STATE REFERENCE · CPA FIRM & CPE · 51 JURISDICTIONS
CPA Firm & CPE Requirements, state by state.
Every US state and the District of Columbia on one page: the regulator, CPE hours & period, the cited statute or rule, how far each row was verified, and what you still need to confirm. Free, dated, and sourced — no email wall.
Download the full table (CSV) · one file per state under /states/data/ · CC BY 4.0, attribute Vertical OS and link to the state page.
| State | CPE hours & period | Verification |
|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 40 hours each fiscal year running October 1 through September 30. Ala. Admin. Code r. 30-X-5-.02(1): "Each… | Verified — cited |
| Alaska | 80 hours per two-year licensing period ending December 31 of odd-numbered years; at least 20 hours in each… | Verified — cited |
| Arizona | Not verified — the Board's CPE page (azaccountancy.gov) and the Arizona Administrative Code Title 4,… | Partially verified — some rules cited |
| Arkansas | 40 hours in the 12 months, or 120 hours in the 36 months, preceding January 1 of the renewal year;… | Verified — cited |
| California | 80 hours in the two-year period preceding license expiration; the license expires on the last day of the… | Verified — cited |
| Colorado | 80 hours per two-year reporting period running January 1 of an even-numbered year through December 31 of… | Verified — cited |
| Connecticut | 40 hours each year, earned July 1 through June 30 and reported by December 31 with the annual renewal.… | Verified — cited |
| Delaware | 80 hours per biennial reporting period. 'Each permit holder must have completed at least 80 hours of… | Verified — cited |
| District of Columbia | 80 hours per two-year licence term. 'A licensee seeking biennial renewal of a license shall provide proof… | Verified — cited |
| Florida | 80 hours per two-year reestablishment period. Each reestablishment period after the first begins July 1… | Verified — cited |
| Georgia | Two official texts of Rule 20-11-.02 differ. (1) The Board's website publishes 'Approved Rule 20-11… | Partially verified — some rules cited |
| Hawaii | For a permit to practice: an attestation 'as to the completion of at least eighty hours in continuing… | Verified — cited |
| Idaho | 80 hours over two calendar years: licensees renewing an active licence 'are to demonstrate that during the… | Verified — cited |
| Illinois | 120 hours per three-year renewal period: 'a licensed CPA shall complete 120 hours of CPE every 3-year… | Verified — cited |
| Indiana | 120 hours per three-year reporting period with no fewer than 20 hours per calendar year. IC… | Partially verified — some rules cited |
| Iowa | Not verified — source unreachable on 2026-10-14: the Iowa Legislature site (www.legis.iowa.gov), which… | Partially verified — some rules cited |
| Kansas | 80 hours per two-year (biennial) permit period; the Board's FAQ gives the reporting period as 'July 1 to… | Verified — cited |
| Kentucky | 80 or 60 hours per two-calendar-year reporting period, depending on employment; the period is the two… | Verified — cited |
| Louisiana | 80 hours per rolling two-calendar-year period with a minimum of 20 hours each calendar year; the… | Verified — cited |
| Maine | 40 hours per year, measured over the twelve-month licensure period ending at the September 30 renewal.… | Verified — cited |
| Maryland | 80 hours per two-year licence term, reported at renewal; no annual minimum is stated; no CPE is required… | Verified — cited |
| Massachusetts | Not verified — M.G.L. c.112 §87B(e) (read) requires an applicant for renewal to show completion of… | Partially verified — some rules cited |
| Michigan | 40 hours for each year of the two-year licence cycle (80 hours per cycle); licences expire July 31. MCL… | Verified — cited |
| Minnesota | 120 hours in each rolling three-year period; minimum 20 hours each year; CPE year July 1–June 30; report… | Verified — cited |
| Mississippi | 40 CPE credit hours in each one-year compliance period ending June 30; reported online by August 1; up to… | Verified — cited |
| Missouri | 40 hours of qualifying CPE each calendar year (January 1–December 31), with a grace period through March… | Verified — cited |
| Montana | 120 hours in each rolling three-year period ending December 31, with at least 60 hours (50 percent) in… | Verified — cited |
| Nebraska | 80 hours per two-year renewal period, including 4 hours of ethics. Board CPE page: "you must complete 80… | Verified — cited |
| Nevada | 40 hours each calendar year (January 1–December 31), reported with the annual permit renewal due January… | Verified — cited |
| New Hampshire | 80 hours per biennial (2-year) certification period, with up to 40 excess hours carried forward. Ac 403.01… | Partially verified — some rules cited |
