To verify a CPA license, run the accountant’s name or license number through CPAverify.org, the free national database maintained by the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy, then confirm the result on the state board of accountancy’s own website. For a tax engagement, add a search of the IRS Directory of Federal Tax Return Preparers. The three checks together take about five minutes and tell you whether the person is currently licensed, in what states, and whether the board has taken any action against them.
What to Gather First
Have the accountant’s full legal name as it appears on official documents. Nicknames and abbreviations produce false mismatches. A license number makes the search faster and eliminates confusion when two professionals share a name. You can usually find it on a CPA’s website footer, engagement letter, or business card. If it isn’t posted anywhere, ask. A licensed professional has no reason to withhold it.
Know the state where the CPA holds their primary license. Each state issues its own licenses, and the same person can appear under more than one jurisdiction if they hold licenses in several states. Knowing the state narrows results quickly in a national database that carries hundreds of thousands of records.
Search CPAverify
CPAverify.org is the only free, single-source national database of licensed CPAs and CPA firms available to the public. It is hosted by NASBA and populated with official licensing data sent directly from participating boards.1National Association of State Boards of Accountancy. CPAverify: What Is It and How Can It Help? Data flows in from 53 jurisdictions, covering all 50 states plus the District of Columbia, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.2National Association of State Boards of Accountancy. What is CPAverify?
On the homepage, enter the CPA’s name or license number. Select the state from the dropdown if you know it. The result returns current license status and basic contact information such as city and state. If the CPA holds licenses in more than one jurisdiction, all of them appear in a single record.3NASBA National Association of State Boards of Accountancy. What is CPAVerify? For many states, disciplinary details show up here as well.
One limitation matters. CPAverify shows only current license information. It does not carry education history, employment history, or historical license data.3NASBA National Association of State Boards of Accountancy. What is CPAVerify? If the person doesn’t appear or the record looks thin, go to the state board next.
Check the State Board Directly
Every state maintains its own license database, and local portals sometimes carry more granular information than the national one. Look for a “license search” or “license verification” link on the board’s main website, then enter a last name or license number.
State board sites are especially useful when CPAverify results seem incomplete or when you want details about a specific enforcement action. Some boards publish the full text of disciplinary orders, consent agreements, and hearing outcomes. Others provide downloadable documents attached to each licensee’s record. If you’re hiring a CPA for work that requires a license in your specific state, the state board record is the definitive source.
Read the License Status
The status label next to the CPA’s name is the single most important piece of information in the record. What each one means for a potential client:
- Active. The CPA has met all renewal and continuing education requirements and is authorized to perform accounting services for the public. This is the only status you want to see for audit, tax, or attestation work.
- Inactive. The CPA has voluntarily placed the license in a non-practicing status, often because they moved into corporate work or took a career break. An inactive CPA cannot perform public accounting services. Reactivation requires continuing education and a reinstatement fee, typically a few hundred dollars.
- Retired. An honorific status for CPAs who have permanently left practice. Like inactive, it prohibits public accounting services. A retired CPA may use the title with a “retired” designation but cannot sign audit reports or represent clients.
- Suspended. A disciplinary action imposed by the board, usually for misconduct or violation of professional standards. The board’s order defines the scope: it may ban all practice or only certain services. Suspension has a defined duration or condition, and reinstatement is possible only after the CPA completes what the board required.
- Revoked. The most severe outcome. The board has permanently withdrawn the license. Some states allow a revoked CPA to apply for reinstatement after a waiting period, but the bar is high. A revoked CPA has no practice rights.
- Expired. The CPA failed to renew by the deadline. It may be an administrative oversight rather than a disciplinary issue, but the effect is the same as inactive: no authority to practice until the license is renewed.
If the person you’re considering shows anything other than “active,” ask them directly. There may be a benign explanation, like a renewal still in process. Get documentation before proceeding.
Look at Disciplinary History
An active license is necessary but not sufficient. Disciplinary records reveal whether a CPA has been investigated, fined, or sanctioned for misconduct, negligence, or ethical violations. Many state boards and CPAverify include links to enforcement actions inside a licensee’s search result.
Outcomes vary widely. Boards may issue anything from a private reprimand to full revocation. Common sanctions for less serious violations include fines and mandatory additional continuing education. For serious misconduct such as signing off on fraudulent financial statements, consequences escalate to practice restrictions, supervised practice, or permanent loss of the license.
These records are public and come from a regulatory body with subpoena power, so they carry more weight than online reviews. A single minor infraction from years ago is different from a pattern of repeated violations. Look at the nature of the offense, how recently it happened, and whether the CPA completed the required corrective action.
