Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands

CPA licensing services provided by NASBA to state boards of accountancy include application processing, eligibility determination, score reporting and education evaluation. NASBA also provides customer service to candidates throughout the licensing process.

Find licensure requirements for education, exam and experience.

Are you an International Candidate? Click here to read more.

Need a firm license? Click here to read more.

EDUCATION

All persons wanting to apply for a CPA license in CNMI must complete 150 semester hours of education, including a bachelor’s degree or higher AND one of the following:

Option 1:

• Graduate degree in accounting from an accredited AACSB program.

Option 2a:

• Graduate degree in business from an accredited AACSB program
• Twenty-four (24) semester hours in accounting at the undergraduate or graduate level to include financial accounting, auditing, taxation and management accounting

Option 2b:

• Graduate degree in business from an accredited AACSB program
• Fifteen (15) semester hours in accounting at the graduate level to include financial accounting, auditing, taxation and management accounting

Option 3:

• Baccalaureate degree in business from an accredited AACSB program
• Twenty-four (24) semester hours in accounting at the undergraduate or graduate level to include financial accounting, auditing, taxation and management accounting
• Twenty-four (24) semester hours in business related courses (other than accounting)

Option 4:

• Bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited institution (MSA, NWCCU, NEASC-CIHE, SACS, NCA-HLC, WASC-ACSCU)
• Twenty-four (24) semester hours in accounting at the upper division or graduate level to include financial accounting, auditing, taxation and management accounting
• Twenty-four (24) semester hours in business related subjects (other than accounting) at the undergraduate or graduate level

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EXAM

One general requirement to apply for a CPA license in CNMI is that you must have passed the Uniform CPA Exam.

FEES

• Transfer of Grades – $330 
• Reciprocal – $330
• Firm – $400
• Renewal (Individual) - $330
• Renewal (Firm) – $400

EXPERIENCE

Below are experience requirements you must obtain to apply for a CPA license in CNMI.

• Two (2) years of experience in the practice of public accountancy
• One (1) year of experience shall consist of full or part-time employment that extends over a period of no less than one (1) year and no more than three (3) years
• Must have 2,000 hours of qualifying experience

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ONLINE APPLICATIONS

Click the following links to apply online:

• APPLY ONLINE – Individual License
• APPLY ONLINE – Firm License

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INTERNATIONAL CANDIDATES

The CNMI Board may designate a professional accounting credential issued in a foreign country as substantially equivalent to a CPA certificate under the following conditions:

• The CNMI Board shall rely on the IQAB for evaluation of foreign credential equivalency
• The CNMI Board may accept a foreign accounting credential in partial satisfaction of its domestic credentialing requirements if: the holder of the foreign accounting credential met the issuing body’s education requirement and passed the issuing body’s examination used to qualify its own domestic candidates; and the foreign credential is valid and in good standing at the time of application for a domestic credential
• The Board may further satisfy itself through qualifying examination(s) that the holder of a foreign credential deemed by the Board to be substantially equivalent to a CPA certificate possesses adequate knowledge of US practice standards and CNMI Board regulations
• The holder of a CPA certificate issued in reliance upon a foreign accounting credential shall report any investigation undertaken, or sanction imposed, by a foreign credentialing body against the CPA’s foreign credential
• The foreign authority which granted the designation must make similar provision to allow a person who holds a valid certificate issued by the CNMI to obtain such foreign authority’s comparable designation
• The foreign designation must:
  • Be duly issued by a foreign authority that regulates the practice of public accountancy and the foreign designation has not expired or been revoked or suspended
  • Entitle the holder to issue reports upon financial statements
  • Have been issued upon the basis of educational, examination, and experience requirements established by the foreign authority or by law
• Applicant must have:
  • Received the designation based on educational and exam standards substantially equivalent to those required by CNMI, at the time the foreign designation was granted
  • Completed an experience requirement substantially equivalent to CNMI’s requirement for initial certificate, in the jurisdiction which granted the foreign designation or has completed five years of experience in the CNMI or meets equivalent requirements prescribed by the CNMI Board by rule, within the ten years immediately preceding the application
  • Passed a uniform qualifying exam in national standards (and an exam on the laws, regulations and code of ethical conduct in effect in this Territory) acceptable to the CNMI Board

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FIRMS

To apply for a firm license in CNMI, a firm must meet the following general and peer review requirements:

General Requirements

• A firm must hold a permit issued by the CNMI Board in order to practice public accountancy in CNMI
• Applicants for firm permit must show that each sole proprietor, partner, officer, shareholder, member or manager who regularly works in the CNMI holds a valid certificate issued by the CNMI Board, and that each other partner, officer, shareholder, member or manager holds a certificate and is licensed to practice public accountancy in some state
• Permit holders are required to register each office of the firm within the CNMI with the Board and to show that each such office is under the charge of a person holding a valid certificate issued by the CNMI Board
• A sole proprietor may apply jointly for a certificate and a firm permit

Peer Review Requirement

• A certificate holder who issues compilation reports, other than through a CPA firm that holds a permit in CNMI, must undergo a peer review.
• The CNMI Board may require a licensee to undergo a peer review as a condition of renewed licensing

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