A Comprehensive Guide to CPA CPE Requirements

Essential Things You Need to Know About CPA CPE Requirements

Every CPA, irrespective of the specific field they’re working in, is required to fulfill their state board’s CPA CPE requirements. Whether you meet your CPA CPE requirements online or offline, it’ll help maintain your competence to deliver top-notch professional services.

The field of accounting encompasses a considerable number of fields of study that are continually changing, expanding, and becoming more complex. Therefore, if you desire to keep abreast of the latest changes and trends, pursuing CPE has to be your top priority.

However, in the context of meeting your CPA CPE requirements, you need to consider several important things. This is because each state board has its own requirements and guidelines and non-compliance with these may make it difficult for a CPA to maintain their designation.

We’ve created this page to provide you with the pieces of information you need to stay compliant with your CPA CPE requirements online or offline efficiently. Here, we’ll discuss several things including the importance of fulfilling these requirements on time and why most CPAs prefer to meet online CPA CPE requirements to the general things associated with CPE requirements CPA, and overviews of CPA CPE requirements by state.

Let’s delve deeper into these.

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Why Is It Crucial to Meet Your CPA CPE Requirements on Time?

Here’re two key reasons why you must prioritize fulfilling your CPA renewal CPE requirements within your license renewal period.

• It’ll help maintain your designation efficiently

If you want to maintain your CPA designation smoothly, timely fulfillment of your CPA CPE requirements is of paramount importance. In case you fail to obtain the required credits in accordance with your state board’s guidelines, it may consider you non-compliant with your requirements. This may cause you to obtain additional credits within an additional but fixed period of time.

Even if your state board has the provision of multiple grace periods, you must always try to fulfill the requirements on time. The reason is in case you cannot obtain the additional credits within their respective periods of time, your license may be temporarily revoked by your state board. And this may cause irreversible damage to your entire career.

If you want to know how many CPE hours are required for CPA active licenses, continue reading as we’ll discuss them in a later section.

• It’ll help demonstrate your professionalism

As mentioned above, accounting is an ever-evolving field with continuously changing rules, regulations, and laws. And state boards design their CPA CPE requirements in a way that helps ensure that their CPAs get enough opportunities to maintain their professional competence by staying up-to-date with the latest changes in their respective fields.

Therefore, meeting these requirements on time help exhibit that you’re a true professional and want to provide your clients with the best services possible. In turn, this will enhance your employability significantly.

Key Benefits of Meeting CPA CPE Requirements Online

The following are the reasons why fulfilling CPE requirements CPA online can prove to be a prudent decision.

• You’ll get access to a wide variety of courses

Whether it’s meeting CPE requirements for first-year CPAs or fulfilling CPE CPA requirements for the entire license renewal period, you’re required to complete a variety of courses. When you join a premier CPE sponsor of online courses, you’ll get instant access to all the programs you need to meet your requirements.

You won’t have to research multiple providers that offer in-person programs to ensure their credibility and the quality of their course materials. When meeting online CPA CPE requirements, you’ll need to do it only once in the entire renewal period. Whether your state board has triennial, biennial, or annual CPE requirements for CPAs, you’ll be able to obtain the required credits efficiently.

• You’ll receive certificates of completion instantly

Another notable benefit of taking online courses to comply with your CPA CPE requirements is that you’ll get the certificate of completion for a program instantly after passing the final exam. This will be extremely useful in case you need to get some credits urgently.

Furthermore, some leading CPE providers, including CPEThink.com, let their CPAs take unlimited printouts of their certificates of completion. So, even if you misplace the actual one, you’ll get another one effortlessly.

• You’ll meet the requirements in a cost-efficient manner

In most cases, fulfilling CPA CPE requirements online proves to be cheaper than meeting them offline. Since, you need to complete a significant number of courses to meet your CPE requirements CPA, the total savings will be a considerable one.

Just remember to consider a few vital factors when deciding on the right CPE sponsor. First, it should offer quality programs at reasonable price points. Second, it should offer state-specific ethics courses so that you won’t have to look for another sponsor to meet your ethics requirements. Third, if it offers subscription packages, see whether or not you’ll be able to access these ethics courses using them.

Some CPE sponsors have affordable subscription packages but they exclude state-specific ethics courses. Purchasing ethics courses separately may be synonymous with paying a significant amount of additional money to meet your CPE CPA requirements.

While the above ones are the top benefits of meeting CPA CPE requirements online, it also has several other advantages. Some of these include an unequaled flexibility to complete the course content, the ability to manage your time efficiently, the ability to create a personalized study schedule, and the opportunity to avoid the additional cost of commuting.

General Things Associated with CPE Requirements CPA

While your CPE sponsor should provide you with all the information you need to comply with your CPA CPE requirements efficiently, you also need to be aware of some important things. Let’s take a look.

