1.1 About the Certified Public Bookkeeper (CPB) Credential
Key Takeaways
- The CPB license is issued by the National Association of Certified Public Bookkeepers (NACPB), a Consortia, LLC company, and is accredited by Consortia Accounting School.
- As of 2026 the CPB license requires passing two certification exams — Bookkeeping Certification and Intuit QuickBooks Certification; the Business Communication Certification exam is not required until January 1, 2027.
- NACPB Payroll Certification is a separate optional credential and is not a CPB license requirement, but payroll is examined inside the Bookkeeping exam ("Payroll Computations, Records, and Payment" and "Payroll Taxes, Deposits, and Reports") and the QuickBooks exam ("Employees and Payroll").
- Every NACPB certification exam is 50 multiple-choice questions with a 2-hour limit, is open book, and requires 75% or higher to pass.
- Licensure also requires one year (2,000 hours) of supervised bookkeeping experience — or the 3 months included in the CPB Program — a $100 non-refundable initial application fee, the Code of Conduct agreement, and 24 CPE hours each year beginning the year after the license is issued.
1.1 About the Certified Public Bookkeeper (CPB) Credential
Quick Answer: The Certified Public Bookkeeper (CPB) license is issued by the National Association of Certified Public Bookkeepers (NACPB), a Consortia, LLC company, and is accredited by Consortia Accounting School. As of 2026 the license requires passing the Bookkeeping Certification exam and the Intuit QuickBooks Certification exam; a third exam, Business Communication Certification, is not required until January 1, 2027. Every NACPB certification exam is 50 multiple-choice questions, 2 hours, open book, and requires 75% to pass. Licensure also requires the matching courses (or approved equivalents), one year (2,000 hours) of supervised bookkeeping experience, a $100 non-refundable initial application processing fee, agreement to the CPB Professional Code of Conduct, and 24 hours of CPE each year beginning the year after the license is issued.
In the small-to-medium enterprise (SME) sector, business owners rely on certified bookkeeping professionals for transactional precision, regulatory compliance, and transparent financial reporting. Anyone can market themselves as a "bookkeeper," but the Certified Public Bookkeeper (CPB) license signals that the practitioner has passed standardized certification exams, documented real supervised experience, and signed a binding code of conduct.
Who Issues the CPB License
The National Association of Certified Public Bookkeepers (NACPB) establishes and awards the CPB license. NACPB is a Consortia, LLC company, and the education, certification exams, and license administration are delivered through Consortia Accounting School, a registered postsecondary school. In practice this means you will see both brand names on the same requirement: an exam page may be headed "NACPB Bookkeeping Certification" while the checkout, course, and application pages sit on the Consortia Accounting School site.
Public bookkeepers provide general ledger maintenance, accounts payable and receivable, bank reconciliations, inventory valuation, payroll processing, and financial reporting — either to multiple clients on contract or inside a single company's accounting department.
The Certification Exams Required for the CPB License
This is the single most misreported fact about the CPB, so read the current requirement carefully. The CPB License Application lists these examination requirements:
| # | Course to complete | Certification exam to pass | Required now? |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Accounting Fundamentals | Bookkeeping Certification | Yes |
| 2 | QuickBooks Fundamentals | Intuit QuickBooks Certification | Yes |
| 3 | Business Communication | Business Communication Certification | Not required until January 1, 2027 |
Two exams are required today; the third becomes a requirement on January 1, 2027. If you plan to apply for licensure in 2027 or later, budget for all three. Section 1.4 covers the Business Communication exam and its published topic list.
Where does Payroll fit?
NACPB also offers a Payroll Certification (Payroll Fundamentals course plus the Payroll Certification exam). It is a separate, optional certification — it is not on the current CPB license requirement list, and it does not appear in the published CPB Program tuition schedule.
That does not make payroll optional knowledge. Payroll is examined directly inside the two required exams:
- The Bookkeeping Certification exam lists "Payroll Computations, Records, and Payment" and "Payroll Taxes, Deposits, and Reports" among its published topics.
- The Intuit QuickBooks Certification exam lists "Employees and Payroll" among its published topics.
Chapters 8 through 10 of this guide teach those payroll topics in depth. That depth serves the Bookkeeping Certification exam first, and it also positions you to sit the standalone Payroll Certification later if you want the extra credential.
Exam Format and Testing Logistics
Every NACPB certification exam uses the same published format, delivered in the NACPB Online Testing Center:
| Attribute | Published value |
|---|---|
| Questions | 50 multiple-choice |
| Time limit | 2 hours, starting when you log in |
| Reference materials | Open book |
| Passing score | 75% or higher (38 of 50) |
| Delivery | Online, from any internet-connected computer, tablet, or phone |
| Completion rule | Once you begin the exam, you must finish it |
Open book is a real strategic advantage — and a trap. Because you may consult your materials, questions lean toward applied computation and judgment rather than pure recall. Lookup time is the scarce resource, not memory. Build indexed, one-page reference sheets (normal balances, the closing sequence, deposit-schedule rules, the QBO transaction map) so a lookup costs you 15 seconds, not three minutes.
