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

Because Mississippi recognizes substantial equivalency, the Mississippi State Board of Public Accountancy 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 Mississippi is not becoming your principal place of business — you are serving Mississippi clients from elsewhere, or the work is temporary — practice privilege usually lets you work there with no Mississippi license at all. Apply for the reciprocal license when Mississippi is where you will actually be based.

Mississippi issues a reciprocal CPA license to any CPA holding a license in a substantially-equivalent US jurisdiction (or whose individual qualifications are substantially equivalent) — not a named partner list. Licensure is required only if you are a Mississippi resident or regularly transact business / are employed in Mississippi (Miss. Code 73-33-1); otherwise an out-of-state CPA may work under mobility/practice privilege with no Mississippi license (Miss. Code 73-33-17 as amended by HB 1137, effective July 1, 2026: a CPA whose principal place of business is outside Mississippi, who holds a valid license from any state, has passed all sections of the Uniform CPA Examination and meets Mississippi's education and experience requirements has practice privileges with no notice or fee; CPAs who held practice privileges on or before Dec. 31, 2025 keep them). A Board background check is mandatory for reciprocal applicants (since Nov. 1, 2015). Board Rule 2.6.4 adds that a reciprocal license is issued only when the issuing jurisdiction confirms the applicant's good standing and grants reciprocity to Mississippi CPAs. The 150-hour education requirement is the traditional state baseline; since July 1, 2026 (HB 1137) Miss. Code 73-33-5 also allows licensure with a baccalaureate degree including an accounting concentration plus two years of experience. Reciprocal applicants satisfy education through the substantial equivalency of their existing license.