Section .0100 – General Provisions

21 NCAC 08F .0101 Time and Place of CPA Examinations

1. The Board shall offer the CPA examination through the examination vendors(s), who have contracted with NASBA, at least eight months in a calendar year.
2. The months the CPA Examination is administered are determined by the examination vendor(s).
3. The examination vendor(s) shall provide examination applicants with computer access to the testing centers for the CPA examination.

21 NCAC 08F .0102 Type of CPA Examination

The Uniform CPA Examination prepared by the AICPA shall be the CPA examination used by the Board.

21 NCAC 08F .0103 Filing of Examination Applications and Fees

(a)  All applications for CPA examinations shall be filed with the Board and accompanied by the examination fee. The Board sets the fee for each examination at the amount that enables the Board to recover its actual costs of examination services. If a check or credit card authorization fails to clear the bank, the application shall be deemed incomplete and returned. CPA examination applications and fee information are on the Board’s website at nccpaboard.gov and may be requested from the Board.

(b)  The initial application filed to take the examination shall include supporting documentation demonstrating that all legal requirements have been met, including:

(1) minimum legal age;

(2) education; and

(3) good moral character.

(c)  In addition, any person born outside the United States shall furnish to the Board office:

(1) evidence of citizenship; or

(2) evidence of resident alien status; or

(3) other bona fide evidence that the applicant is legally allowed to remain in the United States; or

(4) a notarized affidavit of intention to become a U.S. citizen; or

(5) evidence that the applicant is a citizen of a foreign jurisdiction that extends to citizens of this State like or similar privileges to be examined.

(d)  Education and satisfaction of degree requirements shall be proven by submission of either original official transcripts, not photocopies, signed by the college registrar and bearing the college seal or by electronic delivery of official transcripts directly from the college registrar or through the institution’s chosen provider. A letter from the college registrar of the school may be filed as documentation that the applicant has met the graduation requirements if the degree has not been awarded and posted to the transcript. No examination grades shall be released until an official transcript is filed with the Board confirming the education requirement as stated in the college registrar’s letter.

(e)  Applicants for re-examination shall not re-submit official transcripts, additional statements, or affidavits regarding education.

(f)  To document good moral character as required by G.S. 93-12(5), three persons not related by blood or marriage to the applicant shall sign the application certifying the good moral character of the applicant and the Board shall conduct a background check of the applicant including a check of criminal records.

(g)  An applicant shall include as part of any application for the CPA examination a statement of explanation and a certified copy of the final disposition if the applicant has been arrested, charged, convicted or found guilty of, received a prayer for judgment continued, or pleaded nolo contendere to any criminal offense. An applicant shall not be required to disclose any arrest, charge, or conviction that has been expunged by a court.

(h)  If an applicant has been denied any license by any state or federal agency, the applicant shall include as part of the application for the CPA examination a statement explaining such denial. An applicant shall include a statement of explanation and a certified copy of applicable license records if the applicant has been registered with or licensed by a state or federal agency and has been disciplined by that agency.

(i)  An applicant shall submit one photograph or digital image as part of the application for the CPA examination. The photograph or digital image shall be of the applicant alone, front view, full face, taken in normal street attire without a hat or dark glasses, with a plain light background, and taken within the last six months. The photograph or digital image may be in black and white or in color. Retouched photographs or digital images shall not be accepted. If submitting a photograph, applicants shall write their names on the back of their photograph, with the photograph two by two inches in size.

(j)  If an applicant’s name has legally changed and is different from the name on any transcript or other document supplied to the Board, the applicant shall furnish copies of the documents legally authorizing the name change.

(k)  Candidates shall file initial and re-exam applications to sit for the CPA examination on forms provided by the Board.

(l)  Examination fees are valid for a six-month period from the date of the applicant’s notice to schedule for the examination from the examination vendor.

(m)  No application for examination shall be considered while the applicant is serving a sentence for any criminal offense. Serving a sentence includes incarceration, probation (supervised or unsupervised), parole, or conditionally suspended sentence, any of which are imposed as a result of having been convicted or having pled to a criminal charge.

