State Updates

Indiana's Three CPA Licensure Routes Start January 1, 2027 (HEA 1143)

Indiana lets candidates license with a bachelor's degree and two years of experience starting January 1, 2027. The Board of Accountancy approved the experience rule that implements it in March 2026.

By Brennan KolarFounder, Atlas CPA Index

Published September 3, 20265 min readVerified as of September 3, 2026

What Indiana Did

Governor Michael Braun signed House Enrolled Act 1143 on April 16, 2025, enacted as Public Law 85-2025. It amended Indiana Code 25-2.1-3-2 so that a bachelor's degree with a concentration in accounting can satisfy the education requirement for licensure, while leaving the existing routes in place. The change takes effect January 1, 2027. The Indiana CPA Society describes the state as one of the first ten to pass an additional pathway to licensure.

The Experience Requirement Depends on the Degree

Indiana did not simply lower the credit requirement. It tied the experience requirement to the education route, so the shorter the education, the longer the work. From January 1, 2027 the requirement varies as follows.

Bachelor's degree with an accounting concentration: 2 years of experience
Bachelor's degree totaling 150 semester hours: 1 year of experience
Post-baccalaureate degree: 1 year of experience
All routes require passing the Uniform CPA Exam

The Implementing Rule Has Already Cleared

Indiana is further along than several states that passed pathway laws around the same time. Following a public hearing on March 13, 2026, the Indiana Board of Accountancy approved the experience rule implementing the HEA 1143 pathways, filed as LSA Document #26-18. The rule was approved by the Attorney General's office and the Governor before publication in the Indiana Register. Confirming the final language with the Board is still worth doing before relying on it.

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What Counts as Experience

Indiana accepts experience in public accounting, private industry, government and academia, verified by a licensed CPA. That breadth matters under the two-year route, because the bachelor's pathway needs twice as much of it, and restricting it to public accounting would make the route much harder to use.

What This Means for Candidates

The decision this creates is whether to spend a year on 30 more credit hours or a second year working. For someone already employed in accounting, the two-year route can be the cheaper path, since the experience accrues while being paid rather than while paying tuition. Full detail is on our Indiana CPA requirements page, the neighboring change is covered in our Illinois HB 2459 article, and the national picture is in the 120-credit pathway tracker.

Sources

1.Indiana CPA Society — Vision 2027(accessed Sep 3, 2026)
2.Indiana Register — LSA Document #26-18, Board of Accountancy(accessed Sep 3, 2026)
3.Indiana Professional Licensing Agency — Accountancy(accessed Sep 3, 2026)
4.CPA Practice Advisor — Indiana Becomes Latest State to Reform CPA Licensure Rules(accessed Sep 3, 2026)

Related on Atlas CPA Index

Indiana CPA Requirements →Illinois 120-Credit Pathway (HB 2459) →120-Credit CPA Pathway Tracker →CPA Requirements by State →

Brennan Kolar

Founder, Atlas CPA Index

Brennan Kolar is the founder of Atlas CPA Index, an independent CPA review comparison platform covering all 55 U.S. jurisdictions. With over 10 years of experience with CPA review, he built Atlas to help candidates find the right review course based on how they actually learn, not which provider has the biggest ad budget.

Learn more about the author

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