(1) He or she meets the education, examination and experience qualifications for a certificate; or

(2) He or she holds an out-of-state certificate and meets the substantial equivalency certificate requirements; or

(3) He or she holds an out-of-state certificate, does not meet the substantial equivalency requirements of number 2 above but does meet the not substantially equivalent certificate requirements; or

(4) He or she holds a substantially equivalent foreign designation and meets the foreign designation certificate requirements.

Reciprocal Substantial Equivalency Certificate Requirements for a Holder of an Out-of-State Certificate Establishing a Place of Business in this State.

(1) At least one hundred fifty semester hours of college education including a baccalaureate or higher degree conferred by an accredited college or university, the total education program to include an accounting concentration or equivalent, as determined by the Board to be appropriate; 

(It should be noted that, if you intend to secure the additional hours needed to meet the 150-hour education requirement for certification while sitting for and/or after passing the CPA Examination,  most colleges and universities will NOT add CLEP (College Level Examination Program) or DSST (Dantes Subject Standardized Tests) credits to the transcript after the individual has graduated.)

(2) Passage of the uniform certified public accountant examination published by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (see academic requirement for sitting for CPA Exam) or its successor and any additional examination required by the Board by rule that tests the applicant's knowledge of subjects related to the practice of accounting: Provided, That before applying for the examination, an applicant is required to have met the baccalaureate degree requirement but not the one hundred fifty semester hour requirement of number (1) directly above; and

(3) At least one year of experience in providing any type of service or advice involving the use of accounting, attest, compilation, management advisory, financial advisory, tax or consulting skills. The experience requirement may be satisfied by employment in private practice, government, industry, not-for-profit organization, academia or public practice. An applicant's experience must be verified by a licensee and must meet requirements specified by rule.

Reciprocal Certification -  for an out-of-state CPA with a certificate from another state or jurisdiction who has become a resident of this state (2)  intends to  establish a business in this state, or  (3) is employed by an entity in this state. The out-of-state CPA shall make application for a reciprocal certificate under one of the following three categories:                        

The Board shall issue a certificate to an applicant who holds a valid out-of-state certificate if the state of issuance extends similar privileges to holders of certificates under circumstances similar to those described in this section and if the Board determines that:

(1) The state of issuance of the out-of-state certificate has certified public accountant certification requirements that are substantially equivalent to the certified public accountant certification requirements of the uniform accountancy act; or

(2) The applicant has individual qualifications that are substantially equivalent to the certified public accountant certification requirements of the Uniform Accountancy Act.

Applicants who have met the preceding requirements should make application for certification on the following form: Application for Reciprocal Certificate The Application for Reciprocal Certificate requires verification from the original certifying board.  Please complete the first portion of the Interstate Exchange of Information form included in the Reciprocal Application and forward the form to the  certifying board for completion.  Check with the certifying board before forwarding the Interstate Exchange of Information form to determine if a fee for this service should be included.

Out-of-state CPA not substantially equivalent certificate requirements. (Reciprocal Certificate)                            [BACK]

The Board shall issue a reciprocal substantially equivalent certificate to an applicant of good moral character who holds a valid out-of-state certificate but who does not qualify for a certificate under the substantial equivalency provision above, if the applicant meets the following education, experience, examination and continuing education requirements:

(1) The applicant passed the examination required for issuance of the applicant's certificate with grades that would have been passing grades at the time in this state;

(2)  Within the ten year period immediately preceding the application and after passing the examination upon which the applicant's certificate in the other state was based, the applicant has had one year of experience outside of this state of the type described under Experience Requirement; and,

(3)  If the applicant's out-of-state certificate was issued more than four years prior to the application for issuance of a certificate, that the applicant has fulfilled the 120-hour rolling-three year continuing professional education requirement.

Applicants who have met the preceding requirements should make application for certification on the following form: Application for Reciprocal Certificate The Application for Reciprocal Certificate requires verification from the original certifying board.  Please complete the first portion of the Interstate Exchange of Information form included in the Reciprocal Application and forward the form to the  certifying board for completion.  Check with the certifying board before forwarding the Interstate Exchange of Information form to determine if a fee for this service should be included.

Additional Experience Verification Form (if needed) 

Foreign Designations Substantially Equivalent Certificate Requirements - (Reciprocal Certificate)                [BACK]

The Board shall issue a reciprocal substantially equivalent certificate to an applicant of good moral character who holds a foreign designation in public accountancy if:

(1) the foreign authority which granted the designation makes similar provision to allow a person who holds a valid certificate issued by this State to obtain such foreign authority's comparable designation;

(2)  the foreign designation:

A. was duly issued by a foreign authority that regulates the practice of public accountancy and has not expired or been revoked or suspended;

B. entitles the holder to issue reports upon financial statements; and

C. was issued upon the basis of educational, examination, and experience requirements established by the foreign authority or by law that are substantially equivalent to those contained in the Uniform Accountancy Act; and

(3) the applicant:

A. received the designation, based on educational and examination standards substantially equivalent to those in effect in this State at the time the foreign designation was granted;

B. completed an experience requirement, substantially equivalent to the requirement set out in Board Rules, in the jurisdiction which granted the foreign designation; or meets equivalent requirements prescribed by the Board by rule, within the ten years immediately preceding the application; and

C. passed a uniform qualifying examination in national standards and an examination on the laws, rules and code of ethical conduct in effect in this state acceptable to the Board.

An applicant under this Section shall in the application list all jurisdictions, foreign and domestic, in which the applicant has applied for or holds a designation to practice public accountancy, and each holder of a certificate issued shall notify the Board in writing, within thirty days after its occurrence, of any issuance, denial, revocation or suspension of a designation or commencement of a disciplinary or enforcement action by any jurisdiction.

Applicants who have met the preceding requirements should make application for certification on the following form: Application for Reciprocal Certificate The Application for Reciprocal Certificate requires verification from the original certifying board.  Please complete the first portion of the Interstate Exchange of Information form included in the Reciprocal Application and forward the form to the  certifying board for completion.  Check with the certifying board before forwarding the Interstate Exchange of Information form to determine if a fee for this service should be included.

Additional Experience Verification Form (if needed)