Puerto Rico | NASBA (2023)

Applicants must meet each of the following:

• Applicant must be a citizen of the United States.
• Applicant must be a resident, have a place of business or be employed in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
• Applicant must be 21 years old.
• Applicant must present a Certificate of Good Conduct from the Police Department indicating that he/she has not been convicted of a felony or misdemeanor that implies moral turpitude.
• Applicant must provide a Certificate of Compliance with ASUME.
• Applicant must obtain a certificate of membership with the Puerto Rico CPA Society.

For those who graduated before December 31, 1999, applicants must meet one of the following:

• A baccalaureate degree in business administration with a major in accounting from a nationally or regionally accredited college or university approved by the Board; OR
• A baccalaureate degree from a national or regional accredited college or university recognized by the Board and at least 58 semester (87 quarter) hours in business subjects, of which 32 semester (48 quarter) hours must be in accounting; OR
• A baccalaureate degree from a national or regional accredited college or university recognized by the Board and, in the absence of having completed the required number of credit hours in business subjects, provide evidence of completing eight years of public accounting experience. (At its discretion, the Board may accept as an equivalent to the one year public accounting experience requirement: two years of private or government accounting experience or two years of university-level teaching in the discipline of accounting.)

For those who graduated after December 31, 1999:

• Complete 150 semester hours of general college education.
• Baccalaureate degree from a nationally or regionally accredited college/university.
• 32 semester hours (48 quarter hours) in accounting.
• 32 semester hours (48 quarter hours) in general business.
• Minimum 2.0 GPA in accounting and business courses.

• Initial – $207
• Transfer of Grades – $250
• Reciprocal – $250
• Firm – $290
• Individual Renewal – $225
• Firm Renewal – $225

Experience Requirement for Licensure Effective July 1, 2013

One (1) year of full-time experience in the areas of public accounting, industry/private practice, or academia:

• Must include a minimum of 1,820 qualifying hours
• Experience must be verified by a CPA in good standing. (Supervision is not required by a CPA)
• A minimum of three (3) years part-time experience is acceptable.

Effective January 1, 2014, NASBA will no longer accept paper applications. All applications for licensure and/or renewal must be submitted through the NASBA Online Licensing Application System.

Click the following links to apply online:

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

Applicants who obtained their education outside the United States must have their transcripts evaluated by one of the Puerto Rico State Board approved foreign credential evaluation services listed below. Please note: Only applicants with U.S. citizenship will be considered for licensure.

• NASBA International Evaluation Services

• Applicant must hold an active U.S. CPA license.
• Applicant must present a certificate of no penal record indicating that he/she has not been convicted of a felony or misdemeanor that implies moral turpitude. The certificate must come from the jurisdiction which issued the applicant’s license and from the jurisdiction where his main office is established if different. If the applicant is living in Puerto Rico, they must provide one from both Puerto Rico and the jurisdiction which issued their license.
• Applicant must present verification of active licensure from all places holding an active license, stating the candidate’s compliance with the requisites of Puerto Rico.
• Applicant must have completed 120 hours of CPE within 3 years preceding the date of application. (3) credit hours in subjects related to professional ethics of CPAs, the content of these courses should be based in the Code of Professional Conduct of the AICPA.
• Applicants must have five years of experience in the practice of public accountancy outside of Puerto Rico within the past 10 years preceding the date of application. (1,800 qualifying hours per year.)
• Applicants must provide a Certificate of Compliance with ASUME.
• Applicant must obtain a certificate of membership of the Puerto Rico CPA Society, as required by Law No. 75 of May 31, 1973, as soon as NASBA indicates that it meets all requirements for a reciprocal license. You may contact Maria T. Laboy at the Puerto Rico Society, at 787-754-1950 in order to obtain the certificate.
• After compiling all the required documentation, NASBA will submit the information to the Puerto Rico Board of Accountancy for final approval and issuance of the license.

