How to transfer your Accountant licence to Massachusetts (2026)

Accountant work in Massachusetts is licensed at state level, by the Massachusetts Board of Accountancy. This page says what a accountant licensed or working in another state has to do to work in Massachusetts, in the order to do it, and what goes wrong when the order is reversed.

How the transfer works

Bookkeepers and non-CPA accountants are not licensed. CPAs have substantial equivalency in every state, which means a CPA licensed in one state can practise in Massachusetts under mobility without a second licence, and applies for a Massachusetts licence by reciprocity when Massachusetts becomes the principal place of business.

Exam: CPA exam, taken once.

How long: four to eight weeks for reciprocity. Fee: $100 to $300; the current figure is on the licensing body's own site.

What to have ready before you move

• Licence verification
• CPA exam score transfer through NASBA
• Continuing education record

Start the paperwork before you give notice. Every week the licence is not done is a week you are not paid, and nothing in the process needs you to be in Massachusetts already.

What people get wrong

• Assuming mobility covers a firm; firm registration is separate

Who hires accountants in Massachusetts

Accountants in Massachusetts are hired by public accounting firms, corporate finance departments, government and non-profits. The metros with the most of that work are Boston, Worcester, Springfield and Cambridge. Employers who could not hire locally and have filed with the Department of Labor are on the Massachusetts openings page.

For the money side: the median accountant in Massachusetts earned $96,580 a year ($46 an hour) in May 2024 across 45,520 jobs, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and Massachusetts has a flat 5% state income tax. What that leaves you after tax is its own page.

Everything about Massachusetts, on one page

The Massachusetts page has the registries and boards, the income tax table, the programs that pay you to come and the openings filed this month. If you know which state you are leaving, the move pages compare the two directly. Creating a free Workmerica profile with your trade and your destination puts you in front of Massachusetts employers hiring from out of state.