Requirements for Examination [Section 2.2.1]  

Education - Effective February 1, 1995, a first-time examination candidate must have completed at least 150 semester hours of college education including a baccalaureate or higher degree conferred by a regionally accredited four-year college or university or the equivalent acceptable to the Board, with an accounting concentration determined by Board rule to be appropriate. Candidates who first sat before February 1, 1995, must have met the requirements in effect at that time. NOTE:  Mississippi law (Code Section 73-33-5) was revised effective July 1, 2016, to allow examination candidates to sit for the CPA exam with a baccalaureate degree of at least 120 collegiate-level semester hours.

Minimum 48 semester hours upper division or graduate level accounting and business related courses. Accounting courses must be a minimum 24 of the 48 hours and include at minimum, three semester hours in:

• Financial Accounting
• Auditing
• Taxation
• Accounting Information Systems

Licensure Requirements [Section 2.1]

Residency - The applicant must be a resident of the State of Mississippi or have a place for regular transaction of business within this state.

Good Moral Character - Effective November 1, 2015, Applicants for Initial Applications and Reinstatement Applications for Original MS CPA Licenses and Reciprocal CPA Licenses (not for CPA Exam applications, firm permit applications/renewals, or for annual renewal of CPA licenses) will be required to complete an online background check.

Passing the CPA Exam - Applicant must make application for licensure within 3 years of passing the CPA examination.

Experience - The candidate must have at minimum, one year meaningful experience gained by full time employment within three years from the date of successful completion of the CPA examination, under the supervision and direction of a CPA licensee such as:

• Accounting and Auditing
• Management Advisory
• Financial Advisory
• Preparation of Tax Returns or Tax Advice

Reciprocity [Section 2.6]

The concept of reciprocity is designed to distinguish between when a CPA can practice public accounting under a mobility/practice privilege vs when a reciprocal CPA license or CPA firm permit is required. To be clear, per Mississippi Code 73-33-1, if you are a resident or an individual who has a place for the regular transaction of business in Mississippi (employed in Mississippi), in order to represent yourself as a CPA, you are to be licensed by this Board by either an original or reciprocal CPA license. A reciprocal CPA license is one issued after the original. 

If you are a CPA licensed in another jurisdiction however, you may qualify to practice public accounting in Mississippi under the mobility/practice privilege if ALL three of the following apply: 1) your principal place of business is outside the state of Mississippi AND, 2) you hold a valid CPA license from a substantially equivalent jurisdiction OR if the jurisdiction isn't substantially equivalent but your individual qualifications for licensure are substantially equivalent to Mississippi's qualifications for licensure, AND 3) you aren't performing services noted in Mississippi Code 73-33-17(4). If you are performing services noted in Mississippi Code 73-33-17(4) for an entity whose home office is in Mississippi, you are required to do so under a firm permit issued by this Board.

Those practicing public accounting in Mississippi under the mobility/practice privilege shall comply with all of the same Rules and Regulations as holders of Mississippi CPA licenses.

Annual Report on Reciprocal Licensure

Retirement of a License [Section 2.5]

Qualifications

• Retired Status: An individual who holds a current license issued by the board who is 55 years old or older and has timely filed a request for retired status on a form prescribed by the board which indicates the licensee does not perform or offer to perform for the public one or more kinds of services involving the use of accounting or auditing skills, including the issuance of reports on financial statements or other compilation communication, or of one or more kinds of management advisory, financial advisory or consulting services, or the preparation of tax returns or the furnishing of advice on tax matters. An individual may be granted retired status at any time.
• Permanently disabled as affirmed by a written statement from the licensee's physician which states that the licensee is unable to perform activities regulated by the Board and clearly details the disability.
• If you wish to apply for retired status, please complete the application found on the Home Page under Applications Log In.

May only use the title "CPA (retired)"​