• If you’re a member of the AICPA, you’ll have to obtain a minimum of 120 CPE credits each three-year reporting period.
• Some CPE programs indicate the certain number of credits that CPAs can earn by completing them while some others may not have them mentioned. In the domain of CPE, completing a 50-minute study session helps you get one credit. Therefore, if you take a program that only indicates the duration, divide its total minutes by 50 to determine the exact number of credits or hours.
• There are several ways to meet CPA CPE requirements online or offline. However, not all state boards let their CPAs utilize all of them. Additionally, different state boards have different guidelines related to the number of credits that CPAs can obtain using those methods. Therefore, it’s of paramount importance to double-check your board’s specific CPA CPE requirements.
• Some state boards allow their CPAs to carry over additional credits from one renewal cycle to the subsequent one. This is another vital thing you need to remember when pursuing CPE because if your board doesn’t allow this, you may not want to obtain additional credits.

Overviews Of CPA CPE Requirements by State

Here’re the overviews of the CPE CPA requirements of all states. To see the specific requirements of your jurisdiction, use the search option.

Alabama

• It has an annual license renewal period.
• You need to obtain 40 credits including two credits in ethics.

Arizona

• It has a biennial license renewal period.
• You need to get 80 credits including four credits in ethics.

Alaska

• It has a biennial license renewal period.
• You need to get 80 credits in total, with at least 20 credits each year. The CPA CPE requirements also include four ethics credits.

Arkansas

• It has an annual license renewal period.
• You need to obtain 40 credits including four credits in ethics. One of the ethics credits has to be state-specific.

California

• It has a biennial license renewal period.
• You need to earn 80 credits in total, with a minimum of 20 credits each year. Total requirements also include four credits in ethics.

Colorado

• It has a biennial license renewal period.
• You need to get 80 credits in total including four credits in ethics. Two of your ethics credits need to be state-specific.

CNMI

• It has a triennial license renewal period.
• You need to get 120 credits including four credits in ethics.

Connecticut

• It has an annual license renewal period.
• You need to get 40 credits in total. You also need to obtain three ethics credits each three-year period.

Delaware

• It has a biennial license renewal period.
• You need to obtain 80 credits, with a minimum of 20 credits each year. The total number of credits includes four credits in state-specific ethics.

District of Columbia

• It has a biennial license renewal period.
• You need to obtain 80 credits including four credits in professional ethics.

Florida

• It has a biennial license renewal period.
• You need to get 80 credits in total including four credits in state-specific ethics. If you complete two modules to meet ethics requirements, all the credits must come from the same provider.

Guam

• It has an annual license renewal period. Note that its CPE reporting period is three years.
• In these three years, you need to obtain 120 credits in total, with a minimum of 20 credits every year. The total CPE requirements CPA also include six ethics credits.

Georgia

• It has a biennial license renewal period.
• You need to get 80 credits, with at least 20 credits each year. You also need to obtain four credits in ethics, one of which needs to be state-specific.

Hawaii

• It has a biennial license renewal period.
• You need to get 80 credits with a minimum of 20 credits every year. The total requirements also include four credits in ethics.

Illinois

• It has a triennial license renewal period.
• You need to get 120 credits, which includes four credits in ethics.

Idaho

• It has an annual license renewal period but its CPE reporting period is two years.
• In these two years, you need to earn 80 credits with at least 30 credits and a maximum of 50 credits every year. The total requirements also include four credits in ethics, two of which need to be state-specific.

Iowa

• It has an annual license renewal period. However, its CPE reporting period is three years.
• In the CPE reporting period, you need to get 120 credits including four credits in ethics.

Indiana

• It has a triennial license renewal period.
• You need to get 120 credits, with a minimum of 20 credits annually. The total requirements also include at least four credits in ethics.

Kentucky

• It has a biennial license renewal period.
• The basic CPA CPE requirements of the state are 80 or 60 credits depending on the duration you’ve worked in a specific sector. These must include two credits in professional ethics.

Kansas

• It has a biennial license renewal period.
• You need to obtain 80 credits, with at least 16 credits annually if you’re a licensed municipal public accountant. These include two credits in ethics.

Louisiana

• It has an annual license renewal period.
• You need to get 80 credits biennially, with at least 20 credits annually. For the year 2024, you need to obtain three ethics credits.

Maryland

• It has a biennial license renewal period.
• You need to get 80 credits including four credits in professional ethics.

Maine

• It has an annual license renewal period.
• You need to get 40 credits every year. Additionally, you need to earn four credits in ethics each three-year period.

Michigan

• It has a biennial license renewal period.
• You need to obtain 80 credits, with at least 40 credits annually.  The total requirements include four credits in ethics in total, with at least two credits each year. One of the ethics credits needs to be state-specific.

Massachusetts

• It has a biennial license renewal period.
• You need to get 80 credits including four in professional ethics.

Mississippi

• It has an annual license renewal period.
• You need to acquire 40 credits including four credits in ethics. At least one of the ethics credits has to be state-specific.

Minnesota

• It has an annual license renewal period. However, it has a triennial rolling CPE reporting period.
• You need to get 120 credits, with a minimum of 20 credits annually.  The total requirements include eight credits in regulatory or behavioral ethics.

