Search the person's name on the Texas State Board of Public Accountancy's Individual Licensee Search, set the County field to Fort Bend if too many names come back, and read the status on their record. If it says anything other than plain Issued, find out why before you hand over a single document.
That covers CPAs. Enrolled agents and preparers without a CPA license aren't on the state board's list, so for them the check moves to the IRS.
Key Takeaways
- Texas CPAs are licensed by the Texas State Board of Public Accountancy, and its Individual Licensee Search shows each license holder's current status.
- A record showing plain Issued means the CPA's license is current, and any other status deserves a question before you hire.
- Setting the board's County filter to Fort Bend can find a record that a City search misses, because city names on the records aren't always typed the way you'd expect.
- Texas CPA firms hold their own license, so the firm named on your engagement letter can be checked separately from the person.
- Enrolled agents are licensed by the IRS, and the IRS Office of Enrollment confirms one through an online contact form.
- A preparer with only a PTIN can legally prepare your return but can't represent you before the IRS.
Where does a Fort Bend County business check a CPA's license?
On the state board's website. The IRS page on preparer credentials and qualifications notes that CPAs are licensed by state boards of accountancy, and in Texas that's the Texas State Board of Public Accountancy. So a CPA in Sugar Land is looked up in the same place as one in Houston.
The search takes a few minutes:
- Open the board's Individual Licensee Search.
- If you have their license number, enter it in the License ID field, which searches on that number alone.
- Otherwise, type their last name and first name.
- If more than one person comes back, set the County field to Fort Bend.
- If nobody comes back, clear the county and the city and search on the name alone.
- Click the matching name to open the full record, then read the status and the license expiration date.
Why the county filter beats the city field
Here's what that looked like in a test search run on October 5, 2026 for one common Texas name. The name alone returned four licensed CPAs in four Texas cities. Setting County to Fort Bend cut that to one record, listed in Sugar Land. Typing Sugar Land into the City field returned nothing at all, because that record spells the city SUGARLAND, as one word.
So a careful search by city can still miss the person you're looking for. Search by name, narrow by county, and if you can get it, use the license number.
Two more local details matter. Sugar Land belongs to Fort Bend County according to the Texas Almanac's Sugar Land entry, but the Texas Almanac's Missouri City entry lists Missouri City under both Fort Bend County and Harris County. A CPA a short drive away may be on file under Harris, and a Fort Bend filter will hide them. And the board's search help page says only the first 100 records from any search are displayed, so a broad search can cut off the right name.
What do the license statuses mean?
The board publishes its own individual license status descriptions. The middle column below uses the board's wording as of October 2026. The search results page shows a current license as Issued (Current).
| Status on the record | What the board says it means | What to do before hiring |
|---|---|---|
| Issued | License is current. | Carry on with your other checks. |
| Issued, Restricted from Public Practice | License is current. Licensee may not engage in the client practice of public accounting. | Don't hire them as your CPA. |
| Limited Scope | Licensee may practice public accounting in Texas with certain limitations. | Ask what the limits are and whether your work falls inside them. |
| Non-practice | Licensee is current, but in a non-practice status with no association with accounting in Texas. | Don't hire them as your CPA. |
| Non-practice, Retired License | Licensee is current, but cannot have an association with accounting. | Don't hire them as your CPA. |
| Probation | Licensee may practice public accounting in Texas as long as certain conditions are met. Contact the Board office. | Ask what the conditions are before you sign anything. |
| Expired | Licensee may not practice public accounting in Texas until certain requirements are met. | Wait until the record shows Issued again. |
| Suspended | Licensee may not practice public accounting in Texas. | Don't hire them as your CPA. |
| Revoked | Licensee may not practice public accounting in Texas. | Don't hire them as your CPA. |
Probated suspension and probated revocation get the same description as probation on that page, including the instruction to contact the board. Voluntary surrender, involuntary surrender, voluntary resignation and unissued get the same description as suspended and revoked: the licensee may not practice public accounting in Texas.
