State Updates
Missouri's 120-Credit CPA Pathway Is Now in Effect (SB 1233)
Governor Mike Kehoe signed SB 1233 on July 13, 2026, and the law took effect August 28, 2026. Missouri candidates can now license with a bachelor's degree and two years of experience instead of 150 credit hours.
Published June 7, 20264 min readVerified as of August 31, 2026
What Happened
Missouri's SB 1233 is law. Governor Mike Kehoe signed it on July 13, 2026, and it took effect August 28, 2026. The law adds alternative routes to CPA licensure that let candidates substitute supervised work experience for the extra coursework that previously pushed most candidates toward a fifth year of college. The Missouri Society of CPAs supported the measure after a Blue Ribbon research committee it convened in 2024 recommended aligning Missouri with the proposed updates to the Uniform Accountancy Act.
What the Law Requires
SB 1233 created two education-and-experience combinations on top of the exam requirement. The first lets a candidate qualify with a bachelor's degree (120 credits) and two years of supervised experience. The second accepts a bachelor's degree plus 30 additional semester hours, or a post-baccalaureate degree, paired with one year of experience. The law also simplifies practice for CPAs licensed elsewhere, letting them work in Missouri without a separate license if they meet the standards, and it lets sole practitioners or single-member LLCs that do not perform attest services request an exemption from the firm permit requirement.
How the Pathways Compare
The choice comes down to how a candidate splits time between school and work. A candidate who adds 30 credits beyond a bachelor's, or earns a graduate degree, licenses with one year of supervised experience. A candidate who stops at a 120-credit bachelor's needs two years instead. The traditional 150-hour route with one year of experience remains available, so this is an additional option rather than a replacement. Missouri requires 33 semester hours of accounting, which is higher than many states, and that coursework requirement applies under every route.
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What Did Not Change
Missouri already let candidates sit for the CPA exam with 120 semester hours, so SB 1233 changed the licensure rules rather than exam eligibility. License fees stay at $90 for the initial application and $80 for renewal, and CPAs continue to complete 80 hours of CPE every two years. The Missouri State Board of Accountancy keeps oversight of experience verification and applications, and candidates should confirm how the board is documenting experience under the new routes before relying on a specific plan.
Where Missouri Fits Nationally
Missouri was one of three states, along with Louisiana and Vermont, that moved CPA pathway bills to the governor's desk in late May and early June 2026. All three are now law. The bachelor's-plus-two-years model in SB 1233 matches the framework most neighboring states have adopted, which helps candidates who plan to practice regionally. Our 120-credit pathway tracker and interactive pathway map show where every state stands.
What Missouri Candidates Should Do
Candidates finishing a bachelor's degree can now plan around the 120-credit option, which trades a fifth year of school for a second year of supervised work. Anyone who has already earned credits toward 150 should compare the two routes on time and cost rather than assuming the shorter education path is cheaper overall, since it carries an extra year of the experience requirement. The Missouri State Board of Accountancy answers licensure questions at (573) 751-0012 or mosba@pr.mo.gov. Full detail is on our Missouri CPA requirements page, and the LIFTS assessment can help match a CPA review course to your situation.
Sources
- 1.Missouri Senate — SB 1233 (2026 Regular Session), status "Signed by Governor"(accessed Aug 31, 2026)
- 2.Missouri Society of CPAs — New CPA Licensure Pathway Signed into Law(accessed Aug 31, 2026)
- 3.Accounting Today — Missouri Signs CPA Pathway Bills into Law(accessed Aug 31, 2026)
- 4.CFO Dive — Missouri Governor Signs CPA Licensing Bill, Effective Next Month(accessed Aug 31, 2026)
- 5.Missouri State Board of Accountancy(accessed Aug 31, 2026)
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.
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