CPA / Accounting License from Connecticut to Florida: Does It Transfer? (2026)
Does Florida accept a Connecticut CPA license?
Yes — Florida recognizes CPA licenses from all states, including Connecticut. Apply to the Florida Board of Accountancy (Department of Business and Professional Regulation) for a reciprocal license; you will not repeat the full exam or education.
Verify this exact pair in the checker
Same data, interactive — with share link and board links.
Verdict
Full reciprocity
Florida recognizes substantial equivalency, so your Connecticut CPA license clears the bar on its own — the Florida Board of Accountancy (Department of Business and Professional Regulation) cares that you are a CPA in good standing, not that your license came from Connecticut. What remains is Florida-side: verification through CPAverify.org, the reciprocal application and fee, a background check, and any Florida ethics or rules-of-conduct exam. Do the mobility math first, though — if Florida is not becoming your principal place of business, practice privilege may let you work there without this application at all.
What's different between Connecticut and Florida
Computed from both states' verified data rows, in both directions, and from the route every other origin gets into Florida. Exam notes are our summary of each board's published rules, with sources below.
- Route, each way
Connecticut to Florida (this page): Full reciprocity.
Florida to Connecticut (the reverse move): Licensure by endorsement.
The two directions differ: Connecticut and Florida do not give each other's licensees the same route.
- Does coming from Connecticut matter?
Coming from Connecticut does not change the answer: every origin (the other 49 states and DC) gets the same result for a move into Florida.
- Application fee
Florida lists $300 for an out-of-state applicant and Connecticut lists $150 for the reverse move; neither may be the full cost.
- Education (semester hours)
Florida's first-time-applicant standard is 150 semester hours of education for initial licensure; Connecticut's is 150.
The two standards are the same.
- Exam rules on record
Florida and Connecticut carry different exam notes (our summaries, below); any state law or jurisprudence exam is listed with each state's requirements.
- Florida (this move): The Uniform CPA Examination is not retaken; the applicant files the DBPR CPA 5012-1 Authorization for Interstate Exchange of Examination and Licensure Information so Florida can confirm passage through the existing license. Florida requires no separate state ethics or law exam.
- Connecticut (the reverse move): The Uniform CPA Examination is not retaken; all four sections must already have been passed with grades of 75 or better and are confirmed through a license verification from your current board. Connecticut also requires passage of a professional ethics examination, unless the applicant qualifies under the five-years-experience-in-ten alternative, which exempts both the education and the ethics requirement.
What changes, Connecticut → Florida
| Connecticut (current) | Florida (destination) | |
|---|---|---|
| Education (semester hours) | 150 | 150 |
| Application fee | $150 ($150 initial fee for a CPA License (needed to practice; renews at $565 per year); a CPA Certificate Registration, which allows use of the CPA title but not practice, is $40 initial and $40 per year) | $300 (non-refundable DBPR CPA 3 Licensure by Endorsement application fee; no fingerprint/background-check surcharge (Florida does not fingerprint CPA applicants)) |
| Processing time | the Department of Consumer Protection does not publish a processing time for the reciprocal certificate | the Florida Board of Accountancy / DBPR does not publish a processing time for endorsement |
| Licensing authority | Connecticut State Board of Accountancy (Department of Consumer Protection) | Florida Board of Accountancy (Department of Business and Professional Regulation) |
The destination column is what you must satisfy — Florida sets the rules for this move.
Step by step
- Confirm Florida's current requirements on the Florida Board of Accountancy (Department of Business and Professional Regulation) website (linked below) — rules change.
- Submit the endorsement application to the Florida Board of Accountancy (Department of Business and Professional Regulation) (application linked below).
- Arrange license verification from your current state via the verification system.
- Hold a current, active CPA license issued by another US state or territory and keep it active until Florida issues the license.
- Qualify under one endorsement pathway: other-state requirements substantially equivalent to Florida's with one year of experience; OR licensed and in practice at least ten years; OR five years of experience after licensure.
- Submit the DBPR CPA 3 Application for Licensure by Endorsement and the DBPR CPA 5012-1 Authorization for Interstate Exchange of Examination and Licensure Information.
- Have good moral character.
- Pay the fees listed above, and allow for the processing time shown there.
Official links
Related guides
Frequently asked questions
Do I retake the CPA Exam moving from Connecticut to Florida?
No — the Uniform CPA Exam transfers with your license.
Do I need a Florida license, or does mobility cover the move?
If Florida becomes your principal place of business, you apply to the Florida Board of Accountancy (Department of Business and Professional Regulation) for a reciprocal license. If you are only serving Florida clients from Connecticut, practice privilege usually covers you with no Florida license, notice, or fee.
Can I keep my Connecticut CPA license after licensing in Florida?
Yes — CPA licenses stack, and many CPAs hold more than one. Keep the Connecticut 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 Connecticut 2026-10-29, Florida 2026-07-21.
- Florida DBPR — CPA Licensure by Endorsement (experience pathways, other-state license issued on/after 8/15/2014, $300 fee, 150 hours) ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
- Florida DBPR — CPA Initial Licensure Requirements (150 semester hours with accounting and business hour breakdown) ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
- CT DCP — Certified Public Accountant Reciprocal Candidate application (hold out-of-state license, five-in-ten experience test, license verification, exam not retaken; credential types and fees; Public Act 25-36 pathways and practice-privilege change eff. Oct 1, 2025) ↗ (accessed 2026-10-29)
- CT DCP — CPA Certificate by Reciprocity (statutory criteria, $150 issuance fee, professional ethics examination) ↗ (accessed 2026-10-29)
- CT DCP — Certified Public Accountant Initial CT Applicant (also for reciprocal applicants who have not attained 5 years of experience in the last 10: education, experience, AICPA ethics, SBA-007 license/exam verification) ↗ (accessed 2026-10-29)
Reviewed by the License Reciprocity Editorial Team · verified against primary sources Connecticut 2026-10-29, Florida 2026-07-21
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