An expired license isn't always a bad sign. People miss renewals. But it's a question for the first call, not something to find out after you've signed.
Should you check the firm as well as the person?
Yes, if you're hiring a firm. The board's CPA firms page says Texas CPA firms "are licensed and regulated" by the board, and its homepage links a CPA Firm License Lookup beside the individual one.
Check the name printed on your engagement letter, not the name on the sign or the website. If they don't match, ask why. There's often an ordinary answer, but you want to know which business you're actually contracting with.
What if they say they're an enrolled agent?
Then the state board won't have them, because enrolled agents are licensed by the IRS. The same IRS credentials page says enrolled agents pass a three-part Special Enrollment Examination and must complete 72 hours of continuing education every 3 years.
To confirm one, the IRS page on how to verify the status of an enrolled agent says to use the Office of Enrollment contact form and pick the option for information about an enrolled agent. The same page says the office's policy is to answer within 72 hours, though delays can happen.
You can also search the IRS Directory of Federal Tax Return Preparers with Credentials and Select Qualifications. The IRS choosing a tax professional page describes it as a way to find preparers "who currently hold professional credentials recognized by the IRS".
What if they aren't a CPA or an enrolled agent at all?
They can still prepare your return. The FAQ on the Texas State Board of Public Accountancy homepage says "You do not need to be a CPA to prepare tax returns". The IRS choosing a tax professional page agrees: anyone can be a paid preparer if they have an IRS Preparer Tax Identification Number, or PTIN.
What changes is what they can do for you if the IRS writes. The IRS credentials page splits it three ways:
- CPAs, enrolled agents and attorneys have unlimited representation rights, including audits, payment and collection issues, and appeals.
- Annual Filing Season Program participants can represent you only on returns they prepared and signed, and never on appeals or collection issues.
- Preparers with only a PTIN can't represent you before the IRS at all.
Whoever you pay, the floor is the same. The IRS tax topic on choosing a preparer says a paid preparer is required by law to sign your return and include their PTIN on it. The IRS page on tax return preparer misconduct calls a preparer who won't sign or give a PTIN a "major red flag".
None of this makes an uncredentialed preparer a bad choice for a simple return. You just want to know which kind you've hired before a letter arrives, not after.
Which check do you actually need?
It depends on what you're hiring for.
| Your situation | Who can do the work | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| Simple return, no IRS letters | Any paid preparer | Their PTIN is on the return and they sign it |
| Balance due, collection notice or appeal | A CPA, enrolled agent or attorney | CPA status on the board's lookup, or enrolled agent status with the IRS |
| Firm that calls itself a CPA firm | A licensed CPA firm | The firm lookup and the individual lookup |
| Current accountant you already pay | Whoever signed your engagement letter | The same lookups, run today rather than at renewal |
For IRS work, the person you hire will need you to sign Form 2848, which the IRS says can only authorize "a person eligible to practice before the IRS." Check their status before you sign it. Our tax resolution services page explains how we take on that kind of case.
If you're checking someone you already pay and the record isn't what you expected, you aren't stuck with them. Texas Administrative Code rule 501.76 on records and work papers requires a CPA to return your original records within 10 business days of your request, without charging a fee for them. Our post on when to switch CPAs covers the rest of that decision. If the books you get back turn out to be months behind, another firm's guide on what to do first when your bookkeeping is behind sets out the order to catch up in.
Can you run the same check on us?
Yes, and you should. Thuy Nguyen is a CPA, so the same checks apply to her as to anyone else. Run them before your first meeting.
The office is at 12440 Emily Ct in Sugar Land, and she works in English and Vietnamese. For more about the practice and the county, see our Fort Bend County page. For a side-by-side of who does what, read CPA vs tax preparer vs enrolled agent in Houston.
Talk to a Fort Bend County CPA
Nguyen Accounting Group handles tax preparation for businesses, tax resolution and bookkeeping from our Sugar Land office. Look up the license first, then Book Your 15-Minute Intro Call.
