The Board’s Licensing section processes initial and renewal CPA firm registrations and monitors the peer review compliance program. It also processes original, reciprocal, reclassification, and renewal applications for CPA certification and administers and monitors the Continuing Professional Education (CPE) compliance program.
Contacting the Licensing Staff
Buck Winslow, Manager, (919) 733-1421
Cammie Emery, Specialist, (919) 733-1423 (CPA firm registration & renewal, peer review, CPE, & CPE audit)
Alice Grigsby, Specialist, (919) 733-1422 (individual CPA licensure and renewal, certificate reclassification, interstate exchange forms, & license verification letters)
Mailing Address
Licensing Section
NC State Board of CPA Examiners
PO Box 12827
Raleigh, NC 27605-2827
Fax Number
Attn.: Licensing
(919) 733-4209
CPA Firm Registration
Under 21 NCAC 08J .0108, all CPA firms, except professional corporations (PC), professional limited liability companies (PLLC), and registered limited liability partnerships (LLP), must register with the Board within 30 days after opening an office in North Carolina. Professional corporations, professional limited liability companies, and registered limited liability partnerships must register with the Board before forming the CPA firm. The North Carolina Office of the Secretary of State provides information on obtaining a professional business entity license for a CPA firm.
All information provided for CPA firm registration must pertain to the events and actions taken during the year preceding the year of registration. The last day of the preceding calendar year is considered the “year-end.” Although one representative of a CPA firm may file all registration documents for each of the CPA firm’s offices in North Carolina, the individual office supervisors or managers are responsible for compliance with the Board’s rules.
| NC CPA Firm Registration and Renewal Fees | |
|---|---|
| Individual Practitioner Registration | $0.00 |
| Renewal of Individual Practitioner Registration | $0.00 |
| Partnership Registration (Partners in NC Only) | $0.00 |
| Renewal of Partnership Registration (Partners in NC Only) | $0.00 |
| Partnership Registration (partners in NC & other jurisdictions) | $10.00 per partner (Maximum fee $2,500.00) |
| Renewal of Partnership Registration (partners in NC & other jurisdictions) | $10.00 per partner (Maximum fee $2,500.00) |
| Limited Liability Partnership (LLP) Registration (Partners in NC Only) | $0.00 |
| Renewal of LLP Registration (Partners in NC Only) | $0.00 |
| LLP Registration (partners in NC & other jurisdictions) | $10.00 per partner (Maximum fee $2,500.00) |
| Renewal of LLP Registration (partners in NC & other jurisdictions) | $10.00 per partner (Maximum fee $2,500.00) |
| Professional Corporation (PC) Registration | $50.00 |
| Renewal of PC Registration | $25.00 ($10.00 late fee if renewal submitted after deadline [NCGS 55B-11]) |
| Professional Limited Liability Corporation (PLLC) Registration | $50.00 |
| Renewal of PLLC Registration | $25.00 ($10.00 late fee if renewal submitted after deadline [NCGS 55B-11]) |
CPA Firm Registration Renewal
In addition to the initial CPA firm registration, all North Carolina CPA firms must renew their registration with the Board annually. One annual listing by a representative of a partnership, registered limited liability partnership, professional limited liability company, or professional corporation will satisfy the requirements of all partners or members of the CPA firm. If a CPA firm has dissolved or if any of the information provided to the Board during registration changes, the firm must notify the Board in writing within 30 days after the dissolution or change occurs. Not renewing a firm’s registration does not take the place of informing the Board that the firm is terminating its registration.
If a CPA firm fails to comply with any part of 21 NCAC 08J .0108 or 08J .0110 and continues to offer or render services, the Board may take disciplinary action against the CPA firm’s members. Such discipline may include:
- a $100.00 civil penalty for non-compliance of less than 60 days;
- a $200.00 civil penalty for non-compliance of at least 60 days but not more than 120 days;
- a $500.00 civil penalty per member for non-compliance of more than120 days.
Please contact Cammie Emery if you have questions regarding CPA firm registration or renewal.
Privilege License
Under NCGS 105-41, “Every person engaged in the public practice of accounting as a principal, or as a manager of the business of public accountant, shall pay for such [privilege] license fifty dollars ($50.00), and in addition shall pay a license of twelve dollars and fifty cents ($12.50) for each person employed who is engaged in the capacity of supervising or handling the work of auditing, devising or installing systems of accounts. Licenses issued under this section are issued as personal privilege licenses and shall not be issued in the name of a firm or corporation.” Please review the Opinion Letter issued by the Department of Revenue for an explanation of the privilege license as it relates to CPAs and CPA firms; Contact the NC Department of Revenue for privilege license requirement information.