| New Jersey | 120 credits per triennial licence period, with a minimum of 20 credits in each year of the triennial… | Partially verified — some rules cited |
| New Mexico | 120 hours in the 36-month period ending on the last day of the holder's birth month, with a minimum of 20… | Verified — cited |
| New York | Per calendar year: a minimum of 24 contact hours concentrated in one recognized subject area, or 40… | Verified — cited |
| North Carolina | 2,000 CPE minutes per calendar year, completed by December 31 of each year (21 NCAC 08G .0401(d): "Active… | Verified — cited |
| North Dakota | 120 credit-hours of acceptable continuing education in the immediate preceding three reporting years,… | Verified — cited |
| Ohio | 120 CPE credits per triennial reporting period for an Ohio permit holder, with a minimum of 20 credits… | Verified — cited |
| Oklahoma | 120 hours of qualifying CPE within a rolling three-calendar-year period, with a minimum of 20 hours each… | Verified — cited |
| Oregon | Active licensees: 80 CPE hours per biennial renewal period, and "At least 20 of the required 80 CPE hours… | Verified — cited |
| Pennsylvania | 80 CPE hours per biennial period, with "a minimum of 20 CPE hours during each year of the 2-year period"… | Verified — cited |
| Rhode Island | 120 hours of formal CPE per three-year permit period. 400-RICR-00-00-1 § 1.8.1(A)(1): the CPA "must… | Partially verified — some rules cited |
| South Carolina | 40 hours per calendar year, reported by February 1 of the following year. S.C. Code § 40-2-250(C): "A… | Verified — cited |
| South Dakota | 120 hours in each three-year renewal period on a rolling basis, with a minimum of 20 hours reported each… | Verified — cited |
| Tennessee | 80 hours in the two-year period preceding renewal, minimum 20 hours in each year, at least 40 hours in… | Verified — cited |
| Texas | 120 CPE credits in each three-year period with a minimum of 20 credits in each one-year period; the… | Verified — cited |
| Utah | 80 hours in each two-year licence cycle ending December 31 of even-numbered years; no annual minimum; no… | Verified — cited |
| Vermont | 80 hours per two-year renewal period ending July 31 of odd-numbered years. Board Rule 9.1(a): a licensee… | Verified — cited |
| Virginia | 120 hours over a rolling three-calendar-year period (January 1–December 31), with a minimum of 20 hours in… | Verified — cited |
| Washington | 120 hours per three-year CPE reporting period, with a minimum of 20 hours in each calendar year; the… | Verified — cited |
| West Virginia | 120 hours within the three preceding calendar years, with at least 20 hours in each calendar year;… | Verified — cited |
| Wisconsin | 80 CPE credits per two-year compliance period, with at least 20 credits in each 12-month period and at… | Verified — cited |
| Wyoming | 120 credits in the three full calendar years immediately preceding the renewal year (rolling); the first… | Verified — cited |
What the verification column means.
Each row was researched against the state's own published sources and graded honestly. Verified — cited — 43 states; Partially verified — some rules cited — 8 states. A row marked as not fully verified is a pointer to the right regulator and the right rule, not a conclusion; every state page carries a "what to confirm" section that says exactly which question is still open.
Start with the board link — it is the primary source. The CPE and firm-permit rows are the two that carry a penalty when missed, so read both against the cited rule before the next renewal. The verification status says how much of the row was read at the source.
This page lists what the your state board of accountancy publishes for a CPA and a CPA firm: CPE hours and the reporting period, the ethics requirement, whether a firm permit or registration is required, whether peer review is required, the licence renewal cycle, and whether an out-of-state CPA may practise under a practice privilege.
It is built for owners of small accounting and bookkeeping firms, especially those licensed in one state and serving clients in another. Every entry is a snapshot of what the cited source published on the verification date; it is a research starting point, not licensing advice.
Snapshot date. Rows were last verified 2026-10-20. Laws change; the date is on every page so you can judge freshness for yourself.
Not legal or licensing advice. Every row is a dated snapshot of published sources; boards change CPE rules, reporting periods and firm-permit requirements. Confirm every entry with the named board before relying on it.
Free, open data — not a paid feature.
This 51-row table is published here under CC BY 4.0 and is not part of Practice OS. The product is the operating system around it: a Notion workspace, working automations and Claude skills for the owner-side work your software doesn't do. These pages stay free either way.
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