Welcome to the website of the Office of Professional and Occupational Regulation (OPOR), an agency within the Department of Professional and Financial Regulation. We appreciate your visit to our site and we look forward to assisting you. OPOR’s Gardiner office is open to the public from 8:00 am – 5:00 pm. While you are welcome to visit our offices, for faster service, we encourage you to take advantage of our many online services.
To ensure that someone is available to assist you, we recommend that you schedule an appointment in advance. Please contact us by email or by phone or through our other online services, and we will assist you. After making an appointment, click on this link for directions.
You may follow this link to the Secretary of State's office to view a list of board members. Members of the public should not contact board members with questions or comments. All questions, comments or any other board-related matters must be directed to the Board’s manager.
Purpose
The Board of Accountancy was established to protect the public through regulation of the practice of public accountancy in the State of Maine.
The primary responsibility of the Board is to examine qualified applicants for a license to practice public accounting in the State; to revoke, suspend or refuse to renew any license after proper notice and hearing; to promulgate rules of professional conduct; and to provide to the public information pertaining to licensed Certified Public Accountants, Public Accountants, Firms and Branches licensed by the Board.
Updated Guidance and Retiring of Covid-19 Prevention Checklists, May 26, 2021 (PDF)
Notice Regarding License Verification Requests (PDF)
Effective March 1, 2019, the Office of Professional and Occupational Regulation (OPOR) will no longer issue paper license verifications. License verifications are available, free of charge, on OPOR’s official database, https://www.pfr.maine.gov/ALMSOnline/ALMSQuery/Welcome.aspx.This database is updated in real time as changes occur. The Office of Professional and Occupational Regulation considers this information to be a secure, primary source for license verification.
Licenses and other communications from the Maine Board of Accountancy will be sent to you by email, so please be sure to keep your contact information current. Follow this link to verify your contact information.
*Depending on your email security settings communications from the board, including licenses, may be directed to your junk/spam folders. Please be sure to check these folders for board communications from noreply@maine.gov.*
Important 2020 license renewal update:
ATTENTION Licensed Public Accounting Firms: To streamline its renewal process, the Maine Board of Accountancy has established a single renewal date for all license types (PAs, CPAs and firms). Effective January 1, 2020, Maine public accounting firm licenses will expire each September 30. Licenses may be renewed up to 60 days before they expire, and a renewal reminder will be sent by email in August. A single expiration date does not change the responsibilities of those firms subject to peer review report certification and compliance.
Peer review due dates will remain unchanged until a licensed firm undergoes another three-year review period. For example, if a firm’s peer review report is due December 31, 2022, the next peer review report would be due September 30, 2025.
Individual license holders will continue to complete and report 40 hours of continuing education by September 30 each year.
What's New
Uniform CPA Examination Credit Extension Policy
At its July 11, 2023 meeting, the Maine Board of Accountancy (“the Board”) voted to adopt a policy to extend the length of time that Uniform CPA Examination credits are valid to accommodate the launch of the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy’s (“NASBA”) new Uniform CPA Examination in January of 2024. Board Policy #2023-01 (PDF)
Rulemaking
The Board repealed and replaced Ch. 6 of Board rules to more accurately describe the peer review process that certain firms are required to successfully participate in as a condition to the granting or renewal of licenses pursuant to 32 MRS §12252(8). The changes substantially conform the Board’s rules with the Uniform Accountancy Act rules regarding peer review and approve the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (“AICPA”), along with its peer review program and standards, as a sponsoring organization. This approval also applies to the New England Peer Review (“NEPR”) as an administering entity of the AICPA Peer Review Program. The rule changes the Board’s process for tracking a firm’s successful completion of a peer review.
The Board also amended Ch. 1, Definitions, to more accurately reflect the terminology used throughout the rules; specifically, to add terms used to describe the administration of firm peer reviews in Ch. 6.
EFFECTIVE DATE: August 31, 2022 A copy of the Board's rules can be found on this link. Board Rules (PDF).
Requirement to Report Convictions and Changes of Contact Information Within 10 Days of the Occurrence
10 Day Notification Requirement
Pursuant to Title 10, §8003-G(2):
All licensees and applicants for licensure must report in writing any of the following to the office, board or commission no later than 10 days after the change or event, as the case may be:
a. Change of name or address;
b. Criminal conviction;
c. Revocation, suspension, or other disciplinary action taken in this or any other jurisdiction against any occupational or professional license held by the applicant or licensee; or
d. Any material change in the conditions or qualifications set forth in the original application for licensure submitted to the office, board or commission.
The Maine State Bureau of Identification contains an online site to provide electronic access to request criminal history record maintained by the Maine State Police, State Bureau of Identification. This records search will provide you with all the conviction and adjudication information for crimes committed within the State of Maine that the Bureau of Identification currently has on record, as well as pending cases less than one year old.
Laws and Rules
Title 32 Chapter 113 Accountancy Laws (PDF)