CPA FirmCheck

How to check a CPA firm's license in California or Illinois

The difference between an individual CPA license and a firm license, how to look a firm up, and which services only CPAs may perform.

"CPA" is a protected title, and in California and Illinois so is the CPA firm. Both states license or register the firm itself, separately from the individual accountants who work there. Checking both takes a few minutes and tells you whether the business can legally do what it is offering. This guide explains how.

Individual license and firm license

A certified public accountant is an individual licensed by a state board. A CPA firm is a business (a corporation, partnership, LLC or sole practice) that the state has licensed or registered to practise public accounting. The two answer different questions: the individual license tells you the person passed the exam and meets experience and education requirements; the firm license tells you the business itself is authorized and meets the state's ownership rules.

California

In California, "no person shall engage in the practice of public accountancy in this state unless the person is the holder of a valid permit to practice public accountancy issued by the board" or holds a practice privilege (Business and Professions Code § 5050). Permits are issued to individual CPAs and to "partnerships, corporations, and other persons who, upon application approved by the board, are registered with the board" (§ 5070).

The California Board of Accountancy (CBA) record for a firm will be one of:

Look up the firm or the individual on the Department of Consumer Affairs' License Search. The record shows status, expiration and any disciplinary action.

Illinois

Illinois licenses CPA firms through the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR). A licensed CPA firm must be majority-owned, by financial interest and voting rights, by people licensed or registered in some state, and owners who are responsible for accountancy activities in Illinois with their principal place of business here must hold an Illinois CPA license (225 ILCS 450/14.4). IDFPR's file calls it a "Public Accountant Firm License".

Search the firm on IDFPR's License Look-Up. Its public licensing file also records any disciplinary action, which we show on each Illinois profile exactly as IDFPR publishes it.

What only a CPA may do

This is the distinction that matters most for a small business. In Illinois, signing a report that expresses assurance on, or an opinion about, financial statements based on an audit or examination may be done only by licensed CPAs; other attestation engagements only by licensed or registered CPAs. But accounting, tax return preparation, tax advice, bookkeeping and representing taxpayers "are not restricted to licensed or registered CPAs" (225 ILCS 450/8.05).

The same is true at the federal level for tax returns: the IRS says "anyone can be a paid tax return preparer as long as they have an IRS Preparer Tax Identification Number" (IRS: choosing a tax professional). So if you need an audit or review of your financial statements (often required by a lender, a bonding company or investors), you need a licensed CPA firm. If you need tax returns and bookkeeping, a CPA firm is one option among several, and the license tells you about the people's qualifications rather than whether they may legally do the work.

CPAs from other states

California lets an individual CPA whose principal place of business is in another state, with a current license there, practise in California under a "practice privilege" without a California license (§ 5096). Some work for California-headquartered clients, such as audits and reviews of financial statements, may be done under the privilege only through a firm registered with the Board. Separately, an out-of-state CPA or firm may prepare returns for California residents without a California permit if it doesn't physically enter the state to practise, doesn't solicit California clients and doesn't claim to be licensed in California (§ 5054). Those practitioners won't appear in our California listings, so check their home state's board.

Step by step

  1. Get the firm's exact legal name and license or registration number. A CPA firm in California may practise only under the name on its permit or a registered name (§ 5060(b)).
  2. Look up the firm on DCA License Search (California) or IDFPR License Look-Up (Illinois): status Active, expiration in the future.
  3. Look up the individual CPA who will lead your work.
  4. Check for discipline in the state's record.
  5. Ask about peer review if the firm will audit, review or compile your financial statements (see our guide to choosing a firm).

What our listings show, and what they don't

Every firm listed here appears in the state's public file as active on the date shown: California CPA corporations, CPA partnerships and registered practice names from the Board of Accountancy's licensee file, and Illinois CPA firm licenses from IDFPR. We show the type of registration, how long it has been held and, for Illinois, any discipline IDFPR records. We don't rank firms, and a listing is not an endorsement: the license shows the state's record, not the quality of the work or whether the firm is right for you.

Individual CPAs, firms based in other states, and California firms that practise only under their owner's own name without a firm registration are not listed. A firm missing from this site may still be properly licensed; check the state's lookup.

Updated 2026-10-16.

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.

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