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Mobility and State Licensing Issues
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There is significant momentum across the country to enact a uniform practice mobility system for certified public accountants (CPAs) and CPA firms. A majority of states are in the process of considering this concept. View an overview of the activity.
Practice mobility for CPAs is the ability of a licensee to gain a practice privilege outside of his or her home jurisdiction without obtaining an additional license in another state where he or she will be serving a client or an employer.
Because the electronic age makes conducting business across state borders an everyday occurrence, a national effort is underway to adopt a uniform system that will allow licensed CPAs the ability to provide services across state lines without being subject to unnecessary burdens that do not protect the public interest.
This uniform approach is endorsed by the AICPA and the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA), the national organization of state boards of accountancy, through a provision in the AICPA/NASBA Uniform Accountancy Act (UAA) – Fifth Edition. The provision specifically allows for interstate practice by CPAs whose home jurisdiction or who individually meets the UAA licensure standard.
This provision provides the right balance of trust and public protection. Removing notification is being coupled with automatic jurisdiction. By removing boundaries to practice in the U.S., CPAs will be able to more readily serve individuals and businesses in need of their expertise. At the same time, the state board of accountancy’s ability to discipline under the provision is enhanced and is based on the CPA and the CPA firm’s performance of public accounting services, either physically, electronically or otherwise within a state, rather than restricting the board’s authority to only those holding a state’s license.
Prior to 2007, when this national effort was undertaken, four states had already eliminated notification and added automatic consent to enforcement (Ohio, Missouri, Virginia, and Wisconsin). In both Ohio and Virginia, states that have the longest history with this concept, there is no documented lapse in public protection.
Mobility Update
As of August 2009

The Basics
What is CPA Mobility?
Mobility is the ability of a licensee to gain a practice privilege outside their principle place of business – without additional licensing or fees and for CPA firms, the ability to reduce the occurrences of obtaining a firm registration or license. The concept of mobility allows licensed CPAs and CPA firms to more readily practice across state jurisdictions.
Under section 23 of the AICPA/NASBA Uniform Accountancy Act (UAA), a CPA with a license in good standing from a jurisdiction with CPA licensing requirements essentially equivalent to those outlined in the UAA is deemed to be substantially equivalent, or a licensee who individually meets the requirements of.
150 credit hours with a Baccalaureate
Minimum 1 year of CPA experience
The Uniform CPA Examination
What’s happening now?
During the past several years there has been significant movement across the country to enact a uniform practice mobility system for CPAs and CPA firms. With the passage of over forty legislative bills the focus is now moving from enactment to implementation and navigation.
For information about licensing requirements in other states, you can access the accountancy statutes and regulations directly from most states’ board of accountancy Web sites. Find information about a specific state (simply locate the state on the map to link to the board of accountancy Web site in that state).
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