Montana

• It has an annual license renewal period but you need to follow a triennial rolling CPE reporting period.
• You need to get 120 credits including two credits in ethics.

Missouri

• It has a biennial license renewal period but an annual CPE reporting needs to be followed.
• You need to acquire 40 credits every year, which includes two credits in ethics.

Nebraska

• It has a biennial license renewal period.
• You need to earn 80 credits including four credits in ethics.

Nevada

• It has an annual license renewal period.
• You need to get 40 credits including two credits in ethics.

New Jersey

• It has a triennial license renewal period.
• You need to obtain 120 credits in total, with at least 20 credits each year. The total CPE requirements CPA also include four credits in state-specific ethics.

New Hampshire

• It has a biennial license renewal period but you need to follow a triennial CPE reporting period.
• You need to earn 120 credits, with a minimum of 20 credits annually. The total requirements also include four ethics credits.

New York

• It has a triennial license renewal period but an annual CPE reporting period needs to be followed.
• You need to get 40 credits annually. You also need to obtain four credits in professional ethics each three-year period.

New Mexico

• It has an annual license renewal period but you need to follow a three-year rolling CPE reporting period.
• You need to acquire 120 credits, with at least 20 credits each year. The total requirements include four credits in ethics.

North Dakota

• The state has an annual license renewal period but a three-year rolling CPE reporting period needs to be followed.
• You need to obtain 120 credits in total, with a minimum of 20 credits annually. You also need to acquire six credits in ethics during your reporting period.

North Carolina

• It has an annual license renewal period.
• You need to get 40 credits including one credit in ethics.

Oklahoma

• While it has an annual license renewal period, you need to follow a triennial rolling CPE reporting period.
• You need to obtain 120 credits in total, with a minimum of 20 credits annually. The total CPE CPA requirements also include four credits in professional ethics.

Ohio

• The state board has a three-year license renewal period.
• You need to obtain 120 credits, with at least 20 credits each year. You’re also required to get three credits in ethics. The ethics course has to be approved by the board’s Executive Director.

Oregon

• It has a biennial license renewal period.
• You’re required to get 80 credits in total, with a minimum of 20 credits annually. The total credits need to include at least four credits in ethics.

Pennsylvania

• The state has a biennial license renewal period.
• You need to earn 80 credits, with at least 20 credits each year.  These include four credits in ethics.

Rhode Island

• It has a triennial license renewal period.
• You need to get 120 credits including six credits in ethics.

Puerto Rico

• The state board has a three-year license renewal period.
• You need to get 120 credits including three credits in professional ethics.

South Dakota

• It has an annual license renewal period but you need to follow a rolling three-year CPE reporting period.
• You need to get 120 credits in total, with at least 20 credits annually. It doesn’t have any ethics CPA CPE requirements.

South Carolina

• It has an annual license renewal period.
• You need to acquire 40 credits, which include two credits in ethics.

Texas

• While the board has an annual license renewal period, a rolling three-year CPE reporting period needs to be followed.
• You need to obtain 120 credits, with a minimum of 20 credits every year. The requirements include four credits in ethics every two-year period.

Tennessee

• It has a biennial license renewal period.
• You need to acquire 80 credits, with at least 20 credits annually. The total requirements also include two state-specific ethics credits.

Utah

• It has a biennial license renewal period.
• You need to obtain 80 credits. These include four ethics credits, one of which must be state-specific.

Vermont

• It has a biennial license renewal period.
• You need to acquire 80 credits, which include four credits in ethics.

Virginia

• It has an annual license renewal period but you’re required to follow a three-year rolling CPE reporting period.
• You need to get 120 credits in total, with at least 20 credits each year. Your annual requirements include two credits in state-specific ethics.

Virgin Islands

• The board has an annual license renewal period but a triennial rolling CPE reporting period needs to be followed.
• You need to acquire 120 credits, with a minimum of 40 credits annually. The total CPE requirements CPA include four credits in ethics.

West Virginia

• It has an annual license renewal period but you’re required to follow a triennial rolling CPE reporting period.
• You need to get 120 credits, with at least 20 credits annually. The total requirements include four credits in ethics.

Washington

• It has a triennial license renewal period.
• You need to acquire 120 credits, with a minimum of 20 credits each year. You also need to obtain four credits in board-approved ethics to fulfill the total requirements.

Wyoming

• While the board has an annual license renewal period, a rolling three-year CPE reporting period needs to be followed.
• You need to acquire 120 credits in total. The total requirements include four credits in ethics. If you’re renewing your permit for the first time, you need to obtain the ethics credits within six months from the initial permit’s date. If it isn’t your first permit renewal, you can get the ethics credits within the reporting period.

Wisconsin

• It has a biennial license renewal period.
• You need to obtain 80 credits in total, with at least 20 credits annually. The total requirements include three credits in ethics.

Wrapping Up

Hopefully, this page has given you enough information about CPA CPE requirements and prepared you to embark on your CPE journey with confidence. If you need more information about our courses or the benefits of fulfilling CPA CPE requirements online with us, contact us and we’ll be happy to answer your questions.

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