate meets the educational requirements pursuant to subsection (C); (3) evidence of a passing score on a standardized test of accounting knowledge, skills, and abilities approved by the board and substantially equivalent to the Uniform CPA Examination; (4) evidence of a passing score on an examination in professional ethics as approved by the board and an affidavit by the candidate acknowledging that he or she has read the statute and regulations governing the practice of accountancy in South Carolina and subscribes both to the spirit and letter of the statute and regulations and agrees to observe them faithfully in the performance of his or her professional work; and (5) evidence of appropriate experience. (B)(1) In addition to other requirements established by law and for the purpose of determining an applicant's eligibility for licensure to practice as a certified public accountant, the board may require a state criminal records check, including fingerprints, performed by the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, and a national criminal records check, including fingerprints, performed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The results of these criminal records checks must be reported to the board. The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division is authorized to retain the fingerprints for certification purposes and for notification of the board regarding criminal charges. The board shall keep information received pursuant to this section confidential, except that information relied upon in denying licensure may be disclosed as may be necessary to support the administrative action. (2) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, the dismissal of a prosecution of fraudulent intent in drawing a dishonored check by reason of want of prosecution or proof of payment of restitution and administrative costs must not be used as evidence of a lack of good moral character for the purposes of disqualifying a person seeking licensure or renewal of licensure pursuant to this chapter. (3) The applicant must bear all costs associated with conducting criminal records checks. (C) To meet the educational requirement for licensure, the applicant must: (1) have a baccalaureate degree or higher from an accredited institution; (2) in addition to, or concurrently with, the degree in item (1), complete at least twenty-four semester credit hours, or the equivalent, of accounting courses at the junior level or above, that cover some or all of the following subject matter content: (a) financial accounting for business organizations; (b) financial statement and auditing and attestation services; (c) taxation; (d) accounting information systems; (e) managerial or cost accounting; (f) mergers and acquisitions; (g) data analytics; (h) information systems or technology; (i) accounting ethics; and (j) other courses the board approves through a regulation; (3) in addition to, or concurrently with, the degree in item (1), complete at least twenty-four semester credit hours, or the equivalent, of business-related courses, other than accounting, that cover some or all of the following subject matter content: (a) business law; (b) economics; (c) management; (d) marketing; (e) finance; (f) business communications; (g) data analytics; (h) information systems or technology; (i) business ethics; and (j) other subject matter content the board approves through a regulation; and (4) in addition to meeting the combined requirements of items (1), (2), and (3), the experience requirements in Section 40-2-35(G) must be satisfied based on the applicant's highest level of education attained: (a) Applicants who have completed a baccalaureate degree, the applicant must also satisfy the experience requirements in Section 40-2-35(G)(1)(a), which requires two years of relevant professional experience. (b) Applicants who have completed a post-baccalaureate degree, or a baccalaureate degree with at least one hundred fifty total semester credit hours, must also satisfy the experience requirements in Section 40-2-35(G)(1)(b), which requires one year of relevant experience. (D) The board shall accept transcripts from a college or university holding an accreditation from an accreditation body approved by the United States Department of Education and shall accept education, training, and experience completed by an individual as a member of the military in Section 40-1-640. Official transcripts signed by the college or university registrar and bearing the college or university seal or verification through any service provided by NASBA must be submitted to demonstrate education and degree requirements. Photocopies of transcripts must not be accepted. (E) An applicant may apply for examination by submitting forms approved by the board. In order for an application to be considered a completed application, all blanks and questions on the application form must be completed and answered and all applicable documentation must be attached and: (1) the application must be accompanied by the submission of photo identification, fingerprints, or other identification information as considered necessary to ensure the integrity of the exam administration; (2) application fees must accompany the application. Fees for the administration of the examination must recover all costs for examination administration. The fees required for each examination must be published to applicants on the application form. If any payment form used in payment of examination fees fails to clear the bank, the application is considered incomplete and the application must be returned to the candidate; and (3) in addition to the requirements of subsections (C)(2) and (C)(3), the applicant must have on record with the board official transcripts demonstrating successful completion of either: (a) at least one hundred twenty semester hours of credit; or (b) a conferred baccalaureate degree. (F) To meet the exam requirement, a candidate must pass all sections of the Uniform CPA Examination. (1) A candidate may take the required test sections individually and in any order. Credit for each test section passed is valid for thirty-six months from the date the passing score