21 NCAC 08F .0105 Conditioning Requirements

(a)  Passing Grades. A candidate shall pass all sections of the examination with a grade of 75 or higher on each section.

(b)  Military Service. A candidate who is on active military service shall not have the time on active military service counted against Subparagraph (c)(1) of this Rule unless the candidate applies to take the examination during the active military service, in which case each month a candidate sits shall be counted toward Subparagraph (c)(1) of this Rule.

(c)  A candidate is subject to the following conditioning requirements:

(1) a candidate shall earn a passing grade on all sections of the examination within a 30-month period;

(2) a candidate may sit for any section of the examination individually and in any order;

(3) a candidate may retake the same section of the examination as many times during a one-year period as determined by the examination vendors but shall not retake a failed test section until the candidate has been notified of the score of the most recent attempt of that failed section;

(4)  credit awarded by the Board for passage of a section of the examination shall be valid for a 30-month period from the date the passing scores are released by the examination vendors;

(5) the 30-month period begins on the date the first passing score is released to the candidate and concludes with the sit date of the final passed examination section, regardless of when the score is released by the examination vendors for the final passed section. A candidate, after earning credit for the initial passed section, must complete the remaining test sections of the examination by the last day of the 30-month period. If all four sections of the examination are not passed within the 30-month period, credit for any test section passed outside of the 30-month period shall expire; and

(6)  notwithstanding Subparagraphs (c)(1), (c)(4), and (c)(5) of this Rule, the period of time in which to pass all test sections of the examination may be extended by the Board upon a showing that the credit was lost by reason of circumstances beyond the testing candidate’s control.

21 NCAC 08F .0106 Granting Examination Credit from Other Jurisdictions

(a)  The Board may grant candidates credit for passing parts of the AICPA Uniform CPA Examination in another jurisdiction or territory of the United States.

(b)  To be considered for credit, the passing grades must meet the requirements of 21 NCAC 08F .0105. To transfer credit, the candidate must file an application with the Board on a form provided by the Board. Such application may be made simultaneously with the application to take the CPA examination.

21 NCAC 08F .0107 Communication of Results of CPA Examinations

(a)  The Board shall communicate to candidates in writing the result achieved in each of their examinations. Grades awarded to candidates shall not be released to third parties except by written consent of the candidate.

(b)  In no event shall any information concerning answers of candidates be given to anyone other than the candidate.

(c)  Examination grades shall be mailed to the candidates upon receipt by the Board.

21 NCAC 08F .0111 Ineligibility Due to Violation of Accountancy Act

(a)  A person may not be eligible to take the CPA examination or receive a North Carolina certificate of qualification as a CPA if the Board determines that the person has engaged in conduct that would constitute a violation of G.S. 93 or the Rules of Professional Ethics and Conduct as set forth in 21 NCAC 08N.

(b)  Any individual found to have engaged in conduct that subverts, or attempts to subvert the CPA Examination process may have his or her scores on the examination withheld and declared invalid, be disqualified from holding the CPA certification, and may be subject to the imposition of other appropriate sanctions.

(c)  Conduct that subverts or attempts to subvert the examination process includes the following:

(1) conduct that violates the standard of the test administration such as communicating with any other examinee during the administration of the examination;

(2) having in one’s possession during the administration of the examination any books, notes, written or printed material, or data of any other kind, other than the distributed examination materials;

(3)  failure to cooperate with testing officials;

(4)  conduct that violates the credentialing process, such as falsifying or misrepresenting educational credentials or other information required for admission to the examination, impersonating an examinee, or having an impersonator take the examination on another’s behalf;

(5)  conduct that violates the nondisclosure prohibitions of the examination or aiding or abetting another in doing so; or

(6)   retaking or attempting to retake an examination section by an individual holding a valid CPA certificate in this State or a candidate who has unexpired credit for having already passed the same examination section, unless directed to do so by the Board.

21 NCAC 08F .0113 Candidate’s Request To Review CPA Examination

The Board may allow a North Carolina candidate pursuant to G.S. 93B-(8) to review his or her CPA Examination within 60 days after the release of the grades in question.