Members Moving Provinces

Moving to another province? Read this first!

The CPA designation provides you with the portability to register with another provincial body, while either maintaining or resigning your CPA membership from your current provincial body. In some cases, it is mandatory for you to register with more than one provincial body, such as if you are required through your work to represent yourself as a CPA in multiple provinces.

Maintaining your Membership with CPA Alberta

If you are moving to another province but will continue to work and represent yourself as a CPA in Alberta, you must maintain your CPA Alberta membership.

Please follow these steps:

  1. Register as a member with your new provincial body.
  2. Once you have been accepted and you have paid your full fees to that provincial body, please notify us that you are now a member of another province but you wish to retain your membership with CPA Alberta.
  3. We will confirm your membership with your new provincial body and update your billing status with CPA Alberta to 'Affiliate'.

You will be invoiced for Affiliate Member fees on a yearly basis. Login to the CPA Alberta Member Portal and make your payment.

Please note: As a Member, you will continue to be responsible for all obligations of membership (this includes submission of your annual CPD declaration—you will need to report to all CPA provincial bodies you are registered with).

Resigning your Membership with CPA Alberta

If you are currently registered with CPA Alberta but are moving to another province and no longer wish to be a member in Alberta, you must resign your CPA Alberta membership.

Please follow these steps:

  1. Register as a member with your new provincial body.
  2. Once you have been accepted and you have paid your fees to that provincial body (provincial and CPA Canada fees), send us your resignation request.
  3. Return all of your Alberta certificates to one of our offices. Your CPA Alberta certificate as well as your Legacy certificate(s) need to be returned.
  4. Once all certificates are received, we will complete your resignation and you will no longer be a member of CPA Alberta.

Please note: If we do not receive your resignation request prior to the annual member fees payment deadline (May 31 for each billing year), you are responsible for late payment penalties as per section 54(2)(b) Bylaw 1401 of the Chartered Professional Accountants Act.

Registering with CPA Alberta as a Member from another Province

Individuals who currently hold a CPA designation (or legacy CA, CMA, CGA) in another Canadian province and who are representing themselves as CPAs (or legacy CA, CMA, CGAs) in the province of Alberta are required to register as a member with CPA Alberta.

Please review the instructions here before continuing.

Once all your documents have been received, your application will be processed. Please allow 4–6 weeks for processing your request.

FAQs for Provincial Registration for CPA members

These Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) are intended to provide general guidance for when registration as a member with CPA Alberta is required. Please note, these FAQs are not exhaustive.

*References herein to “Provincial CPA Body” and “Province” include the CPA bodies and provinces in each of the ten Canadian provinces and CPA Yukon, CPA Northwest Territories/Nunavut and CPA Bermuda.

In general, registration as a member with the Provincial CPA Body(ies) is required in every Province where you are using the CPA designation, and in most cases in your Province of residence.

For more specific guidance contact the appropriate Provincial CPA Body. See list of contact information at the end of this webpage.

FAQs

A1. If you use the CPA designation in Alberta, you must be registered as a member with CPA Alberta. The CPA profession is regulated provincially, and failure to register would be in contravention of provincial law.

A2. In general, you are considered to be using the CPA designation in Alberta when you represent or imply that you are entitled to use the CPA designation in Alberta. Examples may include, but are not limited to:

  • You work in Alberta (physically or remotely).
  • You reside in Alberta.
  • You use an address in Alberta on your business cards or letterhead (hard copy or electronic), e-mail signature, website, social media, etc.
  • You are involved in the community in Alberta such as serving on a volunteer board, etc.

If you are using the CPA designation in Alberta, you must be registered as a member of CPA Alberta.

A3. Tagging the Province is not permitted.

A4. You are not required to register as a member of CPA Alberta if you are visiting for the purpose of making presentations, attending meetings and conferences (see also public practice questions 8. & 9. below). While you may describe yourself as being a CPA member of BC, you must not represent or imply that you are a member in Alberta.

A5. Register as a member with CPA Alberta, and with the Provincial CPA Body in BC if you are also considered to be using the CPA designation in BC (see FAQs 1 and 2).

A6. Register as a member with CPA Alberta and in every province where you are using the CPA designation (see FAQ 1 and 2).

A7. To retain your CPA designation, you must maintain your membership in at least one Provincial CPA Body. You should also contact the international accounting regulatory body where you live/work to determine the registration requirements of that jurisdiction.

Additional guidance for members who offer/provide public practice services:

Any Chartered Professional Accountant who is providing or offering to provide services listed under the definition of professional accounting services or public accounting services in the Chartered Professional Accountants Act (CPA Act) in Alberta must do so through a registered professional accounting firm (PAF).

PAFs are registered in Alberta under the Varied Registration Model. This model provides clear understanding for clients and prospective clients on the types of services that a PAF can perform. The Varied Registration Model contains four categories, which are designed to cover the unique types of PAFs currently operating:

  • Audit
  • Review
  • Compilation
  • Other regulated services (including public accounting practice services)

For more information on public practice or registration of PAFs, please visit: Public Practice.

Note that for purposes of the following FAQs, an Engagement Lead is a CPA in public practice who is responsible for the engagement. This could be a partner, partner equivalent or authorized individual.

For information on additional firm and/or licensure registration requirements, please contact the Provincial CPA Body where your client is located.

A8. Register as a member of the Provincial CPA Body in every Province where you are offering/providing services to clients. You must also consider firm registration and/or licensure requirements.

A9. In general, registration as a member is required with the Provincial/Territorial CPA Body in every Province/Territory where you are using the CPA designation. You must also consider firm registration and/or licensure requirements.

If your assignment for a client in another Province (physically or remotely) is temporary, contact the Provincial/Territorial CPA Body where your client is located to confirm member registration requirements.


Contact for Information on Provincial Registration for CPA Members

 

CPA Provincial Body Contact Alternate Contact if Applicable
Alberta registrations@cpaalberta.ca
  
Bermuda info@cpabermuda.bm
  
British Columbia professionaladvisory@bccpa.ca
  
Manitoba era@cpamb.ca
  
New Brunswick membership@cpanewbrunswick.ca
  
Newfoundland & Labrador registrar@cpanl.ca
  
Northwest Territories/Nunavut admin@cpa-nwt-nu.org
  
Nova Scotia registrations@cpans.ca
Ontario itaregistration@cpaontario.ca
  
Prince Edward Island info@cpapei.ca
Quebec tableauCPA@cpaquebec.ca
 sep@cpaquebec.ca
Saskatchewan registrar@cpask.ca
 licensing@cpask.ca
Yukon professionaladvisory@bccpa.ca
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