When to Apply

You must hold a Delaware CPA Permit to Practice if you:

• work as a CPA at a firm in Delaware either as a principal or an employee, OR

• offer CPA services in Delaware when your place of business is outside Delaware but you do not qualify for practice privilege as explained in the When Not Required to Apply section below.

This includes any of the following situations:

• You do not hold an active CPA permit to practice in any other jurisdiction (state, U.S. territory or District of Columbia) but you have a year of experience after receiving your degree and you’ve passed both required examinations (see Requirements Before You File below).

• You hold an active CPA permit to practice in a jurisdiction where the requirements for licensure are substantially equivalent 24 Del. C. §§ 108 (c) (1) and 109 (a) (1)).

• You do not hold an active CPA permit to practice in a substantially equivalent jurisdiction, but the National Qualification Appraisal Service (NQAS) has certified an individual substantial equivalency for you (24 Del. C. §§ 108 (c) (1) and 109 (a) (1)).

• You do not hold an active CPA permit to practice in a substantially equivalent jurisdiction, but the following are true:

• • After passing the CPA Examination, you obtained at least four years of experience within the 10 years before applying for this license (24 Del. C. § 108 (c)(2)), AND
  • If you were licensed more than four years before this application, you meet the continuing education requirement in Section 7.2.1 of the Board’s Rules and Regulations.

To find out whether the jurisdiction where you hold an active license is substantially equivalent, see Substantial Equivalency the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) website. If the jurisdiction is not substantially equivalent, you may apply for individual substantial equivalency with NASBA’s Credential Net service.

To open a firm in Delaware, you must obtain a Delaware CPA Firm Permit in addition to a Delaware CPA Permit to Practice.

If you do not qualify for a CPA Permit to Practice, refer to PA Permit to Practice.

When Applying is Not Required 

You may offer your services in Delaware without obtaining a Delaware CPA Permit if you have practice privilege in Delaware.  You have practice privilege in Delaware when:

• Your place of business is and will remain outside Delaware, and you will not be offering your services through a firm located in Delaware, AND

• You hold an active CPA permit to practice from a substantially equivalent jurisdiction, oryou have been granted an NQAS-certified individual substantial equivalency, AND

• You agree to the terms and conditions in 24 Del. C. § 109.

Although not required to hold a Delaware CPA Permit in the circumstances described above, you may nonetheless elect to apply.

Requirements Before You Apply

If you are applying by examination because you do not hold an active CPA permit to practice in any other jurisdiction, you may apply only after you have passed both the CPA Examination and the AICPA Ethics Examination.

• Step 1: Pass the CPA Examination
  Before you apply for a Delaware CPA Permit to Practice, you must register for and pass the CPA examination. The application for the CPA examination is available at www.nasba.org. Direct all questions or concerns about the exam to the Delaware coordinator, Alanna Formosa, at aformosa@nasba.org or (615) 564-2163.

• Step 2: Pass the AICPA Ethics Examination
  After passing all four parts of the CPA examination, you must complete the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) self-study ethics course and pass the exam with a score of not less than 90%. For information about the required course, see Professional Ethics: AICPA’s Comprehensive Course or call AICPA directly at (888) 777-7077.

Information on How to Apply for a License in DELPROS

Applications are processed in DELPROS (Delaware Professional Regulation Online Services). The online license application process is simple and provides you with clear instructions throughout each stage of the application process. We strongly recommend that you understand what the requirements are for the license you are pursuing. Then, request and gather the documents you need before you begin the application process. Most of the information and forms are on this website. For further clarification of requirements, refer to your profession’s License Law and the Rules and Regulations.

In order to apply for a license or service request, you must have a DELPROS account. To create a new account or log into an existing DELPROS account, follow the instructions at the beginning of the application process. As part of the final steps of the application process, DELPROS instructs you to either “attach” or “upload” the required documents directly to your application and/or to “acknowledge” that you will either send them in yourself or make arrangements for “third-party” documents/forms to be sent to the Board office. Examples of “third-party forms” are transcripts from schools, employment verifications from a supervisor, and license verifications from another state. These forms usually require a signature, seal, or notary, therefore, must be mailed into the Board office directly. All documents received by mail are scanned and attached to the appropriate license records.

In DELPROS, you have the ability to save your application and return to it to edit/update information or upload documents for up to six months. However, if you do not submit your application within six months, you will have to restart your online application process. The Board office begins processing applications shortly after submission in the portal. You may check the status of your application in the DELPROS system throughout the whole process and we will correspond with you by email. The requirements for this license type are provided in the following section(s).

