Most of the state pairs on this site follow a similar shape: open individual mobility, firm registration only if you open an office there. Indiana breaks that pattern on the firm side, and it's worth knowing before you assume the usual rule applies.
Indiana Code § 25-2.1-4-10 has given out-of-state CPAs full practice privilege — no license, no notice, no fee — since 2007, based on state-level substantial equivalency determined by the Board (the same NASBA-style framework Illinois itself is verified under). In practice, an actively-licensed Illinois CPA clears this without difficulty.
One thing to watch, not act on yet: the Indiana Board adopted a non-binding policy document in September 2025 overlaying individual pathway criteria (passed exam plus one of three education/ experience pathways) onto both mobility and reciprocity, meant to bridge a licensure-pathway change that itself doesn't take effect until 2027. The Board's own document says plainly that if it conflicts with the actual statute or rules, the statute and rules control — so it's guidance, not a change to what the law requires today.
This is the part that catches people off guard. Unlike most states, Indiana has no firm-level mobility provision at all. Indiana Code § 25-2.1-12-5 requires a firm permit for any firm providing attest services or using the CPA title — full stop, with no exemption for a firm that has no physical presence in Indiana. If your Illinois firm is doing attest work reaching an Indiana client, or using the CPA/CPA-firm title in connection with Indiana work, the "no office, no registration needed" assumption that holds in most states does not hold here. Peer review (no more than once every 3 years) is a statutory condition of that firm permit's renewal.
How an out-of-state attest firm with genuinely no Indiana presence is actually supposed to comply with this is not clearly addressed anywhere in the Board's own published materials — if this applies to your firm, it's worth confirming directly with the Indiana Board rather than assuming either way.
The honest caveat: this page is sourced to Ind. Code §§ 25-2.1-4-10, 25-2.1-12-5, and 25-2.1-12-2, cross-checked against two independent unofficial statute publishers since Indiana's own official code site serves a JavaScript app shell to non-browser tools. It's general orientation, not a determination for your specific engagement type — the firm-permit question above in particular deserves a direct call to the Board before you rely on it. Run your own situation through our Practice Privilege Check tool. And keep your own Illinois renewal on track — it's a 3-year cycle, easy to lose track of. Check your Illinois renewal date here.
General orientation, not a citation. This guide draws on board rules and, where available, this site's own verified dataset — it isn't a primary source in itself. Last checked against those sources: August 13, 2026.
For the current renewal date or CPE figures your state actually enforces, use the state page linked above — it carries a direct link to the board page and codified rule, per our verification standard.