Guam CPA Requirements

Age

Guam has a minimum age requirement of 18 to sit the CPA exam.

Residency

There are no residency requirements in Guam.

Citizenship

There are no state or US citizenship requirements in Guam.

Education

Guam candidates require bachelor’s degree or higher with a major in accounting from a college or university with an AACSB accreditation. As of December 2021, Guam adopted a one-tier credit system. This means that there is now a 150-semester hour requirement to take the exam. The minimum educational requirements are outlined below:

• A total of 24 credits from accounting courses (upper division), including:
• A total of 24 credits from business courses or equivalent (upper division)

Alternatively, you could acquire a baccalaureate degree or higher with a major in business from a college or university with accreditation in business from AACSB or ACBSP, along with:

• A total of 24 credits from accounting courses (upper division), including:
  • Financial Accounting and Reporting
  • Auditing and Attestation Services
  • Taxation
  • Managerial or Cost Accounting
• A total of 24 credits from business courses or equivalent (upper division)

A final option is to have completed a US baccalaureate degree (or the equivalent) or higher from an accredited college or university, along with credits from:

• A total of 24 credits from accounting courses (upper division), including:
  • Financial Accounting and Reporting
  • Auditing and Attestation Services
  • Taxation
  • Managerial or Cost Accounting
• A total of 24 credits from business courses or equivalent (upper division), including:
  • Economics (6 hours)
  • Finance (3 hours)
  • Business Law (3 hours)

NOTE:

• Successful candidates that met Guam’s educational requirements prior to sitting for and passing the CPA exam but not having met Guam’s work experience requirement may qualify for issuance of an inactive Guam CPA license
• Guam will not accept grade transfers of any CPA exam candidate that has not met Guam’s education requirements prior to sitting for and passing any CPA exam section
• If you are currently enrolled in an academic program as an upper division participant in an accredited undergraduate degree program, or have been accepted by an accredited college or university to its advanced degree program and are capable of fulfilling the education requirements within 18 months of the actual date you sit for your first Exam section, you may still qualify to sit for the Uniform CPA Examination. This will require the submission of a Guam Certificate of Enrollment form.

Foreign Educations

Accountants who graduated from international institutions may apply to have their transcripts evaluated by one of the board-approved foreign credentials evaluation services stipulated above. Official copies of all transcripts from all schools in including any translated transcripts must be submitted for review along with the application and credit evaluation report.

Guam accepts evaluations from the following service providers:

• NASBA International Evaluation Services (NIES)
• Foreign Academic Credentials Service, Inc.
• Educational Records Evaluation Service (ERES)

NOTE:

International students will need to provide a passport issued by either Japan, the United States, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Brazil, Argentina, Venezuela, and Colombia. Other international applicants will also need to provide their passport, as well as a National ID card (not a Driver’s License), Alien Registration card (Japan), Residency Visa, or a NASBA-provided ID. Please see the NASBA Candidate Bulletin for a list of valid identifications.

Work Experience

There is a 1 year of work experience requirement either before or after the exam if you meet the 150-credit requirement at the time of writing. Otherwise, if you have less you will need to have 2 years of work experience to qualify. One year’s worth of work is equivalent to 2,000 hours. This experience can be acquired in a period o up to no more than 5 years prior to application. Acceptable work experience may be gained through government, industry, academia, or public practice employment under the supervision of an actively licensed CPA in the jurisdiction of licensing. Those applying for an attest CPA license will need to acquire 1,000 hours of attest work within the year prior to application.

Ethics

The Guam Board of Accountancy does not require an ethics exam.

How to Apply for the Guam CPA Exam

In addition to submitting your application form and paying the fee, you will also need to submit the following:

• An official transcript from each school listed on your application. These transcripts must be sent directly from the issuing institution to the CPA Examination Services (CPAES). This can either be done electronically to etranscript@nasba.org or physically to
• Certificate of Enrollment Form, if applicable
• International Evaluation with foreign transcripts, if applicable. These must be submitted directly from the evaluation agency to CPAES.
• Testing Accommodations Request Form , if applicable. These must be submitted by you to CPAES.
• Submit a Moral Character Reference form.

