CPA / Accounting License from New Hampshire to Colorado: Does It Transfer? (2026)
Does Colorado accept a New Hampshire CPA license?
Yes — Colorado recognizes CPA licenses from all states, including New Hampshire. Apply to the Colorado State Board of Accountancy (Division of Professions and Occupations, DORA) 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
Colorado recognizes substantial equivalency, so your New Hampshire CPA license clears the bar on its own — the Colorado State Board of Accountancy (Division of Professions and Occupations, DORA) cares that you are a CPA in good standing, not that your license came from New Hampshire. What remains is Colorado-side: verification through CPAverify.org, the reciprocal application and fee, a background check, and any Colorado ethics or rules-of-conduct exam. Do the mobility math first, though — if Colorado is not becoming your principal place of business, practice privilege may let you work there without this application at all.
What's different between New Hampshire and Colorado
Computed from both states' verified data rows, in both directions, and from the route every other origin gets into Colorado. Exam notes are our summary of each board's published rules, with sources below.
- Route, each way
New Hampshire to Colorado (this page): Full reciprocity.
Colorado to New Hampshire (the reverse move): Licensure by endorsement.
The two directions differ: New Hampshire and Colorado do not give each other's licensees the same route.
- Does coming from New Hampshire matter?
Coming from New Hampshire does not change the answer: every origin (the other 49 states and DC) gets the same result for a move into Colorado.
- Application fee
Colorado lists $195 for an out-of-state applicant and New Hampshire lists $75 for the reverse move; neither may be the full cost.
- Education (semester hours)
Colorado's first-time-applicant standard is 150 semester hours of education for initial licensure; New Hampshire's is 150.
The two standards are the same.
- Exam rules on record
Colorado and New Hampshire carry different exam notes (our summaries, below); any state law or jurisprudence exam is listed with each state's requirements.
- Colorado (this move): The Uniform CPA Examination is not retaken; passage is confirmed through your active out-of-state CPA license (national lookup at CPAverify.org). Colorado imposes no separate state law exam, but reciprocal applicants must have passed the 8-hour AICPA Professional Ethics comprehensive course and examination and must complete a 2-hour Colorado Rules and Regulations course within six months of licensure.
- New Hampshire (the reverse move): 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.
What changes, New Hampshire → Colorado
| New Hampshire (current) | Colorado (destination) | |
|---|---|---|
| Education (semester hours) | 150 | 150 |
| Application fee | $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; NASBA's New Hampshire licensing page lists the Reciprocal application at $201 (not itemized between NASBA and the state)) | $195 (reciprocal certificate application fee processed by NASBA/CPAES; the AICPA ethics course/exam is purchased separately) |
| Processing time | OPLC does not publish a processing time; applications are processed through NASBA Licensing Services | No processing time is published; NASBA, which processes Colorado applications, states that the Colorado Board reviews and approves all licensure-eligible applications at its monthly board meeting and that eligible applications are sent to the Board three weeks before the meeting date |
| Licensing authority | New Hampshire Board of Accountancy (Office of Professional Licensure and Certification) | Colorado State Board of Accountancy (Division of Professions and Occupations, DORA) |
The destination column is what you must satisfy — Colorado sets the rules for this move.
Step by step
- Confirm Colorado's current requirements on the Colorado State Board of Accountancy (Division of Professions and Occupations, DORA) website (linked below) — rules change.
- Submit the endorsement application to the Colorado State Board of Accountancy (Division of Professions and Occupations, DORA) (application linked below).
- Arrange license verification from your current state via the verification system.
- Hold an active CPA license in good standing from a substantially-equivalent US jurisdiction.
- Pass the AICPA Professional Ethics: AICPA's Comprehensive Course examination (8-hour).
- Complete a 2-hour Colorado Rules and Regulations course within six months following licensure (or within the six months immediately preceding certification).
- Affirm compliance with all licensure requirements of the reciprocal state and meet Colorado CPE obligations.
- 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 New Hampshire to Colorado?
No — the Uniform CPA Exam transfers with your license.
Do I need a Colorado license, or does mobility cover the move?
If Colorado becomes your principal place of business, you apply to the Colorado State Board of Accountancy (Division of Professions and Occupations, DORA) for a reciprocal license. If you are only serving Colorado clients from New Hampshire, practice privilege usually covers you with no Colorado license, notice, or fee.
Can I keep my New Hampshire CPA license after licensing in Colorado?
Yes — CPA licenses stack, and many CPAs hold more than one. Keep the New Hampshire 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 2026-10-29.
- NASBA/CPAES — Colorado Application for CPA Certificate Reciprocity (active out-of-state license, AICPA ethics exam, Colorado Rules and Regulations course) ↗ (accessed 2026-10-29)
- NASBA Licensing — Colorado (reciprocal certificate fee $195; reciprocity requires an active license from a substantially-equivalent jurisdiction, CPE attestation, and the AICPA ethics exam; applications approved at the monthly Board meeting) ↗ (accessed 2026-10-29)
- Colorado DPO — Accountancy Applications and Forms (the Board has authorized NASBA's CPA Examination Services to process CPA license applications) ↗ (accessed 2026-10-29)
- Colorado General Assembly — SB26-076 Certification & Practice of Certified Public Accountants (signed May 4, 2026; effective Aug 12, 2026; new pathways available to applicants from Jan 1, 2027; individual practice privilege with no notice or fee) ↗ (accessed 2026-10-29)
- Colorado DPO — Accountancy homepage (Permanent Rulemaking Hearing October 21, 2026 on rule revisions to implement SB26-076) ↗ (accessed 2026-10-29)
- NH Admin Code Ac 301.05 — Application for Certification as CPA Through Reciprocity Form ↗ (accessed 2026-10-29)
- NH Admin Code Ac 304.03 — Domestic Reciprocity CPA Certificate Applicant Education (on or after July 1, 2014: baccalaureate of 120 hours + 30 additional hours; at least 30 accounting + 24 business) ↗ (accessed 2026-10-29)
- NH Admin Code Ac 301.02 — CPA Certification Process Overview (reciprocity: education requirements in effect when the exam was passed; 4-of-10-years experience track) ↗ (accessed 2026-10-29)
- NH Admin Code Plc 1002.01 — OPLC fee schedule (CPA $75 initial application/licensing) ↗ (accessed 2026-10-29)
- NASBA Licensing Services — New Hampshire (education for licensure: baccalaureate of 120 hours, total of 150 semester hours; Reciprocal application $201; proof of active licensure in good standing) ↗ (accessed 2026-10-29)
- NASBA — New Hampshire Experience Requirements (updated 10.15.2026; 150 semester hours unless all exam sections passed before July 1, 2014) ↗ (accessed 2026-10-29)
Reviewed by the License Reciprocity Editorial Team · verified against primary sources 2026-10-29
How we verify · All sources · Corrections log · spot an error? hello@licensereciprocity.com