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- 83rd Session (2025)
Assembly Bill No. 510–Committee
on Commerce and Labor
CHAPTER..........
AN ACT relating to accountants; revising the requirements for the
granting of a certificate of certified public accountant;
requiring the Nevada State Board of Accountancy to
prescribe by regulation certain requirements and standards
for the issuance of a certificate of certified public accountant;
revising provisions governing certain fees that the Board is
authorized or required to charge; revising provisions
governing the examination required for the issuance of a
certificate of certified public accountant ; and providing other
matters properly relating thereto.
Legislative Counsel’s Digest:
Existing law provides for the regulation of accountants in this State by the
Nevada State Board of Accountancy. (Chapter 628 of NRS)
Existing law sets forth certain requirements relati ng to the education and work
experience required for a person to be issued a certificate of certified public
accountant. (NRS 628.200) Section 2 of this bill eliminates those requirements and
instead requires the Board to prescribe by regulation the requirements and standards
for education and work experience which the Board deems appropriate for the
issuance of a certificate of certified public accountant. Section 2 sets forth certain
requirements for those regulations. Section 5 of this bill makes a conforming
change to reflect the elimination of the requirements for education and work
experience in section 2 and the authority of the Board to adopt such requirements
by regulation.
With certain exceptions, existing law requires the Board to grant a certificate of
certified public accountant to a person who satisfies certain requirements for
education, work experience and passing an examination as set forth in statute.
(NRS 628.190) Section 1 of this bill revises these provisions to require the Board,
with certain exceptio ns, to grant such a certificate to a person who: (1) complies
with the requirements and standards of education and work experience prescribed
in regulations adopted by the Board; and (2) has passed all sections of the
examination prescribed by the Board in accordance with the terms and conditions
prescribed in any regulations adopted by the Board. Section 1 also provides that an
applicant for such a certificat e is subject to the educational requirements to receive
a certificate that were in effect on the date on which the applicant passed all
sections of the examination prescribed in the regulations of the Board.
Existing law authorizes the Board to establish a fee for the evaluation of the
experience of a candidate for a certificate of certified public accountant. (NRS
628.250) Section 3 of this bill eliminates t he authority of the Board to establish
such a fee.
Existing law authorizes the Board to prescribe by regulation the terms and
conditions under which a candidate for a certificate of certified public accountant:
(1) may receive conditional credit for passi ng at least one section, but not all
sections, of the examination required to qualify for the certificate; and (2) need not
sit for reexamination in sections which the candidate has passed and for which he
or she has received conditional credit. Existing l aw also authorizes the Board to
provide by regulation a limit on the time in which a candidate must pass all sections
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of the examination or lose any credit received. (NRS 628.260) Section 4 of this bill
clarifies the authority of the Board with respect to the establishment of terms and
conditions concerning the passage of the required examination by specifying that
the regulations of the Board may, but are not required, to: (1) authorize a candidate
who has not passed all sections of the examination to receive credit for any section
of the examination passed without being required to sit for reexamination of those
sections; and (2) provide a limit on the time i n which a candidate must pass all
sections of the examination or lose any such credit received.
Existing law requires the Board to adopt regulations that prescribe a fee for
registering a fictitious name with the Board. (NRS 628.375) Section 6 of this bill
removes this requirement and instead authorizes the Board to establish such a fee.
EXPLANATION – Matter in bolded italics is new; matter between brackets [omitted material] is material to be omitted.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEVADA, REPRESENTED IN
SENATE AND ASSEMBLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. NRS 628.190 is hereby amended to read as follows:
628.190 1. Except as otherwise provided in this section and
NRS 628.310, a certificate of certified public accountant must be
granted by the Board to any person who:
(a) Is without any history of acts involving dishonesty or moral
turpitude;
(b) Complies with the requirements and standards of education
and work experience [as provided ] prescribed in the regulations
adopted by the Board pursuant to NRS 628.200;
(c) Has submitted to the Board a complete set of fingerprints
and written permission authorizing the Board to forward the
fingerprints to the Central Repository for Nevada Records of
Criminal History for submission to the Federal Bureau of
Investigation for its report; and
(d) Has passed all sections of the examination prescribed by the
Board [.] in accordance with any terms and conditions prescribed
in any regulations adopted by the Board pursuant to NRS 628.260.
