Your application must be complete at the time of submission. Incomplete applications may be denied.
If your principal place of business is not in Washington State, you may not have to apply for licensure in Washington. Please review Mobility for out of State CPAs.
There are three different methods to obtain a Washington CPA license through reciprocity: substantially equivalent, 3-5 or 5-10, or education and experience.
Substantially Equivalent Method
To determine if your current license jurisdiction is substantially equivalent to those of the Uniform Accountancy Act (UAA), please view the list from NASBA’s National Qualification Appraisal Service (NQAS).
To apply for your first Washington State CPA license using the substantially equivalent method, you will need to:
- Hold an active license to practice public accounting issued by a state or jurisdiction that is substantially equivalent.
- Complete a course covering the AICPA Code of Professional Conduct (8 hour minimum course length) and achieve a score of 90% or better on the examination. If you completed this requirement as part of your initial licensing qualifications for your current licensing jurisdiction, you do not need to complete the course again.
- Meet the CPE requirements to qualify for reciprocity. If you are in CPE compliance with your current licensing jurisdiction, you meet this requirement.
- Review an example of your first CPE reporting period.
- Verify that you have met the good character requirements by answering the questions on your CPA license application.
- Complete and submit the license application through our online services. ***We strongly suggest you use a personal email address to set up your SecureAccess Washington account.***
3-5 or 5-10 Method
To apply for your first Washington State CPA license using the "3 of the last 5 years" or "5 of the last 10 years" method, you need to:
- Hold an active license to practice public accounting issued by a state or jurisdiction that makes a similar provision for holders of a license issued by this state.
- Complete a course covering the AICPA Code of Professional Conduct (8 hour minimum course length) and achieve a score of 90% or better on the examination. If you completed this requirement as part of your initial licensing qualifications for your current licensing jurisdiction, you do not need to complete the course again.
- Meet the CPE requirements to qualify for reciprocity. If you are in CPE compliance with your current licensing jurisdiction, you meet this requirement.
- Submit documentation verifying that you have practiced public accounting for “3 of the last 5 years” or for “5 of the last 10 years”. The documentation could include:
- Letter(s) from employer(s) or client(s) indicating that you have been in the practice of public accounting for the requisite time.
- Business license, state registrations, licensing documents, etc.
Note: Any documentation submitted may be subject to public disclosure laws of the State of Washington, e.g. personal or business tax returns, business address.
- Review the example of your first CPE reporting period.
- Verify that you have met the good character requirements by answering the questions on your CPA license application.
- Complete and submit the license application through our online services. ***We strongly suggest you use a personal email address to set up your SecureAccess Washington account.***
Education and Experience Method
To apply for your first Washington State CPA license using the education and experience method, you need to:
- Hold an active license to practice public accounting issued by a state or jurisdiction that makes a similar provision for holders of a license issued by this state.
- Complete a course covering the AICPA Code of Professional Conduct (8 hour minimum course length) and achieve a score of 90% or better on the examination. If you completed this requirement as part of your initial licensing qualifications for your current licensing jurisdiction, you do not need to complete the course again.
- Meet the experience requirements.
- Submit a complete Experience Affidavit by upload to your online application.
- Read and complete the Experience Affidavit carefully. If any information is incomplete or incorrect, you will be required to submit a new experience affidavit with new signatures.
- The Experience Affidavit must be signed with a handwritten signature by both the applicant and verifying CPA. Typed or electronic signatures are not accepted.
- If you are listing more than 2 employers, complete and submit Experience Affidavit – 1B (Additional Experience) with your Experience Affidavit.
- Submit a complete Experience Affidavit by upload to your online application.
- Meet the education requirements.
- Submit official college transcripts showing that you meet the education requirements. To qualify your education can be for either:
- Current requirements for licensure in this state at the time you apply; or
- At the time of the issuance of your license in the other state, all the requirements applicable at that time to obtain a license in this state.
- Submit official college transcripts showing that you meet the education requirements. To qualify your education can be for either:
- Meet the CPE requirements to qualify for reciprocity. If you are in CPE compliance with your current licensing jurisdiction, you meet this requirement.
- Review an example of your first CPE reporting period.
- Verify that you have met the good character requirements by answering the questions on your CPA license application.
- Complete and submit the license application through our online services. ***We strongly suggest you use a personal email address to set up your SecureAccess Washington account.***
CPA licenses will not be issued between November 1 and December 31 due to the 20-hour minimum annual CPE requirement. Applications can be submitted but will not be approved until the beginning of January.
Provided no sanctions or investigations by other jurisdictions are in process, and you have met the requirements for applying for licensure through interstate reciprocity, you may use the CPA title in Washington State upon submission of a complete application to the Board.
If you submit licensing documents, including college or university transcripts and CPA Exam scores and do not submit an application for initial licensure within two years, your documents will be administratively destroyed per our records retention schedule.