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Licensure by Endorsement for Certified Public Accountants

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Licensure by endorsement is a streamlined application process that is available to individuals who:

  • Are licensed in another state that has significantly comparable licensing requirements to New York State (see information about significantly comparable states); and
  • Have at least 4 years of acceptable experience within the last 10 years since their initial license was issued in the following service areas: independent audit, compilation and reviews, internal, management or government audit, forensic accounting, bookkeeping and internal financial statement preparation, tax preparation or tax advice, financial advisory services, consulting services, teaching college accounting, standards setting, or other professional services.
  • Have completed either 40 credits of continuing education in any subject area or 24 credits of continuing education in one subject area within the past 12 months. additional information can be found on our website.

The experience must be gained under the supervision of a U.S. certified public accountant who is properly licensed and registered or authorized to practice in the jurisdiction of their principal place of business. 

If a CPA supervisor was not properly licensed or registered or authorized to practice in the state where they practiced, the experience cannot be accepted. Refer to the instructions on the Form 4B for additional information on acceptable experience, including the requirements for U.S. experience and self-certification.

If you cannot certify 4 years of acceptable post licensure experience, you are not eligible for licensure by endorsement and must apply as an applicant for initial licensure. If your initial CPA license was issued by a state that does not have significantly comparable licensure requirements to New York State, you will need to submit all of the documentation required for initial licensure so that the Education Department can determine whether your personal qualifications are substantially similar to New York State' licensing requirements.

Teaching College Accounting
For experience teaching college accounting, the equivalency of semester hours to years, see the chart. 

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To apply for licensure by endorsement you must submit:

  • Form 1 - Application for Licensure and First Registration. This form includes the $427 fee; and
  • Form 3 – Certification of Out-of-State Licensure and Examination Grades. Verification of your licensure status from the State in which you were initially licensed, and if it is different, the state of your current principal place of business. We will accept a printout of another state's online license verification if it provides your initial date of licensure, license number and indicates whether there has been any disciplinary action taken against your license. If the state(s) in which you are licensed do not provide this information through online verification you must have the Board for Accountancy in that state complete and submit a Certification of Out of State Licensure and Examination Scores (Form 3); and
  • Form 4B – Verification of Experience by Supervisor. This form must be completed and submitted by the CPA who supervised 4 years of post-licensure experience within the last 10 years. Please refer to the Form 4B instructions for details regarding acceptable self-certification experience.