2. An applicant for a certificate of certified public accountant
is subject to the educational requirements to receive a cert ificate
that were in effect on the date on which the applicant passed all
sections of the examination prescribed in the regulations adopted
by the Board pursuant to NRS 628.260.
3. The Board may refuse to grant a certificate of certified
public accountant to an applicant if he or she has been convicted of
a felony in this State or an offense in another state or jurisdiction
which would be a felony if committed in this State.
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[3.] 4. The Board may issue a provisional certificate to an
applicant until the Board receives the report from the Federal
Bureau of Investigation.
Sec. 2. NRS 628.200 is hereby amended to read as follows:
628.200 1. [Except as otherwise provided in subsection 4, the
requirements of education for a certificate of certified public
accountant are:
(a) At least 150 semester hours or an equivalent number of
quarter hours; and
(b) A baccalaureate degree or an equivalent degree from a
college or university recognized by the Board:
(1) With a major in accounting, or what the Board
determines to be substantially the equivalent of a major in
accounting; or
(2) With a major other than accounting supplemented by
what the Board determines to be substantially the equivalent of an
accounting major, including related courses in other areas of
business administration.
2. The requirement for work experience for a certificate of
certified public accountant is:
(a) Not less than 2,000 hours accumulated over a period of not
less than 1 year of public accounting experience in a partnership,
corporation, limited -liability company or sole proprietorship
engaged in the practice of public accounting under the direct
supervision of a person who is a certified public accountant; or
(b) Other work experience under the d irect supervision of a
person engaged in active practice as a certified public accountant, of
a character and for a length of time sufficient in the opinion of the
Board to be substantially equivalent to the requirements of
paragraph (a).
3.] The Board shall [adopt regulations concerning:
(a) The number of semester hours or an equivalent number of
quarter hours in accounting and other courses required by an
applicant to satisfy the requirements of subsection 1.
(b) The] prescribe by regulation the requirements and
standards for education and work experience which the Board
deems appropriate for the issuance of a certificate of certified
public accountant pursuant to NRS 628.190.
2. The requirements for work experience established by the
regulations adopted by the Board pursuant to subsection 1 must:
(a) Require work experience that is gained while employed in a
position relating to the practice of public accounting [experience or
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other work experience required by an applicant to satisfy the
requirements of subsection 2.
4. Notwithstanding any provision of this section to the
contrary, an applicant for a certificate of certified public accountant
who has received conditional credit pursuant to NRS 628.260 for
passing a section of the examination r equired for a certificate, and
who applies that credit to subsequent passage of the examination, is
subject to the educational requirements to receive a certificate that
were in effect on the date on which the applicant passed all sections
of the examinati on.] or in another position in private industry or
the federal, state or local government that the Board determines to
be appropriate; and
(b) Establish standards of competency and require an
applicant for a certificate of certified public accountant to s atisfy
those standards through the work experience gained pursuant to
paragraph (a).
Sec. 3. NRS 628.250 is hereby amended to read as follows:
628.250 A candidate for the certificate of certified public
accountant who has successfully completed the examination
required by NRS 628.190 has no status as a certified public
accountant until the candidate has the requisite experience and has
received a certifi cate as a certified public accountant. The Board
may establish a fee for issuing a certificate [and a fee for the
evaluation of experience] in [amounts] an amount set in regulations
adopted by the Board.
Sec. 4. NRS 628.260 is hereby amended to read as follows:
628.260 1. The Board may by regulation prescribe the terms
and conditions under which a candidate [:
(a) Must] must pass all sections of the examination prescribed
by the Board pursuant to NRS 628.190 to qualify for a certificate.
[(b) Who,] The regulations may:
(a) Allow a candidate who, at any given examination, passes at
least one section, but not all sections, [may] to receive [conditional]
credit for each section passed [, and need not ] without being
required to sit for reexamination in those sections. [The Board may
by regulation provide]
(b) Provide a limit on the time in which each candidate must
pass all sections of the examination or lose any credit received [.]
pursuant to paragraph (a).