Requirements for All Applicants

The requirement below applies to all applicants, regardless whether you are applying for your first CPA Permit to Practice or you already hold a CPA permit to practice in another jurisdiction.

In addition to submitting the application and fee in DELPROS, you must submit:

• A State/Jurisdiction Licensure Verification sent directly to the Board office from each state or jurisdiction in which you currently hold or have ever held a license.

Additional Requirements for Exam Applicants

These are additional requirements if you do not hold an active CPA permit to practice in any other jurisdiction (state, U.S. territory or District of Columbia) but you have passed both the CPA and AICPA Ethics Examinations, you are applying by examination.

In addition to submitting the application, fee, and supporting documentation required in the previous section in DELPROS, you must also submit:

• Proof of your education:
  • A college or university transcript if you were educated in the U.S., which should be sent directly from the college or university to the Board office.
  • An evaluation of your transcript, if you attended a college outside the U.S., by one of the following credentialing services and must be sent directly to the Board office:
    • Foreign Academic Credentials Service, Inc. (FACS) – see facsusa.com.
    • NASBA International Evaluation Services (NIES) – see nasba.org.

• Your CPA Examination scores

• Your ethics examination score, which must be sent directly from the AICPA.

• An Affidavit of Supervised Work Experience from each employer from whom you are claiming qualifying work experience.
  • You must have one year of qualifying experience after receiving your accountancy degree.
  • The supervising CPA must hold an active CPA Permit in good standing from Delaware or other jurisdiction (state, U.S. territory or District of Columbia).The supervising CPA must sign the form in the presence of a notary and return to the applicant or mail to the Board office.
  • Section 6.2.5 of the Board’s Rules and Regulations explains what kind of qualifying experience you must have.

Requirements for Reciprocity Applicants

The requirement below is for active CPA permit holders in a jurisdiction that is not substantially equivalent, but you have an NQAS-certified individual substantial equivalency. This item is required in addition to submitting the application, fee, and supporting documentation required in previous sections. You must submit:

• An Substantial Equivalency Evaluation report from the NQAS.

The requirements below are for active CPA permit holders in a jurisdiction that is not substantially equivalent and you do not have an individual substantial equivalency. This item is required in addition to submitting the application, fee, and supporting documentation required in previous sections. You must submit:

• Proof of your education:
  • A college or university transcript sent directly from the college or university to the Board office if you were educated in the U.S.
  • An evaluation of your transcript sent directly by one of the following credentialing services if you attended a college outside the U.S.:
    • Foreign Academic Credentials Service, Inc. (FACS) – see facsusa.com.
    • NASBA International Evaluation Services (NIES) – see nasba.org.
• Your CPA Examination scores.
• An Affidavit of Supervised Work Experience form from each employer from whom you are claiming qualifying work experience.
  • You must have at least four years of experience completed after you passed the CPA Examination and within the past 10 years, see 24 Del. C. § 108 (c)(2)b).
  • The supervising CPA must hold an active CPA Permit in good standing from Delaware or other jurisdiction (state, U.S. territory or District of Columbia). The supervising CPA must sign the form in the presence of a notary and return to the applicant or mail to the Board office.
  • Sections 7.1.2.2 and 7.1.2.3 of the Board’s Rules and Regulations explains what kind of qualifying experience you must have. See also 24 Del. C. §§107 (f) and 108 (c) (2) b.
• • Proof of completion of 80 hours of continuing professional education (CPE) if your certificate, license or permit was issued more than four years before applying.
    • This CPE must have been taken in the past two years immediately before filing this application.
    • You must enter your CPE into the CE Tracker in DELPROS using your DELPROS user account log in. Click on the CONTINUING EDUCATION link in the dark blue bar at the top and follow the instructions on entering your CPE.
    • You must upload your certificates of completion for all of the CPE that you listed in the tracker when asked on the Attachments page of the application.
    • For information on the CPE and audits requirements, see the Continuing Education and Audit Information webpage. Also see Section 7.2.1 of the Board’s Rules and Regulations.

Peer Review Requirement for CPAs

You must enroll in a Board-approved peer review program (Section 10.12.6.4 of the Board’s Rules and Regulations) when you:

• issue compilation reports to the public), AND
• work for a business that is not required to hold a PA or CPA Firm permit (e.g., accounting/bookkeeping business)

Note: If you perform audit or review services, you must be covered by a firm that holds a CPA or PA Firm permit.