California CPA firms: corporations, partnerships and registered practice names
How the California Board of Accountancy registers firms, what each record type means, non-CPA owners, peer review and the commission rule.
California regulates CPA firms through the California Board of Accountancy (CBA), part of the Department of Consumer Affairs. The rules are in the Accountancy Act, Chapter 1 of Division 3 of the Business and Professions Code. This guide covers how firms are registered, what the different record types mean, and the rules that matter when you hire one.
A permit to practise
Practising public accountancy in California requires a permit from the Board (or, for out-of-state CPAs, a practice privilege) (§ 5050). The Board issues permits to individual CPAs and to "partnerships, corporations, and other persons who, upon application approved by the board, are registered with the board" (§ 5070). The Accountancy Act defines a firm as "a sole proprietorship, a corporation, or a partnership".
Accountancy corporations
An accountancy corporation is "a corporation which is registered with the California Board of Accountancy and has a currently effective certificate of registration from the board pursuant to the Moscone-Knox Professional Corporation Act" (§ 5150). Subject to exceptions, each director, shareholder and officer must be a licensed person (§ 5154). In the CBA file these appear as "CPA - Corporation", and many carry "An Accountancy Corporation" or "APC" in their names.
CPA partnerships
A partnership applies for registration on a Board form. A registered partnership with a valid permit, at least one general partner licensed as a CPA and one additional licensed person may call itself "certified public accountants" or "C.P.A.s" (§ 5073). Partners joining or leaving must be reported to the Board within a month. Limited liability partnerships are common among larger firms.
Registered practice names (sole proprietors)
No person or firm may practise "under any name other than the name under which the person or firm holds a valid permit", but a sole proprietor may practise under another name if it is registered by the Board, in good standing, and not false or misleading (§ 5060). The CBA file lists these as "Fictitious Name Registration". When you see a practice called, for example, "Smith Tax and Accounting, CPA", this registration is the record that connects the name to a licensed CPA. Ask for the individual CPA's license number too.
Non-CPA owners
California allows a CPA firm to have owners who are not CPAs, within limits: non-licensee owners must be natural persons (or qualifying entities) who materially participate in the business; licensees must be a majority of owners and hold more than half the equity and voting rights (with an exception for two-owner firms); and non-licensee owners may not hold themselves out as CPAs (§ 5079).
Peer review
To renew in active status, a firm must have a peer review report of its accounting and auditing practice accepted by a Board-recognized program at least every three years (§ 5076). A peer review is a study of the firm's professional work by an unaffiliated licensed accountant. If you are hiring a firm to audit, review or compile financial statements, ask for its most recent peer review report and letter of acceptance.
Fees and commissions
California limits how CPAs can be paid by third parties. Except as the statute allows, a person in public accountancy may not pay a fee or commission to obtain a client, or accept one for referring a client to a third party's products or services (§ 5061). In some circumstances a CPA may accept a commission for providing a third party's product in connection with their own professional services, but only with disclosure, and never while also performing certain attest work for the same client. If a CPA recommends an investment, insurance product or software and earns something from it, ask, and expect a written disclosure.
That rule is also why this directory charges firms only a flat monthly fee for a featured listing, the same for every firm, and never a fee per client or referral.
Firms based outside California
The Board may register an entity organized under another state's law so that it can do the work a practice-privilege holder may perform only through a registered firm, provided its CPAs qualify for the privilege and it meets the other registration requirements (§ 5070(a)). Those firms, and firms with no California address, are not in our California listings. If a firm based elsewhere offers you an audit or review of a California company, ask whether it is registered with the Board and check DCA License Search.
What our California listings include
We list CPA corporations, CPA partnerships and fictitious name registrations that the Board's licensee file shows as Active, with an expiration date that hasn't passed and a California address. A CPA who practises alone under their own name has an individual license but no firm record, so they are not listed here; look them up by name on DCA License Search. The file has the address and county but no phone number, so firms can claim their listing to add one.
Reading a California record
- Status Active with an expiration date in the future: the registration is current. We list only these.
- Registered since: the original issue date of that corporation, partnership or name registration. A firm that reorganized may be older than its current registration.
- Delinquent or Inactive in the Board's file: not listed here. Ask the firm, and check DCA's License Search.
The Board's own record, including any disciplinary action, is on DCA License Search. The Department publishes the monthly licensee files we use through its public information page.
General information only, current as of the date above. The information on CPA Firm Check is not a recommendation or a guarantee of anyone's work. A license record shows registration status on the date shown, not workmanship, insurance coverage at the time of your job, or suitability for your project. Confirm license, insurance and permits directly before you hire. Rules and programs change; check the official sources linked in this guide.