§466-5 License of certified public accountant. (a) A license and a permit are required to practice public accountancy. The board may license and grant the designation of "certified public accountant" to any person who has met the following:
(b) The educational requirement for a license shall include a baccalaureate degree conferred by a college or university recognized by the board with at least eighteen semester hours of upper division or graduate level accounting or auditing subjects as determined by rules adopted by the board pursuant to chapter 91, and:
(c) A person shall be exempt from the requirements in subsection (b) if that person:
(d) Each applicant shall present satisfactory evidence in the form of a certified statement from present or former employer(s) that the applicant has completed the required professional experience in public accountancy practice as defined in section 466-3. Completion of experience in private or government accounting or auditing work, deemed by the board to be equivalent to professional experience in public accountancy practice as defined in section 466-3, may be substituted for all or part of the two years of professional experience in public accounting practice required in subsection (a)(4). The nature, variety, and depth of acceptable private or government accounting or auditing experience shall be defined by the board in its rules.
(e) The examination required to be passed for licensure shall test the applicant's knowledge of the subjects of accounting theory, accounting practice, auditing, and other related subjects as the board may specify by rule. The board shall prescribe the methods of applying for and conducting the examination, including methods for grading papers and determining a passing grade required by an applicant for a license; provided that the board shall, to the extent possible, see to it that the grading of the examination and the passing grades are uniform with those applicable in all other states. The board may use the Uniform Certified Public Accountant Examination and Advisory Grading Service of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, and may contract with third parties to perform the administrative services with respect to the examination as the board deems appropriate to assist it in performing its duties herein.
(f) The board may allow an applicant to sit for the Uniform Certified Public Accountant Examination, if the applicant has met at least one of the following:
(g) The board shall prescribe the terms and conditions under which an applicant who has taken the examination prescribed in subsection (e), but who has not satisfactorily completed the examination, may be given credit for any part thereof that the applicant has satisfactorily completed. The board may also provide a specific length of time for an applicant to apply for reexamination.
(h) A person who passed the Uniform Certified Public Accountant Examination under the laws of another state may be exempted from taking the examination required pursuant to subsections (a)(5) and (e). The board shall prescribe the methods and requirements for exemption from examination requirements. The board shall prescribe the methods and requirements for exemption for the holder of a valid comparable certificate, registration, or license and a degree from a foreign country.
(i) A person who, on January 1, 1974, holds a license of certified public accountant issued under the laws of this State theretofore existing shall not be required to obtain an additional license of certified public accountant under this chapter, but shall otherwise be subject to all the provisions of this chapter; and the license theretofore issued shall, for all purposes, be considered a license issued under this chapter and subject to the provisions herein.
(j) Licenses shall be effective for a period not exceeding two years and shall be renewable biennially on or before December 31 of every odd-numbered year upon application to the board.
(k) The board may renew the license of a certified public accountant who completes a renewal application and fulfills the following requirements:
(l) Failure to renew a license on or before December 31 of every odd-numbered year, shall constitute a forfeiture of license. Continued practice in public accountancy without renewing or restoring a license and permit shall constitute unlicensed activity. Any person engaged in unlicensed activity shall be subject to sections 466-9, 466-11, 487-13, and 26-9.
(m) The board shall specify the method and requirements of application for restoration of a forfeited license. The date of restoration of the license shall be the date of board approval of the restoration. Restorations shall not be retrospective. [L 1973, c 158, pt of §2; am L 1975, c 118, §30(1); am L 1979, c 124, §1; am L 1980, c 53, §1; am L 1983, c 295, §1; gen ch 1985; am L 1989, c 110, §6; am L 1997, c 35, §2, c 40, §19, and c 86, §2; am L 2003, c 129, §1; am L 2025, c 14, §2]