Fees

The CPA license application fee is $225.

All fees are non-refundable, but the exams can be rescheduled.

Locations

• Prometric Testing Centers both in and out of state
• Certain International Prometric testing centers (confirm with the Guam Board before applying)

CPA Uniform Exam Extensions

In response to the international impact of Covid-19 on health and travel restrictions, Guam allows for candidates to apply for Exam Credit Extensions for beyond the normal 18-month expiration. This entails documented proof of either:

• Illness (Covid-19 related medical documentation), or
• Travel restrictions (must show proof of current residency which will be cross-referenced with where your exams were booked, or previous exams were taken)

How to Apply for the Guam CPA License

The Guam CPA License is issued by the Guam Board of Accountancy. To apply, you must:

• Submit the application form
• Submit a 2×2″ pass-style photo of your head and shoulders that was taken in the last year
• A coy of your government-issued personal photo identification, such as a driver’s license or passport
• 3 character reference forms from non-relatives
• Submit all experience affidavit forms
• An exam and license transfer request form, where the exam was taken in another state. This will also entail requesting that all colleges and universities that you were educated at submit your transcripts directly to the board

License Reciprocity

Interstate License Reciprocity:

Guam recognizes state reciprocity with states and territories that meet substantial equivalency. In order to apply you will need to:

• Submit an Initial License Application form
• Provide authorization for Interstate Exchange of Examination and Licensure Information
• Pay the $200.00 fee
• Provide official college transcripts detailing all courses taken
• Provide a 2 x 2 passport photo that is less than 1 year old
• Submit the substantial equivalency form

International License Reciprocity:

License holders from non-equivalency jurisdictions may apply to have their credentials reviewed by NASBA’s National Qualification Appraisal Service (NQAS.) This may result in NASBA informing you of outstanding credits or work requirements that may still need to be met. You can then reapply for evaluation of your new credits. Once approved, you must request that NASBA send an official copy of your evaluation to the GUAM Board of Accountancy. You must then follow the same steps as prescribed above.

Mutual Recognition Agreements

Guam does not recognize NASBA Mutual Recognition Agreements (MRA). Therefore, license holders from these states will need to apply for international license reciprocity as outlined above.

NTS Validation Period

You will receive your Notice to Schedule (NTS) within 4 weeks of paying the exam fee for a particular section. You will then have six months in which to schedule the exam, or the NTS will expire. So, make sure that you will be ready to write the exam within that time frame, or you will need to pay the fee again.

License Renewal Requirements

Active license holders:

Guam CPA licenses expire every 3 years on June 30^th. The Guam Board of Accountancy will automatically send a renewal application for to the license holder’s last known home address prior to the license’s expiration date. In order to renew your license, you will need to meet the following requirements:

• Submit the reapplication form
• Submit a report demonstrating the completion of 120 credit hours of board-approved continued professional education (CPE) within the last 3 years
• Pay the $100.00 renewal fee
• Penalty fee: $75.00 if submitted after June 30^th

Any active or inactive licensee that does not timely renew their license will be considered ‘delinquent’ in status. Any licensee that remains ‘delinquent’ for more than three years will have their license automatically cancelled with no possibility of reinstatement.

Inactive license holders:

A license holder can register to have their license made inactive. However, they too will need to reapply for their license every three years by June 30^th. Failure to do so will result in the inactive license being changed to ‘delinquent’ status. To renew an inactive license, an inactive licensee must submit a completed license renewal application but is not required to obtain and report CPE annually. You will however need to meet the educational requirements and pay the fee to switch it from ‘inactive’ to ‘active’ status.

Note:

A retired license cannot be reinstated, whereas an inactive license can be reactivated.

State Board

Guam Board of Accountancy

• Mailing Address: 335 S. Marine Corps Drive | Suite 101 | Tamuning, GU 96913
• Phone: 1-671-647-0813
• Fax: 1-671-647-0816
• Email: execdir@guamboa.org
• Website: http://www.guamboa.org/
• Hours: Monday – Friday: 8am-5pm
• Resources: Guam Board of Accountancy’s FAQs