2. The Board may give credit to a candidate who has passed all
or part of the examination in another state or other jurisdiction of the
United States if the Board determines by regulation that the
standards under which credit is granted for the examination are as
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high as the standards established for the examination required by
this chapter.
Sec. 5. NRS 628.310 is hereby amended to read as follows:
628.310 1. The Board may waive the examination, the
requirements for education or the requirements for work experience,
or any combination thereof, required under NRS 628.190, and may
issue a certificate as a certified public accountant to any person who
is the holder of a certificate as a certified public accountant then in
effect issued under the laws of any state or other jurisdiction of the
United States approved by the Board, constituting a recognized
qualification for the practice of public accounting comparable to that
of a certified public accountant of this State, if:
(a) The person has passed an examination that is substantially
the same as the examination conducted pursuant to NRS 628.230
with a grade that would have been a passing grade in this State on
the date on which the person received his or her original certificate;
(b) The person has experience in the practice of public
accountancy, private industry or the federal, state or local
government, while holding a certificate as a certified public
accountant for more than 4 of the 10 years immediately preceding
his or her making application pursuant to this chapter; and
(c) The requirements for education of the state or other
jurisdiction from which the person received his or her original
certificate are determined by the Board to satisfy the requirements
for education of this State.
2. The Board may issue a certificate as a certified public
accountant to any person who is the holder of an equivalent
certificate then in effect issued by a foreign country if:
(a) Persons who are certified as public accountants in this Stat e
are granted similar privileges by the foreign country in which the
applicant is certified;
(b) The applicant’s certificate:
(1) Was issued by the appropriate authority that regulates the
practice of public accountancy in the foreign country in which t he
certificate was issued;
(2) Has not expired or been revoked or suspended; and
(3) Authorizes the applicant to issue reports upon financial
statements;
(c) The requirements for education and examination of the
regulatory authority of the foreign cou ntry were substantially
equivalent to the requirements for education and examination of this
State on the date on which the applicant received his or her
certificate;
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(d) The applicant:
(1) Complied with requirements for experience in the foreign
country in which the certificate was issued that are substantially
equivalent to the requirements set forth in the regulations adopted
by the Board pursuant to NRS 628.200; or
(2) Has completed in any state at least 4 years of public
accounting experience, or equivalent experience determined to be
appropriate by the Board, within the 10 years immediately
preceding his or her making application for certification in this
State;
(e) The applicant has passed a written examination on national
standards for public a ccounting and ethics that is acceptable to the
Board; and
(f) The applicant submits with the application a list of all
jurisdictions in which he or she has applied for and received a
certificate to practice public accounting.
3. A person who is granted a certificate as a certified public
accountant pursuant to subsection 2 shall notify the Board, in
writing, within 30 days after:
(a) The person is issued an equivalent certificate to practice
public accounting by another jurisdiction or is denied the iss uance
of such a certificate;
(b) A certificate to practice public accounting issued to the
person by another jurisdiction is revoked or suspended; or
(c) Another jurisdiction in which the person is certified to
practice public accounting commences any ty pe of disciplinary
action against the person.
Sec. 6. NRS 628.375 is hereby amended to read as follows:
628.375 1. Before a certified public accountant or a
partnership, corporation or limited -liability company composed of
certified public accountants with an office in this State engages in
the practice of public accounting in this State under a fictitious
name, the person or entity must register the fictitious name with the
Board.
2. The Board shall adopt regulations to carry out the provisions
of this section, including, without limitation, regulations that
prescribe [:
(a) The] the procedure for registering a fictitious name with the
Board . [; and
(b)] 3. The Board may, by regulation, establish a fee for
registering a fictitious name with the Board.
Sec. 7. 1. This section becomes effective upon passage and
approval.
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2. Sections 1 to 6, inclusive, of this act become effective:
(a) Upon passage and approval for the purpose of adopt ing any
regulations and performing any other preparatory administrative
tasks that are necessary to carry out the provisions of this act.
(b) On January 1, 2026, for all other purposes.
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