(a) The Board shall grant or renew permits to practice to persons who make application and demonstrate that:

(1) Their qualifications, including where applicable the qualifications prescribed by § 107 of this title, are in accordance with the following subsections of this section, or

(2) They are eligible under the substantial equivalency standard set out in § 109(a)(2) of this title.

(b) Permits to practice shall be initially issued, and renewed, for periods of not more than 2 years but in any event shall expire on June 30 of the odd-numbered year following issuance or renewal. Applications for such permits to practice shall be made in such form, and in the case of applications for renewal, between such dates, as the Board shall by rule specify, and the Board shall grant or deny any such application no later than 120 days after the application is filed in proper form.

(c) (1) Reciprocal permits to practice shall be issued to applicants who have passed the Uniform CPA Examination and hold a valid CPA certificate, license or permit to practice in a substantially equivalent state or who individually are determined to be substantially equivalent.

(2) With regard to applicants that do not qualify for reciprocity under the substantial equivalency standard set out in § 109 of this title, the Board shall issue a permit to practice to a holder of a certificate, license or permit issued by another state upon a showing that:

a. The applicant passed the Uniform CPA Examination;

b. The applicant had 4 years of experience of the type described in § 107(f) of this title or meets comparable requirements prescribed by the Board by rule, after passing the examination upon which the applicant’s certificate was based and within the 10 years immediately preceding the application; and

c. If the applicant’s certificate, license or permit was issued more than 4 years prior to the application for issuance of an initial certificate under this section, that the applicant has fulfilled the requirements of continuing professional education that would have been applicable under subsection (d) of this section.

(d) Permits to practice shall be renewed biennially. An applicant for renewal of a permit under this section shall show that the applicant has completed no less than 80 hours of continuing professional education as determined by Board rule during the 2-year renewal period that has elapsed since the last biennial renewal date. If an applicant’s initial permit to practice was issued less than 2 years prior to the renewal date, the applicant must fulfill the following continuing professional educational requirements:

(1) No continuing education requirement if initial permit was issued less than 1 year prior to the renewal date; or

(2) A prorated continuing professional education requirement as determined by Board rule if initial permit was issued 1 year or more, but less than 2 years, prior to the renewal date.

(e) For renewal of a permit to practice under this section, each licensee shall participate in a program of learning designed to maintain professional competency. Such program of learning must comply with rules adopted by the Board. The Board may by rule create an exception to this requirement for permit holders who do not perform or offer to perform 1 or more kinds of services involving the use of accounting or auditing skills, including issuance of reports on financial statements or of 1 or more kinds of management advisory, financial advisory or consulting services, or the preparation of tax returns or the furnishing of advice on tax matters, and who make application for inactive status to the Board. Licensees granted such an exception by the Board must place the word “inactive” adjacent to their CPA title on any business card, letterhead or other document or device with the exception of their CPA permit to practice, on which their CPA title appears. Holders of an inactive permit to practice certified public accountancy may apply to have their permit to practice reinstated pursuant to Board rule.

(f) Applicants for initial issuance or renewal of permits to practice under this section shall in their applications list all states in which they have applied for or hold certificates, licenses or permits and list any past denial, revocation or suspension of a certificate, license or permit, and each holder of or applicant for a permit to practice under this section shall notify the Board in writing, within 30 days after its occurrence, of any issuance, denial, revocation or suspension of a certificate, license or permit by another state.

(g) Holders of expired permits to practice as of July 1, 2016, may apply to have their permit to practice reinstated upon a showing that the applicant has completed no less than 80 hours of continuing professional education as determined by Board rule during the 2-year renewal period ending June 30, 2017. Any holder of an expired permit to practice who fails to reinstate his or her permit by June 30, 2017, shall be required to meet all of the requirements for the initial issuance of a permit to practice pursuant to this section.

80 Del. Laws, c. 247, § 1; 70 Del. Laws, c. 186, § 1;