CPA / Accounting License from New Hampshire to Maine: Does It Transfer? (2026)
Does Maine accept a New Hampshire CPA license?
Yes — Maine recognizes CPA licenses from all states, including New Hampshire. Apply to the Maine Board of Accountancy (Office of Professional and Occupational Regulation, Dept. of Professional and Financial 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
Maine recognizes substantial equivalency, so your New Hampshire CPA license clears the bar on its own — the Maine Board of Accountancy (Office of Professional and Occupational Regulation, Dept. of Professional and Financial Regulation) cares that you are a CPA in good standing, not that your license came from New Hampshire. What remains is Maine-side: verification through CPAverify.org, the reciprocal application and fee, a background check, and any Maine ethics or rules-of-conduct exam. Do the mobility math first, though — if Maine 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 Maine
Computed from both states' verified data rows, in both directions, and from the route every other origin gets into Maine. Exam notes are our summary of each board's published rules, with sources below.
- Route, each way
New Hampshire to Maine (this page): Full reciprocity.
Maine to New Hampshire (the reverse move): Licensure by endorsement.
The two directions differ: New Hampshire and Maine 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 Maine.
- Application fee
Maine lists $35 for an out-of-state applicant and New Hampshire lists $75 for the reverse move; neither may be the full cost.
- Education (semester hours)
Maine'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
Maine and New Hampshire carry different exam notes (our summaries, below); any state law or jurisprudence exam is listed with each state's requirements.
- Maine (this move): The Uniform CPA Examination is not retaken; your out-of-state license is verified via the Authorization for Licensure Information form completed by your home board, together with a national association's verification that your qualifications are substantially equivalent. The out-of-state license application checklist does not include a separate ethics examination.
- 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 → Maine
| New Hampshire (current) | Maine (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)) | $35 ($35 license fee; a $21 criminal records check fee is added for a total required payment of $56) |
| Processing time | OPLC does not publish a processing time; applications are processed through NASBA Licensing Services | the Board does not publish a processing time and asks applicants not to call to check status; the issued license is emailed to the applicant |
| Licensing authority | New Hampshire Board of Accountancy (Office of Professional Licensure and Certification) | Maine Board of Accountancy (Office of Professional and Occupational Regulation, Dept. of Professional and Financial Regulation) |
The destination column is what you must satisfy — Maine sets the rules for this move.
Step by step
- Confirm Maine's current requirements on the Maine Board of Accountancy (Office of Professional and Occupational Regulation, Dept. of Professional and Financial Regulation) website (linked below) — rules change.
- Submit the endorsement application to the Maine Board of Accountancy (Office of Professional and Occupational Regulation, Dept. of Professional and Financial Regulation) (application linked below).
- Arrange license verification from your current state via the verification system.
- Hold a CPA license in good standing from another US jurisdiction whose qualifications are substantially equivalent (verified by a national association / NASBA).
- Submit the Authorization for Licensure Information form completed by your home board.
- Pass a criminal history records check (required of all applicants).
- If not substantially equivalent, meet Maine's current requirements and, if licensed 4+ years, show 40 hours of CPE in the prior 12 months or four years of experience within the prior ten years.
- 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 Maine?
No — the Uniform CPA Exam transfers with your license.
Do I need a Maine license, or does mobility cover the move?
If Maine becomes your principal place of business, you apply to the Maine Board of Accountancy (Office of Professional and Occupational Regulation, Dept. of Professional and Financial Regulation) for a reciprocal license. If you are only serving Maine clients from New Hampshire, practice privilege usually covers you with no Maine license, notice, or fee.
Can I keep my New Hampshire CPA license after licensing in Maine?
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 New Hampshire 2026-10-29, Maine 2026-07-21.
- Maine Board of Accountancy — Application for Licensure on the Basis of an Out-of-State License (fee $56 = $35 license + $21 criminal records check; Authorization for Licensure Information; substantial equivalency) ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
- Maine 32 MRS 12231 — Application for licensure on the basis of an out-of-state license or certificate (substantial equivalency; four-years-in-ten experience / 40-hours-CPE alternative) ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
- Maine OPOR — Public Accountant and Certified Public Accountant licensing page (150-hour education, two years experience, criminal background check requirement) ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
- 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 New Hampshire 2026-10-29, Maine 2026-07-21
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