diff --git a/gtsam/nonlinear/NonlinearOptimizerParams.cpp b/gtsam/nonlinear/NonlinearOptimizerParams.cpp
index 671dbe34d..800db02a0 100644
--- a/gtsam/nonlinear/NonlinearOptimizerParams.cpp
+++ b/gtsam/nonlinear/NonlinearOptimizerParams.cpp
@@ -123,6 +123,28 @@ void NonlinearOptimizerParams::print(const std::string& str) const {
   std::cout.flush();
 }
 
+/* ************************************************************************* */
+bool NonlinearOptimizerParams::equals(const NonlinearOptimizerParams& other,
+                                      double tol) const {
+  // Check for equality of shared ptrs
+  bool iterative_params_equal = iterativeParams == other.iterativeParams;
+  // Check equality of components
+  if (iterativeParams && other.iterativeParams) {
+    iterative_params_equal = iterativeParams->equals(*other.iterativeParams);
+  } else {
+    // If one or both shared pointers are null, we can't assume they are equal
+    iterative_params_equal = false;
+  }
+
+  return maxIterations == other.getMaxIterations() &&
+         std::abs(relativeErrorTol - other.getRelativeErrorTol()) <= tol &&
+         std::abs(absoluteErrorTol - other.getAbsoluteErrorTol()) <= tol &&
+         std::abs(errorTol - other.getErrorTol()) <= tol &&
+         verbosityTranslator(verbosity) == other.getVerbosity() &&
+         orderingType == other.orderingType && ordering == other.ordering &&
+         linearSolverType == other.linearSolverType && iterative_params_equal;
+}
+
 /* ************************************************************************* */
 std::string NonlinearOptimizerParams::linearSolverTranslator(
     LinearSolverType linearSolverType) const {
diff --git a/gtsam/nonlinear/NonlinearOptimizerParams.h b/gtsam/nonlinear/NonlinearOptimizerParams.h
index 92e22e064..0b4d8b2fd 100644
--- a/gtsam/nonlinear/NonlinearOptimizerParams.h
+++ b/gtsam/nonlinear/NonlinearOptimizerParams.h
@@ -114,24 +114,7 @@ public:
 
   virtual void print(const std::string& str = "") const;
 
-  bool equals(const NonlinearOptimizerParams& other, double tol = 1e-9) const {
-    // Check for equality of shared ptrs
-    bool iterative_params_equal = false;
-    if (iterativeParams == other.iterativeParams) {
-      iterative_params_equal = true;
-    }
-    if (iterativeParams && other.iterativeParams) {
-      iterative_params_equal = iterativeParams->equals(*other.iterativeParams);
-    }
-
-    return maxIterations == other.getMaxIterations() &&
-           std::abs(relativeErrorTol - other.getRelativeErrorTol()) <= tol &&
-           std::abs(absoluteErrorTol - other.getAbsoluteErrorTol()) <= tol &&
-           std::abs(errorTol - other.getErrorTol()) <= tol &&
-           verbosityTranslator(verbosity) == other.getVerbosity() &&
-           orderingType == other.orderingType && ordering == other.ordering &&
-           linearSolverType == other.linearSolverType && iterative_params_equal;
-  }
+  bool equals(const NonlinearOptimizerParams& other, double tol = 1e-9);
 
   inline bool isMultifrontal() const {
     return (linearSolverType == MULTIFRONTAL_CHOLESKY)