Scheduling rules
- Schedule no later than 3:00 pm MT on the business day preceding the day you want to test.
- Your exam link is emailed by 3:30 pm MT on the business day prior.
- For a Saturday, Sunday, or Monday exam, the link is emailed on Friday by 3:30 pm MT.
- You must take the exam on your scheduled date.
- The scheduling form requires you to confirm that you completed the required course with a cumulative score of 65% or higher on all course assignments and quizzes, or that you were approved to opt out of the course.
The published four-step path to each certification
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| STEPS TO EARN ONE NACPB CERTIFICATION |
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| 1. Take the certification PRE-assessment exam |
| 2. Complete the required course (or approved equivalent course) |
| 3. Take the certification POST-assessment exam |
| 4. Take the certification exam (50 Q / 2 hrs / open book / 75%) |
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| Candidates must receive a minimum of 75% on the course AND the exam. |
| Passing delivers the exam certificate and a digital badge. |
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Per NACPB's FAQ, certifications do not expire. The license is what renews annually.
Certification vs. Licensure
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| CERTIFICATION vs. LICENSURE |
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| CERTIFICATION (e.g., NACPB Bookkeeping Certification): |
| - Awarded on completing the course and passing that one exam at 75%+. |
| - Delivers an exam certificate and a digital badge. |
| - Does not expire; requires no verified work experience. |
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| LICENSURE (Certified Public Bookkeeper - CPB): |
| - Requires the required certification exams (2 now; 3 from Jan 1, 2027). |
| - Requires 1 year (2,000 hours) of supervised bookkeeping experience, OR the |
| 3 months of bookkeeping experience included in the CPB Program. |
| - Requires a $100 non-refundable initial application processing fee. |
| - Requires the Application for Licensure and the Code of Conduct agreement. |
| - Requires 24 CPE hours each year beginning the year after the license issues. |
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Eligibility, Experience, and the Education Alternative
To apply for the CPB license, the application requires you to:
- Complete the courses and pass the exams listed above (Business Communication from January 1, 2027).
- Verify one year (2,000 hours) of bookkeeping experience under the supervision of a qualified bookkeeper — a CPB, CPA, or accountant — or complete the 3 months of bookkeeping experience included in the Certified Public Bookkeeper Program. Employers complete the Work Experience Verification Forms.
- Submit a $100 non-refundable initial application processing fee.
- Submit the Application for Licensure and the Code of Conduct agreement.
Education alternative. If you hold an associate's or bachelor's degree in accounting, you may substitute the course requirements by submitting transcripts for approval to Consortia Accounting School. Approval waives the courses only — you must still pass the certification exams. Individual courses may likewise be replaced by an approved equivalent course.
Published Fees
| Item | Subscriber / NACPB member | Nonsubscriber / nonmember |
|---|---|---|
| Certification exam & certificate (each) | $80 | $100 |
| Certification exam retake (each) | $40 | $50 |
| CPB License — initial application (and late renewal) | — | $100 |
| Accounting Fundamentals course | $319.20 | $399 |
| QuickBooks Fundamentals course | $319.20 | $399 |
| Bookkeeping with QuickBooks training | $159.20 | $199 |
| Bookkeeping Experience (3 months) | $1,440 | $1,800 |
| Published CPB Program total | $2,477.60 | $3,097 |
The 20% discount is the Consortia Accounting Community subscriber rate, which NACPB pages describe as the member rate. A retake costs about half the original exam fee — note that a failed attempt costs you $40–$50, not another full $80–$100.
Exam-only math. If your transcripts waive the courses, the two currently required exams cost $160 (subscriber) or $200 (nonsubscriber), plus the $100 license application fee. From January 1, 2027, add one more exam.
Maintaining the CPB License: CPE
CPB licensees must obtain 24 hours of CPE each year, beginning the first subsequent year after the license is issued. The licensee must complete and return the CPE Reporting form together with the CPB License Renewal form no later than December 31. Obtaining the forms and reporting the CPE by that deadline is the licensee's responsibility, and failure to complete or report CPE results in denial of the license renewal.
NACPB does not publish a mandatory subject-by-subject split of those 24 hours, so treat any breakdown you see on third-party sites as that site's suggestion rather than a rule. Renewal is handled through the Annual Application for License Renewal, which includes the Annual CPE Reporting Certification Form.
What are the question count, time limit, reference-material policy, and minimum passing score published for each NACPB certification exam?
Beyond passing the required certification exams, which requirement must an applicant satisfy to be awarded the Certified Public Bookkeeper (CPB) license?
How many Continuing Professional Education (CPE) hours must a licensed Certified Public Bookkeeper complete annually to maintain active license status?
What are the published fees for one NACPB certification exam and for a retake of that exam?