Lawmakers in states such as Alabama, Vermont, and Maryland advanced CPA licensure reforms this month, injecting new momentum into the accounting profession's efforts to address talent shortages and potentially making the reforms take effect sooner than some experts expected.

Since early last year, at least 25 states have formally modified licensure rules or enacted new laws to eliminate the150 college credit requirement(often equivalent to a fifth year of higher education, which critics view as a barrier to entry), or to provide alternative pathways allowing candidates to substitute an additional year of work experience for the academic year typically equivalent to 30 credits.

According to Robert J. Pawlewicz, an assistant professor of accounting at the University of Richmond who closely tracks this, more than a dozen states have proposed or advanced new CPA pathway bills so far this month, bringing the total number of states that have participated or are preparing to participate to 44. States that recently introduced active legislation includeNebraska、South Dakota、West Virginia、Maryland、Mississippi、VermontandKentucky。

"Assuming these active bills are not shelved, new CPA licensure pathways could become widespread soon," Robert J. Pawlewicz said in an email on Friday. "This year's legislative session is progressing even faster than I expected!" he said.

Earlier this month, Pawlewicz predicted that completing reforms in all 50 states could extend into 2027, and estimated that 40 to 45 states would revise licensure rules by the end of 2026. Mark Koziel, CEO of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, also told CFO Dive this month that he expects the process to "extend into 2027," with the number of participating states potentially nearing 40 by year-end.

But now Pawlewicz says state associations appear to have used the end of 2025 to assess the current state of the issue, taking time to work with legislators on drafting bills.

That is exactly the case in Alabama. According to the legislative tracking website fastdemocracy.com, the state's CPA pathway bill (HB59) passed the state Senate on Thursday, two days after passing the House, just over a week after the bill was introduced. Alabamapre-filed the legislation in November, allowing the bill to advance once the2026 regular sessionopened on January 13.

Robin Pearson, director of government affairs at the Alabama Society of CPAs, said pre-filing was simply about being ready for the start of the session. "There's no other trick—it's just making sure everyone understands what we want to do and can ask questions," Pearson said in an email. "We also made clear that we wanted the legislature to act quickly, because current college upperclassmen, employers, and other stakeholders need the opportunity to adapt to Alabama's new pathway and licensure landscape."

Pearson said the bill will take effect on October 1, but still needs to be signed into law.

As more states pass legislation, states that have not followed suit may face increasing pressure, with some bystander states concerned about students flowing to states that adopt the new rules. For example, last year in Maine, theCPA licensure change was stripped from the bill, and what was signed into law only allows candidates to sit for the CPA exam after completing 120 college credits.

Patricia Brigham, executive director of the Maine Society of CPAs, said this month that she believes Maine will introduce a new CPA pathway bill this year, as the state has felt "a certain degree of relief" about the many other states advancing licensure changes. She hopes Maine will not lose CPA candidates in the meantime to neighboring states that are temporarily ahead in the licensure change process.

"We already have brain drain," Brigham said in an interview. "I worry about losing young people who go to Massachusetts to get licensed."

For updates on CPA licensure changes, visit CFO Dive'srelated tracking page。