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Making a move? Don’t forget about your CPA certificate

BOA Business

Anne Janotta Erickson, MNCPA membership marketing team leader | August 2020 Footnote

Editor's note: Updated July 28, 2020

The truck is packed and your mail is forwarded. Next stop: New home, sweet home!

Ensure your CPA certificate is ready to make the move by understanding the certification rules specific to your new home state ⁠— whether that’s here in Minnesota or elsewhere.

Why is this important? Because CPA certificates are issued at the state level, and rules can vary from one border to the next. Each state’s BOA is the ultimate authority on their requirements for certification.

New to Minnesota?

Welcome! Let’s bring you up to speed on certification rules set by the Minnesota Board of Accountancy (BOA).

If you’re a CPA in public accounting or want to use the CPA designation, you’ll need to apply for a Minnesota CPA certificate before you can practice or hold yourself out as a CPA licensed in the state.

Step one: Apply

If you’re certified in a state that’s substantially equivalent to Minnesota, complete the BOA’s CPA Certificate Application (by non-Minnesota Exam Candidate) form available online and submit the required documentation.

If your CPA certificate is from a state that’s not substantially equivalent, you may still qualify for certification by providing information specified in Minnesota Statute 326A.04. The above-listed form will provide further details.

Step two: Maintain

While every state has their own unique rules and deadlines surrounding licensure, they also have one thing in common: certificate maintenance. Do yourself a favor and be aware of state-specific rules and deadlines surrounding certificate renewal and CPE reporting.

Minnesota requires CPAs to renew their certificate and report their CPE, if required, annually by Dec. 31 to remain in compliance. Visit www.mncpa.org/renewal to learn more about Minnesota’s rules.

If you’re certified in multiple states, get ready to follow multiple sets of rules and deadlines. And, remember: Missing a certificate renewal or CPE reporting deadline could result in fines — or worse, revocation of your CPA certificate.

Moving from Minnesota?

Before you venture too far outside Minnesota, it’s important to understand how your CPA certificate will be affected by the move.

The BOA lays out three options for Minnesota CPAs who have left the state and plan to establish a principal place of business elsewhere.
  1. Continue to maintain and renew your active or inactive Minnesota CPA certificate.
  2. Go exempt with your Minnesota CPA certificate.
  3. Surrender your Minnesota CPA certificate (least advised).
However, addressing your Minnesota CPA certificate is just one piece of the moving puzzle. Be sure to reach out to your new state’s Board of Accountancy for state-specific certification details before you switch your status in Minnesota.

Questions?

Contact the Minnesota BOA with questions regarding CPA certification at 651-296-7938 or www.boa.state.mn.us.
The MNCPA is here to help. Reach out with CPA certification questions at 952-831-2707 or email customerservice@mncpa.org.
 

Minnesota BOA extends 2020 CPE deadline

www.mncpa.org/extension

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, your CPE deadline was extended to Sept. 30, 2020. CPAs may use CPE earned after June 30 but prior to Oct. 1, 2020, to meet the CPE requirements for the 2021 license renewal period. Just remember, any hours earned during the extension that have been used for CPE Year 2020 cannot be used again for CPE Year 2021. 

Don’t need the extension? That’s fine. This is an accommodation for those who need it, but not a requirement for those who don’t.