To apply for a firm license in Puerto Rico, a firm must meet each of the following requirements:

• A copy of the firm’s operating agreement.
  • In the case that the purposes are not specific, applicant must also include a sworn statement indicating that the firms will only provide professional accounting services.
• A list of stock holders, members and partners with their respective CPA license number with expiration date.
• Copies of their respective CPA Licenses.
• Firm must have a physical office in Puerto Rico.
• Firm must be registered at the Corporation Division of the Puerto Rico Department of State
  • www.estado.gobierno.pr – Click on “Registrar una Corporacion En Línea” and follow application instructions.
• At least one (1) general partner/member must hold an active Puerto Rico CPA license in good standing.
• Each partner must be a Certified Public Accountant of some state in good standing.
• Each partner/member thereof personally engaged within Puerto Rico in the practice of public accountancy must be a certified public accountant of Puerto Rico in good standing.
• Each resident manager in charge of an office of the firm in Puerto Rico must be a certified public accountant of Puerto Rico in good standing.

Continuing Professional Education – CPE

Regulation 9447

Click the following links to apply online:

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

Renewal period

August 1 to December 1 (every three years).

• Application and payment must be submitted and received before December 1 of the year the license expires.

Reporting period

August 1 to July 31

Please Note: If an application is past the 12/1 deadline, CPE can only be counted from the date the application was received and back three years.

Extensions

Extensions may be requested from the Board to complete the continuing education requirements. The deadline to request it is December 1st of the year in which the license expires and must be requested together with the renewal application and the required information.

CPE Requirements

Public Practice CPA

Total 120 CPE credits

• At least forty (40) of the one hundred and twenty (120) required credit hours must be accumulated in accounting, auditing, and tax subjects, to be taken according to one of the following two alternatives: (a) 12 credit hours in subjects in accounting or auditing and 28 credit hours in tax or (b) 12 credit hours in tax and 28 credit hours in accounting or auditing.
• Three (3) credit hours in subjects related to CPA professional ethics. The content of these courses must be based on the AICPA Code of Professional Conduct and the courses must be provided by registered sponsors, according to Article 6 of Regulation 9447.
• Remaining credit hours can be taken in finance, management, economics, commercial law, labor law, quantitative methods, statistics, information systems, practice management, communication, behavioral sciences, public relations, and sales of securities. The credit hours in the fields of communication, behavioral sciences, public relations, and sales of securities may not exceed 24 credit hours.
• CPAs may accumulate up to a maximum of ten (10) credit hours per day (24-hour period).

Private Practice CPA

Total = 120 CPE credits

• At least thirty (30) to a maximum of sixty (60) of the required credit hours may be taken in subjects directly related to the industry in which the CPA works and/or positions occupied.

• Three (3) credit hours in subjects related to CPA professional ethics. The content of these courses must be based on the AICPA Code of Professional Conduct and the courses must be provided by registered sponsors, according to Article 6 of Regulation 9447.
• The remaining CPE required hours must be related to the field of business administration, accounting, auditing, contributions, or economic activity. You may also use to meet the CPE requirement those courses and/or seminars aimed at training the practitioner in other disciplines and/or professions such as real estate appraiser and real estate salesperson up to a maximum of twenty-four (24) credit hours, a limitation that will not apply as long as these courses are directly related to the industry in which the CPA works.
• CPAs may use to meet the CPE requirement the courses and/or seminars aimed at training the practitioner in other disciplines and/or professions – such as real estate appraiser and real estate salesperson – a maximum of twenty-four (24) credit hours.
• CPAs may accumulate up to a maximum of ten (10) credit hours per day (24-hour period).

Credit limitations

• Independent study programs will be credited based on fifty percent (50%) of the course credits.
• Independent study and/or self-study programs may not exceed fifty percent (50%) of the total credits claimed in each renewal period.
• No more than 24 credits in communications, human behavior sciences, public relations and sale of securities may not exceed twenty-four (24) credit hours.

Acceptable providers

• Puerto Rico Society
• NASBA National Registry Sponsors
• Puerto Rico Universities
  • CPA’s requesting CPE credits for courses given in Universities must maintain as evidence a certification issued by the University Registry’s Office
• Puerto Rico Governments, Associations, etc. (i.e. PR Department of Treasury, IRS)
• Other entities as approved by the Board.

Verification of licensure
All verifications of licensure for Puerto Rico are done through the NASBAstore.

Individuals needing verifications on board-specific forms must apply and pay online, then email the form to nasbastore@nasba.org.