South Dakota

South Dakota Board of Accountancy
dlr.sd.gov/accountancy/default.aspx

To sit for the Exam, the Board's own page states a bachelor's or graduate degree with an accounting concentration, including 24 semester hours of accounting coursework (intermediate/advanced accounting, auditing, taxation, and cost accounting — elementary principles don't count) and 24 semester hours of non-accounting business coursework; the page does not separately state a total credit-hour figure distinct from the degree itself. For full licensure, South Dakota requires 150 total semester hours with a baccalaureate or graduate major in accounting, per Administrative Rules of South Dakota (ARSD) 20:75:03.

1 year (approximately 2,000 hours) of verified experience in accounting, attestation, management advisory, financial advisory, tax, or consulting services, gained in government, industry, academia, or public practice under the supervision of a licensed CPA.

Yes, a separate ethics exam/course is required.

Yes — candidates can typically sit for the Exam before finishing all coursework required for full licensure (e.g. at 120 semester hours, finishing the rest before licensure).

South Dakota requires completing the AICPA 'Professional Ethics: The AICPA's Comprehensive Course' with a minimum score of 90%, per ARSD 20:75:03:05, verified in-file before a certificate is issued. Students may sit for the Exam up to 100 days before graduation. The Board's site did not surface a specific PDF/page stating the 150-hour licensure figure directly in this research pass (it referenced ARSD 20:75:03 generally) — the 150-hour figure here is corroborated by multiple secondary sources but should be confirmed against the administrative rule text directly.

https://dlr.sd.gov/accountancy/cpa_exam.aspx — accessed 2026-09-30