CPA / Accounting License from California to New Hampshire: Does It Transfer? (2026)
Last verified: 2026-07-21 · source: New Hampshire Board of Accountancy (Office of Professional Licensure and Certification) ↗
Yes — New Hampshire recognizes CPA licenses from all states, including California. Apply to the New Hampshire Board of Accountancy (Office of Professional Licensure and Certification) for a reciprocal license; you will not repeat the full exam or education.
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Verdict
Full reciprocity
New Hampshire recognizes substantial equivalency, so your California CPA license clears the bar on its own — the New Hampshire Board of Accountancy (Office of Professional Licensure and Certification) cares that you are a CPA in good standing, not that your license came from California. What remains is New Hampshire-side: verification through CPAverify.org, the reciprocal application and fee, a background check, and any New Hampshire ethics or rules-of-conduct exam. Do the mobility math first, though — if New Hampshire is not becoming your principal place of business, practice privilege may let you work there without this application at all.
What changes, California → New Hampshire
| California (current) | New Hampshire (destination) | |
|---|---|---|
| Training hours | 150 | 120 |
| Application fee | $650 ($250 initial application fee + $400 initial license fee (due on approval) = $650; $49 hard-copy fingerprint processing fee billed separately (Live Scan)) | $75 (OPLC fee schedule Plc 1002.01 sets the CPA initial/reciprocity application-and-licensing fee at $75; NASBA charges a separate application-processing fee) |
| Processing time | The CBA does not publish a fixed processing time; licensure cannot be completed until transcripts, transferred exam grades, experience verification, and fingerprint clearance are received | OPLC does not publish a processing time; applications are processed through NASBA Licensing Services |
| Licensing authority | California Board of Accountancy (CBA) | New Hampshire Board of Accountancy (Office of Professional Licensure and Certification) |
The destination column is what you must satisfy — New Hampshire sets the rules for this move.
Step by step
- Confirm New Hampshire's current requirements on the New Hampshire Board of Accountancy (Office of Professional Licensure and Certification) website (linked below) — rules change.
- Submit the endorsement application to the New Hampshire Board of Accountancy (Office of Professional Licensure and Certification) (application linked below).
- Arrange license verification from your current state via the verification system.
- Hold a CPA certificate/license in good standing from another jurisdiction.
- Meet the education requirement (baccalaureate degree with at least 120 semester hours, including at least 30 hours in accounting and 24 hours in business) and at least one year of accounting experience.
- Alternatively qualify via the reciprocity experience track: active in the practice of public accounting for at least four of the ten years immediately preceding the application.
- Submit the Authorization for Interstate Exchange of Examination and Licensure Information and three character references.
- Complete a criminal background check if indicated.
- Pay the fees ($75 (OPLC fee schedule Plc 1002.01 sets the CPA initial/reciprocity application-and-licensing fee at $75; NASBA charges a separate application-processing fee)) and allow OPLC does not publish a processing time; applications are processed through NASBA Licensing Services.
Official links
Related guides
Frequently asked questions
Does New Hampshire accept a California CPA license?
Yes — New Hampshire recognizes CPA licenses from all states, including California. Apply to the New Hampshire Board of Accountancy (Office of Professional Licensure and Certification) for a reciprocal license; you will not repeat the full exam or education.
Do I retake the CPA Exam moving from California to New Hampshire?
No — the Uniform CPA Exam transfers with your license. The Uniform CPA Examination is not retaken; the reciprocity application documents when and where the exam was passed and relies on the existing certificate (national lookup at CPAverify.org). New Hampshire imposes no separate state ethics or rules-of-conduct exam on reciprocal applicants..
Do I need a New Hampshire license, or does mobility cover the move?
If New Hampshire becomes your principal place of business, you apply to the New Hampshire Board of Accountancy (Office of Professional Licensure and Certification) for a reciprocal license. If you are only serving New Hampshire clients from California, practice privilege usually covers you with no New Hampshire license, notice, or fee.
What does the California-to-New Hampshire move cost?
$75 (OPLC fee schedule Plc 1002.01 sets the CPA initial/reciprocity application-and-licensing fee at $75; NASBA charges a separate application-processing fee) (OPLC fee schedule Plc 1002.01 sets the CPA initial/reciprocity application-and-licensing fee at $75; NASBA charges a separate application-processing fee).
Can I keep my California CPA license after licensing in New Hampshire?
Yes — CPA licenses stack, and many CPAs hold more than one. Keep the California license active (its renewal and CPE run separately) and mobility covers the states where you hold none.
Sources
Primary sources only — official boards and compact commissions. Data last verified 2026-07-21.
- NH Admin Code Ac 301.05 — Application for Certification as CPA Through Reciprocity Form ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
- NH Admin Code Ac 304.03 — Domestic Reciprocity CPA Certificate Applicant Education (120 hours) ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
- NH Admin Code Ac 301.02 — CPA Certification Process Overview (reciprocity; 4-of-10-years experience track) ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
- NH Admin Code Plc 1002.01 — OPLC fee schedule (CPA $75 initial application/licensing) ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
- CBA — Initial Licensing FAQs ($250 application, $400 initial license, $49 hard-copy fingerprint fee; PETH ethics exam eliminated effective 7/1/2024) ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
- CBA — Applying for a California CPA License (quick tips: 150 units incl. 24 accounting/24 business/20 accounting study/10 ethics study; 12 months experience; fingerprint clearance) ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
- California Business and Professions Code 5087 (out-of-state licensee may be issued a CA license only if the other state's requirements are comparable to California's) ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
Reviewed by Billy Reiner, Editor · verified against primary sources 2026-07-21
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