General Information about Delaware Permits and Certificates

Delaware issues both a CPA Permit to Practice and a CPA Certificate.

• A CPA Permit to Practice licenses you to practice accountancy in Delaware.
• A Delaware CPA Certificate does not license you to practice accountancy in Delaware. If you have only a CPA Certificate and not a Permit to Practice, you are entitled to use the title Certified Public Accountant or the acronym CPA only if:
• The Certificate is active and in good standing, and
• You neither engage in nor offer to engage in practicing certified or public accountancy, and
• You place the words “not in public practice” next to your CPA title on any type of document or device.

Step 1: Pass the CPA Examination

Before you file for a Delaware CPA Certificate and/or CPA Permit to Practice, you must apply 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, Misun Shin, at mshin@nasba.org or (615) 880-4263.

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 course entitled Professional Ethics: The AICPA Comprehensive Course and pass the exam with a score of not less than 90%. The AICPA website is www.aicpa.org. Contact AICPA directly at (888) 777-7077.

Step 3: Choose the Correct Application Form

This table shows which application form to submit depending on your situation. Filing an incorrect form may delay processing of your application.

Requirements for All Applicants for a CPA Permit to Practice

After you have passed both the CPA examination and the AICPA Ethics examination, submit the following to the Delaware Board. These requirements apply to all applicants, regardless of whether or not you hold a Delaware CPA Certificate.

• Submit completed, signed and notarized Application for CPA Permit to Practice.

• Enclose a check or money order for the non-refundable processing fee made payable to “State of Delaware.” Payment must be US funds and drawn on a US bank.

• If you currently hold, or you have ever held, a permit or certificate in another state, US territory or the District of Columbia, arrange for the Board office to receive a verification from each jurisdiction, sent directly from the jurisdiction to the Board office.

• Arrange for each employer from whom you are claiming qualifying work experience to submit a completed, signed, notarized Affidavit of W ork Experiencedirectly to the Board office.
• The form must be signed by the supervising licensed CPA or Chartered Accountant from Canada, Australia, Ireland or Mexico.
• How much qualifying experience you are required to have depends on your accountancy education and other factors. Refer to the section entitled How Much Experience Do I Need? below.

Additional Requirement for Applicants with a Delaware CPA Certificate

This requirement applies if you hold a Delaware CPA Certificate that was issued more than four years before you file this CPA Permit application.

• Submit proof that you completed 80 hours of continuing professional education (CPE) in the two years immediately before filing the CPA Permit to Practice application.
• You may check your CPA Certificate’s issue date online at Verify License Online.
• For more information about CPE, see Section 11.0 of the Board’s Rules and Regulations.

Additional Requirements for Applicants by Reciprocity

The following requirements apply only if you are applying by reciprocity. If you hold a Delaware CPA Certificate, they do not apply to you.

• If you were not a Delaware candidate when you sat for the CPA examination, arrange for the Board office to receive one of these proofs of your education:
• If you were educated in the U.S., college or university transcript sent directly from the college or university to the Board office.
• If you attended a college outside of the U.S., evaluation of your transcript by the Foreign Academic Credentials Service, Inc. (FACS) sent directly from FACS to the Board office. The FACS website is www.facsusa.com . Contact FACS at (618) 656-5291.

Note: If you sat for the examination as a Delaware candidate, it is not necessary to submit proof of your education. The examination service will forward your transcript/evaluation to the Board office.

• If you were not a Delaware candidate when you sat for the CPA examination, arrange for the Board office to receive your CPA examination scores, sent directly from the State in which you sat for the examination to the Board office.

Note: If you sat for the CPA examination as a Delaware candidate, it is not necessary to submit proof of your scores. The CPA examination service will send your scores to Delaware.

• Arrange for the Board office to receive your ethics examination score, sent directly from the AICPA to the Board office.

• Submit proof of 80 hours of continuing professional education (CPE) completed within the past two years only if both of the following two conditions apply:
1. Your certificate/permit was issued four or more years before this application, and
2. You do not have at least five years experience within the past ten years. The experience must have been obtained after passing the CPA examination.

For more information about CPE, see Section 11.0 of the Board’s Rules and Regulations. For more information about the experience requirement, see the next section.

How Much Experience Do I Need?

As explained above, all applicants for a CPA Permit to Practice must arrange for the Board office to receive one or more Affidavit of W ork Experience forms as proof of their qualifying experience. However, the amount of qualifying experience that you are required to prove depends on several factors. This section explains how to figure out how much qualifying experience you must prove.

For further information on qualifying experience, see the following sections of Delaware Law – 24 Del. C. §107 (a)(5), 109 (a)(3) and (a)(4) – and Sections 5.0 and 9.0 of the Board’s Rules and Regulations.

Delaware CPA Certificate Holders

If you hold a Delaware CPA Certificate, your experience requirement is based on your education as shown in this table:

• Degrees must be conferred by accredited college or university with a concentration in (or the substantial equivalent of a concentration) accounting. See Section 4.1.4 of the Board’s Rules and Regulations for the required courses.
• Experience must be gained after receiving your degree.
• You must have completed the experience within ten years before applying.

Reciprocity Applicants

If you are applying by reciprocity (i.e., you do not hold a Delaware CPA Certificate), your experience requirement is either of the following:

• Five years of certified public accountancy experience after passing the CPA examination and within the past ten years, or
• Number of years of certified public accountancy experience based on your education as shown in the table under Delaware CPA Certificate Holders above.

Note: If you not have the five years of experience, you must also submit proof of 80 hours of CPE completed within the past two years.