How to Verify a Florida CPA License

Anyone can print “accountant” on a business card. In Florida, only people the Florida Department of Business & Professional Regulation (opens in new tab) has licensed may call themselves a Certified Public Accountant. The board publishes every one of those licenses, and the lookup is open to the public.

The 60-second check

1. Open the DBPR licensee search (opens in new tab).
2. Choose Search by License Number — or Search by Name if you only have a name — and press Search.
3. Enter the number, set License Category to Certified Public Accounting, and search again.
4. Read the Status column. You want Current, Active — see below for why the second word matters as much as the first.
5. Click the person’s name to open their full record, including the complaint history.

Every CPA profile on this site shows the license number, so you can copy it straight across.

The board’s license number looks different. It is the same license.

Florida stores CPA licenses with an AC prefix and zero-padding. A license this site lists as 28940 appears on the board’s record as AC0028940. Nothing is wrong — searching the bare digits finds it, and the board simply displays its internal format. Firm licenses use their own prefix in the same way.

“Current” does not always mean “practicing”

Florida reports status as two words, and almost everyone reads only the first. A license can be Current, Active or Current, Inactive:

• Current, Active — licensed, in good standing, and practicing.
• Current, Inactive — the license is real and in good standing, but the holder has elected inactive status and is not practicing as a CPA. It is a choice, not a penalty, and it is commonly retirement, a move into industry, or a career break.

This is not a rare edge case. 1,651 of Florida’s 29,952 licensed CPAs — 5.5% — are Current but inactive. A directory that showed all of them a green “Current” badge would be technically accurate and practically misleading, which is why profiles on this site flag inactive status in amber instead.

Where the complaint record actually lives

The search results list does not show discipline. You have to click the name. That opens the Licensee Details page, which carries the license type and rank, the licensure date, the expiration date, any special qualifications and alternate names — and two links worth following: View Related License Information and View License Complaint.

Checking a status without opening the complaint link is the most common way people think they have done the check and have not.

What this directory can’t tell you

Worth being straight about, because it changes how you should use this site. Our listings come from a periodic extract of the state register, and that extract contains currently licensed CPAs only. A license that lapses or is revoked drops out of the next extract rather than appearing with a changed status, and a brand-new licensee will not show up until the next refresh.

So: a profile here is good evidence someone was licensed as of our last refresh. It is not evidence that someone missing is unlicensed, and it is not a substitute for the board’s own record, which the portal timestamps to the minute. Before money changes hands, check the board.

The board also publishes each licensee’s mailing address. We deliberately don’t — for most sole practitioners that address is their home.

What the license actually took

Useful context for why the credential is worth checking. A Florida CPA license requires:

• 150 semester hours of college credit, including 30 upper-division accounting hours and 36 general business hours
• All four parts of the Uniform CPA Examination, passed within a rolling 30-month window
• One year of experience — at least 2,000 hours — verified by a licensed CPA
• 80 hours of continuing education every two years, including 8 hours of accounting and auditing and 4 hours of ethics approved by the Florida Board of Accountancy

Licenses renew on a two-year cycle. Miss the December 31 renewal deadline and the license goes delinquent on January 1 — which is one more reason the expiration date on the board’s record is worth a glance.

Red flags

• No license number offered. A licensed CPA will give you one without hesitating.
• The name on the license doesn’t match. Check the alternate-names field before assuming bad faith — but do check.
• “CPA firm” with no firm license. Florida licenses firms separately from individuals.
• Status is anything other than Current. Ask why, and get the answer before you engage them.
• Someone charges you to check. The official lookup is free.

Common questions

Is checking a Florida CPA license free?

Yes. The Florida Department of Business & Professional Regulation runs the official license lookup and it is free, with no account and no sign-in. Any site charging you for a CPA license check is reselling public information.

What does "Current, Inactive" mean on a Florida CPA license?

The license is real and in good standing, but the holder has elected inactive status and is not currently practicing as a CPA. It is not a disciplinary finding. It does mean you should confirm with them before engaging them for CPA work.

Why does the board show a different license number than this site?

The board stores CPA licenses with an AC prefix and zero-padding, so 28940 appears as AC0028940. It is the same license. Searching the bare digits finds it.

Where do I find complaints or discipline against a Florida CPA?

Search the license, click the person’s name to open the licensee detail page, then use the "View License Complaint" link on that page. The search results list alone does not show discipline.

If a CPA is not listed on this site, does that mean they are unlicensed?

No. This directory is built from a periodic extract of currently licensed CPAs, so a very recent licensee may not appear yet, and lapsed or revoked licenses drop out of the extract rather than showing a changed status. Always treat the board’s lookup as the authority.

Licensing requirements confirmed against DBPR on September 19, 2026. Rules change; the board’s own pages are always the authority.