Peer Review
Under 21 NCAC 08M, a CPA or CPA firm providing audits; reviews of financial statements; compilations of financial statements; or any engagements to be performed in accordance with the Statements on Standards for Attestation Engagements to the public must participate in an approved peer review program.
A CPA firm that does not have offices in North Carolina and has provided a financial statement audit or other engagement performed in accordance with the Statements on Auditing Standards [21 NCAC 08N .0403]; an examination of prospective financial information performed in accordance with the Statements on Standards for Attestation Engagements [21 NCAC 08N .0406]; or an engagement performed in accordance with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board auditing standards to North Carolina clients must participate in a peer review program. [G.S. 93-10(c)(3)]
Within 30 days of issuing any of the reports listed above to a client, a CPA or CPA firm must register with the AICPA Peer Review Program; Coastal Peer Review, Inc. administers the AICPA Peer Review Program for all CPA firms in North Carolina that do not provide services to publicly traded companies. To enroll in the AICPA Peer Review Program, please contact Coastal Peer Review, Inc., by telephone at 800-730-34126 or by email.
A CPA firm registered for peer review must provide the Board with the following:
- peer review due date;
- year-end date;
- Final Letter of Acceptance from the peer review program within 60 days of the date of the letter; and
- A package that includes the Peer Review Report, Letter of Response, and Final Letter of Acceptance for all failed and second passed with deficiencies modified reports issued by a peer review program within 60 days of the date of the Final Letter of Acceptance.
A peer review is not complete until the peer review program issues the Final Letter of Acceptance with the new peer review date. If a CPA firm required to participate in a peer review program does not comply with 21 NCAC 08M .0105(c), (d), or (g), the Board may take disciplinary action against the CPA firm’s members. The disciplinary action may include a suspension of each member’s CPA certificate for at least 30 days and a civil penalty of up to one thousand dollars ($1,000).
A CPA or CPA firm that does not provide any of the services listed above is exempt from peer review until the CPA or CPA firm issues the first such report to a client. If a CPA, a new CPA firm, or a CPA firm currently exempt from peer review starts providing any of the services listed above, they must furnish the peer review program with selected financial statements, corresponding work papers, and any additional information or documentation required for the peer review program within 18 months of issuing the first report to a client.
The Board does not grant extensions to complete the peer review; you must contact the peer review administrator to request an extension. If you are participating in the AICPA Peer Review program and need to request an extension, please contact Coastal Peer Review, Inc., by telephone at 800-730-34126 or by email.
Please review the AICPA Peer Review Program FAQs for more information about the AICPA peer review program.
CPA Firm Mobility/Practice Privilege
NCGS 93-10(c), Practice Privileges, states:
A firm whose principal place of business is outside this State and has no office in this State is granted the privilege to perform or offer to perform services, whether in person or by mail, telephone, or electronic means, in this State as a firm without notice to the Board, submission of any other documentation, or payment of any fee, except as otherwise provided in subdivision (3) of this subsection. A firm that exercises the privilege afforded under this section simultaneously consents as a condition of the grant of the privilege to:
(1) Comply with the laws of this State, the provisions of this Chapter, and rules adopted by the Board.
(2) Be subject to personal jurisdiction, subject matter jurisdiction, and disciplinary authority of the Board.
(3) Provide notice without a fee to the Board if any individual with the firm who has been granted privileges in North Carolina to practice as a certified public accountant performs any of the following services for a client in this State:
a. A financial statement audit or other engagement performed in accordance with the Statements on Auditing Standards.
b. An examination of prospective financial information performed in accordance with the Statements on Standards for Attestation Engagements.
c. An engagement performed in accordance with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board auditing standards.
Please contact Buck Winslow if you have questions regarding CPA firm mobility/practice privilege or the Notice of Intent to Practice, Additional information about mobility is available here.
Address Change
21 NCAC 08J .0107 requires CPAs and CPA firms to notify the Board in writing of any change in mailing address, physical address, practice address, phone number, employment, email address, website address, etc., within 30 days of the change. Board staff cannot accept any address changes not made in writing. To change a firm’s address online, enter the firm number and the certificate number of the supervising CPA of record. Address changes made with the NCACPA, AICPA, or other professional organizations do not update the address information on file with the Board. Email addresses are not public record information.