How to Become a US CPA in India (2026)

Most guides to the US CPA still frame this as a single road: rack up 150 credit hours, pass four exam sections, log two years of experience. That’s no longer the whole picture. In May 2025, AICPA and NASBA formally added a third licensure pathway — and depending on which one fits your background, your actual timeline and paperwork can look quite different. Here’s the current picture, organized around which path applies to you rather than one generic checklist.

Path A — Traditional 150-hour route: bachelor’s degree + enough additional credits (grad diploma, PG degree, or bridge courses) to reach 150 total credit hours, including 24-30 accounting credits and 24 business credits, plus 1-2 years of relevant work experience. This remains the default in most jurisdictions and is still the only option in states like Colorado until its own multi-pathway system arrives on January 1, 2027.

Path B — New 120-hour + experience route: bachelor’s degree (120 credit hours, still including the accounting/business coursework split) plus 2 years of professional experience instead of the extra 30 academic credits. This is now live in roughly two dozen jurisdictions and growing through 2026 — including Alaska, Montana, New Hampshire, Ohio, Virginia, Minnesota, New York, California and Nebraska among others.

The practical difference: Path A trades time-in-classroom for a shorter post-qualification work stint; Path B trades a longer work commitment for skipping an extra year of coursework or bridge programs. Neither path removes the underlying accounting/business credit-hour requirement — the choice is really about whether you’d rather spend the extra time studying or working.

A standard 3-year Indian degree typically maps to around 90 US credit hours — short of both the 120-hour sitting threshold and the 150-hour licensing bar. You’ll generally need a 1-year bridge (a PG diploma, M.Com, or a dedicated credit-completion program) to reach 120 hours before you can even sit the exam, and further coursework to reach 150 for licensure under Path A, or 2 years of qualifying experience under Path B once you clear 120.

A 4-year Indian bachelor’s degree, or a 3-year degree plus a postgraduate qualification, usually already clears 120 credit hours — meaning you can typically sit for the exam without a bridge course. Whether you still need extra credits before licensing depends on which path your chosen state follows.

Several state boards recognise these as contributing meaningfully toward the credit-hour requirement, sometimes closing most or all of the gap to 120 or even 150 hours. Evaluation is still done case-by-case by the credential-evaluation agency, so confirm your specific combination before assuming full credit.

If your degree isn’t in commerce or accounting, the credit-hour math changes because you’re usually missing the accounting/business coursework split entirely, not just the credit count.

• Engineers: a 4-year engineering degree typically satisfies the 120-hour count but includes little to no accounting or business coursework, so a bridge program (university-based or through providers like Becker, Surgent, Gleim, or Proschool) is usually necessary regardless of total credit count.
• MBAs: a 2-year MBA (60 credits) plus a 3-year bachelor’s (90 credits) reaches 150 total, but whether the composition works depends on your specialisation — a finance or accounting MBA usually clears the accounting-hours bar; marketing or HR specialisations often still leave a gap that needs a short bridge course.
• Non-commerce graduates (arts, science, IT): typically missing the accounting/business split entirely regardless of total credit count, and will need a structured bridge program before applying.

The old advice to just “pick an easy state” oversimplifies things — the real decision criteria are whether a state requires a US Social Security Number, whether it accepts your specific credential-evaluation agency, and which licensure pathway (A or B) it currently runs.

• No SSN required — genuinely easier for most Indian candidates: Guam and Montana are the most commonly recommended for this reason specifically, not because they skip accounting coursework (they don’t).
• States to be cautious with: Alaska is increasingly flagged by practitioners because it doesn’t count all forms of Indian coursework toward its education requirement — verify carefully before choosing it.
• Credential evaluation isn’t one-size-fits-all: some states require NASBA’s own evaluation arm (NIES — NASBA International Evaluation Services) and won’t accept WES reports, while others (like New York) require WES specifically. Confirm which evaluator your target state accepts before you pay for a report.

For a full walkthrough of the exam itself — the Core-plus-Discipline structure and current pass rates — see our detailed guide to the US CPA exam pattern and syllabus.

1. Get your credits evaluated: send transcripts to your chosen evaluation agency (NIES or WES, depending on your target state) — typically takes 4-6 weeks.
2. Apply to your state board: submit your evaluation report and application; approval triggers a Notice to Schedule (NTS).
3.  Schedule and sit your exams: book through Prometric — India has 8 test centres (Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Kolkata, New Delhi, Thiruvananthapuram), so there’s rarely a need to travel abroad.
4. Complete your work experience: roughly 1-2 years, either “verified” by a licensed CPA (they confirm your work after the fact) or “supervised” by one (you work directly under them) — which rule applies depends on your state.
5. Pass the Ethics exam and apply for your license: required in a number of states; an open-book exam with a 90% pass mark is typical.

Budget and timeline vary meaningfully by path and starting credit position — see our complete cost breakdown for the current, itemised 2026 figures (including the often-missed detail that India’s international testing fee runs higher than the standard international rate), and our exam pattern guide for how the Core-plus-Discipline structure affects your study timeline.

• Credit evaluation guidance: help figuring out which path and which state actually fits your specific degree combination, including bridge-course options if you’re short of the accounting/business split.
• Weekend and recorded sessions: built for working professionals balancing prep alongside a job.
• Placement support: resume building, mock interviews, and access to a dedicated placement portal once you’re exam-qualified.

Can I do the US CPA right after a 3-year Indian degree?
Not immediately — a standard 3-year degree usually falls short of the 120-hour sitting threshold, so most candidates need a 1-year bridge program first.

Which pathway should I choose if my state offers both?
It comes down to preference: Path A (150 hours) suits candidates who’d rather finish coursework before working; Path B (120 hours + 2 years’ experience) suits those keen to start earning sooner and complete the requirement on the job.

Do all states accept the new 120-hour + experience pathway?
No — adoption is state-by-state and still expanding through 2026. Confirm your specific target state’s current rule before planning around it, since this is one of the fastest-moving parts of CPA licensure right now.

Is Guam or Montana still the easiest option for Indian candidates?
They remain popular mainly because neither requires a US Social Security Number — not because they waive the accounting/business coursework, which both still require.

Does a CA, CMA or ACCA qualification shorten the process?
Often, yes — many state evaluators award meaningful credit toward the 120/150-hour requirement for these credentials, though the exact amount is assessed case-by-case.