CPA requirements in Massachusetts
Massachusetts licenses CPAs through the MA Board of Registration of CPAs. Exam eligibility: 120 semester hours including accounting and business coursework. Licensure: 150 semester hours. Experience: one year of public-accounting experience, or equivalent non-public experience.
$99,460
median accountant wage, MassachusettsBLS OEWS · May 2025
$107,170
mean annual wageBLS OEWS · May 2025
46,230
accounting jobs in the stateBLS OEWS · May 2025
Requirements
The sheet
| Exam eligibility (education) | 120 semester hours including accounting and business coursework |
| License education | 150 semester hours |
| Experience | One year of public-accounting experience, or equivalent non-public experience |
| Ethics requirement | No separate pre-license ethics exam |
| CPE after licensure | 80 hours per two-year cycle, including four ethics hours |
Compiled 2026-08-02 from the board's published framework. Rules change; MA Board of Registration of CPAs is the source of record before you file anything.
Pathway status
The 120-hour question in this state
Massachusetts' pathway-bill status was not independently verified at write time; confirm with the board and the NASBA licensure-pathways list. Cross-jurisdiction context: AICPA/NASBA model legislation, May 2025NASBA · May 2025, and NASBA's licensure-pathways list.
Moving
Reciprocity
Reciprocity for substantially equivalent licensees.
Neighbouring sheet: CPA requirements in New York. Path overview: how to become a CPA; exam detail: the CPA exam; all states: the master table.