Transfer Your CPA / Accounting License to Maryland: Reciprocity & Endorsement (2026)

Because Maryland recognizes substantial equivalency, the Maryland State Board of Public Accountancy (Maryland Dept. of Labor, Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing) looks at your standing, not your origin: a CPA in good standing from any state qualifies for a reciprocal license, and the Uniform CPA Exam does not come back. Read the requirements below as the destination's own layer — a background check, a state ethics or rules-of-conduct exam where one applies, and proof your CPE is current — rather than a re-credentialing.

Settle the mobility question before you file. If Maryland is not becoming your principal place of business — you are serving Maryland clients from elsewhere, or the work is temporary — practice privilege usually lets you work there with no Maryland license at all. Apply for the reciprocal license when Maryland is where you will actually be based.

Maryland grants a reciprocal CPA license to any CPA holding an active license in a substantially-equivalent US jurisdiction (all 55 boards are substantially equivalent), verified through the home board's confirmation of licensure and exam scores — not a named partner list. The state baseline for initial licensure is 150 semester hours plus the AICPA Professional Ethics comprehensive course (min. 90%); reciprocal applicants normally satisfy education and ethics through their existing license. Separate from this license transfer, an out-of-state CPA whose principal place of business is elsewhere may practice in Maryland under practice privilege/mobility with no Maryland license; the reciprocal license is needed when Maryland becomes the principal place of business.