is released to the candidate or the board by the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA). The validity of credit for a section that is passed is not contingent upon the candidate achieving a minimum score on any failed section, nor is it dependent on the order in which other sections are taken. (a) A candidate must successfully pass all sections of the Uniform CPA Examination within a rolling thirty-six-month period, which begins on the date that the NASBA releases the first passing score to the candidate or the board, as applicable. The thirty-six-month period concludes on the date the candidate sits for the final section required for licensure, regardless of when the NASBA releases the score. (b) The board may grant an extension of time to a candidate if the extension is justified by extenuating circumstances or hardship. (c) The board shall accommodate any hardship that results from the conditions of administration of the exam. (2) A candidate may transfer credits for passed sections of the Uniform CPA Examination from another state or territory of the United States transferred to this State. Credits transferred for less than all sections of the examination are subject to the same conditional credit rules as if the examination had been taken in South Carolina. (G)(1) In addition to meeting the requirements of Section 40-2-35 (C)(1), (2), and (3), an applicant shall attain the following experience: (a) applicants who have completed a baccalaureate degree must complete two years of relevant professional experience; (b) applicants who have completed a post-baccalaureate degree, or a baccalaureate degree with at least one hundred fifty total semester credit hours, must complete one year of relevant experience; (c) applicants must present evidence of meeting the accounting experience requirement in a manner prescribed by the board; and (d) applicants who present evidence of experience obtained seven or more years before the date of application must obtain and document an additional six months of experience within the prior two years of the date of application. (2) The board may promulgate regulations to require that the accounting experience required pursuant to item (1) must be completed according to a competency framework developed by a recognized national accounting organization. The framework must be administered in accordance with rules established by the board. (3) The experience required pursuant to item (1) should primarily involve providing a service or advice in one or more of the following areas: (a) accounting; (b) attestation; (c) compilation; (d) management advisory; (e) financial advisory; (f) tax; (g) consulting skills; or (h) other qualifying experiences outlined in items (4) and (7). (4)(a) The accounting experience required pursuant to this subsection may also be satisfied by: (i) teaching experience taught at the intermediate accounting level or above that includes at least twenty-four semester hours of teaching courses that apply to a baccalaureate, masters, or postgraduate degree and which may cover subject matters including, but not limited to, financial accounting, taxation, auditing, technology, and other areas that fall within the scope of the Uniform CPA Examination; or (ii) any combination of experience that the board determines to be equivalent to the types of experience provided for in items (3) and (4)(a)(i) of this subsection. (b) The teaching experience may not accrue more rapidly than elapsed time. An applicant who intends to use teaching experience to meet his accounting experience requirement must not be given credit for teaching more than twenty-four semester hours in less than one academic year and credit for semester hours taught must not be given for teaching subjects outside the scope of the Uniform CPA Examination. (5) The accounting experience required pursuant to this subsection may be supervised by a non-licensee but must be verified by a CPA who is licensed in any state or territory of the United States or the District of Columbia who has direct knowledge of the experience attained. (6) The accounting experience required pursuant to this subsection may be attained in either full-time or part-time employment, but not more rapidly than forty hours per week. Two thousand hours of part-time accounting experience is equivalent to one year. (7) The board may accept experience other than accounting experience to satisfy the accounting experience required pursuant to this section but only to the extent that the board determines that the non-accounting experience contributes to competence in public accounting. The board may require information related to the non-accounting experience to determine how it contributes to competence in public accounting. (8) The accounting experience required by this subsection may begin upon successful completion of subsections (C)(2) and (C)(3), and: (a) at least one hundred twenty semester hours of credit; or (b) a conferred baccalaureate degree.

Legislative History

HISTORY: 2004 Act No. 289, SECTION 1; 2008 Act No. 351, SECTION 4; 2015 Act No. 51 (S.301), SECTION 4, eff June 3, 2015; 2019 Act No. 68 (H.3785), SECTION 3, eff May 16, 2019; 2022 Act No. 174 (S.812), SECTION 1, eff May 16, 2022; 2025 Act No. 34 (S.176), SECTIONS 5, 6, 7, 8, 15, eff June 30, 2025. Effect of Amendment 2015 Act No. 51, SECTION 4, added (B) and redesignated former (C) through (F) accordingly; in (e)(3)(b), substituted "subitem (a)" for "item (a)"; in (F), substituted "subsection (a)(2)" for "Section 40-2-35(A)"; added (F)(1)(c); in (G)(2), substituted "subsection (A)(4)(b)" for "Section 40-2-35(A)(4)(b)"; in (G)(2)(a), substituted "teaching fewer than twelve hours per semester" for "teaching less than twelve semester hours per year"; and added (G)(3). 2019 Act No. 68, SECTION 3, in (F)(1), substituted "A candidate" for "Upon the implementation of a computer-based examination, a candidate". 2022 Act No. 174, SECTION 1, rewrote the section. 2025 Act No. 34, SECTION 5, rewrote (C). 2025 Act No. 34, SECTION 6, rewrote (E)(3). 2025 Act No. 34, SECTION 7, rewrote (F). 2025 Act No. 34, SECTION 8, rewrote (G). 2025 Act No. 34, SECTION 15, deleted (H) and (I).