Cross-Check the IRS Directory for Tax Work
If you’re hiring a CPA specifically to prepare returns or represent you before the IRS, add one more step. The IRS maintains a Directory of Federal Tax Return Preparers with Credentials and Select Qualifications. You can search it at irs.treasury.gov and filter for CPAs by checking the “Certified Public Accountant Credential” box.4IRS.gov. Directory of Federal Tax Return Preparers with Credentials and Select Qualifications
The directory only includes preparers who hold a current Preparer Tax Identification Number and a professional credential. It’s a useful cross-reference with one caveat: CPA credentials shown there are self-reported. The IRS verifies them before adding a preparer, but a credential could become invalid afterward without the directory reflecting the change. The IRS itself tells users to rely on the state board of accountancy for official current status.4IRS.gov. Directory of Federal Tax Return Preparers with Credentials and Select Qualifications Updates can take up to four weeks to appear.
The distinction between a CPA and an unlicensed preparer matters most when something goes wrong. Under Treasury Department Circular 230, a CPA in good standing can represent you before the IRS at every level, including audits, appeals, and hearings. A registered tax return preparer, by contrast, can only represent you during an examination and only for returns they personally signed. They cannot appear before appeals officers or IRS counsel on your behalf.5IRS: Treasury Department Circular No. 230. Treasury Department Circular No. 230 (Rev. 6-2014)
Verify the Firm, Not Just the Person
Individual verification is only half the job when a firm’s name will appear on the deliverable. Under the model Uniform Accountancy Act adopted in some form by every state, any firm performing attestation services or using the “CPA firm” title must hold a separate firm permit issued by the state board.6National Association of State Boards of Accountancy. Uniform Accountancy Act 9th Edition An individual CPA can be fully licensed while the firm they work for is not properly registered, which creates problems for any audit or attestation engagement the firm issues.
Most state board sites have a separate search function for firm registrations, and CPAverify includes a firm search tool.1National Association of State Boards of Accountancy. CPAverify: What Is It and How Can It Help? Enter the legal business name or any “doing business as” name. Confirm the permit is active and current.
Peer Review Results
Firms that perform audits, reviews, or compilations are generally required to undergo periodic peer reviews, where another firm evaluates the quality of their work. The AICPA maintains a public search tool for a firm’s most recent peer review report and acceptance letter, which carries the firm’s rating.7AICPA Peer Review – Public Website. Peer Review Home Page Ratings are pass, pass with deficiencies, or fail. A firm rated “fail,” or one with no peer review on file when it should have one, warrants serious scrutiny before you hand over an engagement.
Not every firm’s results are publicly available through this tool. The search covers firms enrolled in certain AICPA quality centers or firms that have voluntarily made their results public. If the firm doesn’t appear, ask them for their most recent peer review letter. A firm confident in its work will share it.
Auditors of Public Companies
If the CPA or firm audits a publicly traded company, standard state board verification isn’t enough. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act makes it unlawful for any accounting firm not registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board to prepare or issue an audit report for a public company.8PCAOB Public Company Accounting Oversight Board. Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002
The PCAOB’s AuditorSearch tool lets you search registered firms by name, location, or audit report activity. Each firm’s summary page shows registration status, annual report filings, inspection reports, and any disciplinary actions.9PCAOB Public Company Accounting Oversight Board. Registered Firms You can also see the engagement partner for a specific public company audit and cross-reference that person’s license through CPAverify or the state board. For federal-level discipline, the PCAOB publishes all publicly available enforcement actions, searchable by respondent name, date, or keyword.10PCAOB Public Company Accounting Oversight Board. Enforcement Actions A CPA can have a clean record at the state board and still face sanctions from the PCAOB for deficient audit work on public company engagements, so checking both is worth the extra minutes.
Why Running the Check Is Worth It
The cost of hiring someone who isn’t properly licensed goes beyond wasted fees. A CPA without an active license cannot legally sign audit reports or attestation engagements, so any document they issue may be worthless for its intended purpose. Lenders, investors, and regulators expect financial statements to carry the signature of a licensed professional. If the CPA behind the signature turns out to be unlicensed, the company may have to redo the engagement with a qualified firm.
Tax representation is another concrete gap. If the IRS audits a return and your preparer lacks CPA credentials, that preparer cannot represent you at an appeals hearing. You’d need to hire someone else, likely at additional cost, to handle the dispute at the level where most cases are actually resolved.5IRS: Treasury Department Circular No. 230. Treasury Department Circular No. 230 (Rev. 6-2014)
Falsely claiming the CPA designation is a criminal offense in every state, typically a misdemeanor with fines that can reach thousands of dollars. People still do it. A few minutes on CPAverify and the state board site is the simplest way to confirm you’re working with someone who actually earned the credential and still holds it in good standing.