Connecticut rewrote its mobility rule less than a year ago, and the state's own website hasn't fully caught up with itself yet. If you're a New York CPA weighing work across the border, here's what the actual statute says today — and where to be careful.
Public Act 25-36 repealed Connecticut's old NASBA/NQAS substantial-equivalency test (former Conn. Gen. Stat. § 20-281n) and replaced it with an individual-criteria test, effective October 1, 2025. It no longer matters whether New York's whole licensing regime was pre-verified as equivalent — what matters is whether you personally meet Connecticut's own education, experience, and exam requirements.
Under the new Sec. 20-281c(b)-(e), you qualify by holding a valid out-of-state license in good standing (New York counts) and meeting one of three pathways: a bachelor's degree with an accounting concentration plus 2 years of experience; a bachelor's degree plus 30 additional semester hours (150 total) plus 1 year of experience; or a post-baccalaureate degree plus 1 year of experience. If you licensed in New York through a standard path, you clear this without much trouble. There's no license, no notice, and no fee required to exercise the privilege (Sec. 20-281n).
If you were already licensed and practicing before the changeover, there's a grandfather clause: CPAs who passed the exam on or before September 30, 2025 and held a license in good standing as of that date keep their privilege without needing to meet the new criteria.
One thing worth knowing before you rely on Connecticut's own website: the state's compiled statute page (still showing the pre-2025 chapter text as of this page's last review) and the Connecticut Society of CPAs both lag the actual law — the enacted text is what controls, not what's currently posted online. If a source describes a NASBA state-level test, it's describing the rule that no longer applies.
Here's the condition that actually matters if you're doing more than routine tax or consulting work: a New York CPA practicing under Connecticut's privilege who performs audits, SSARS reviews, SSAE examinations, or PCAOB engagements for a client whose home office is in Connecticut can only do that work through a firm holding a Connecticut firm permit (Sec. 20-281n(d)). That permit requirement itself only attaches to a no-Connecticut-office firm doing that specific attest work for a Connecticut-home-office client (Sec. 20-281e(g)(3)) — a $150 annual fee, waived for single-licensee firms. Compilations for a Connecticut-home-office client are permit-exempt if the firm meets Connecticut's quality-review qualifications and works through a privilege holder; everything else (tax, consulting) is exempt under the same condition. Peer review is required both as a condition of permit renewal and as a condition of that no-permit compilation pathway.
The honest caveat: this page is sourced to Conn. Gen. Stat. §§ 20-281n, 20-281e(g)-(i), and 20-281c, as amended by P.A. 25-36 — not to Connecticut's own web materials, which hadn't been updated to match the new law as of this page's last review. It's general orientation, not a determination for your specific engagement type. For your own situation, run it through our Practice Privilege Check tool, or confirm directly with the Connecticut State Board of Accountancy. And keep your own New York triennial registration on track — it's easy to lose track of since it's not tied to your license's own expiration. Check your New York registration 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.