Florida: CPE, firm permit and peer review rules for CPAs.

This page lists what the Florida 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.

Florida, field by field.

Board of accountancy

Florida Board of Accountancy (Department of Business and Professional Regulation, Division of Certified Public Accounting); the DBPR division page uses 'Division of Certified Public Accounting', 'Board of Accountancy' and 'Florida Board of Accountancy Office'.

CPE hours & reporting period

80 hours per two-year reestablishment period. Each reestablishment period after the first begins July 1 and ends June 30 two years later, in the year the licence expires; the initial period ends on the third June 30 after the date on the licensee's Florida certificate (Rule 61H1-33.003(1)(a), F.A.C.). In each period a current/active licensee must have completed 'at least 80 hours of educational instruction or training in public accounting subjects', 'of which at least 8 hours must have been in accounting-related and/or auditing-related subjects and of which no more than 20 hours may be in behavioral subjects and at least four hours shall be in Florida Board-approved ethics' (61H1-33.003(1)(b)). Courses and proof of completion are reported in the DBPR Online Services portal 'on or before December 31 immediately following the reestablishment period and prior to their biennial license renewal' (61H1-33.003(1)(b)–(c)). Automatic extensions: to September 15 on completing an additional 8 accounting and auditing hours (88 total), or to December 31 on completing an additional 16 accounting and auditing hours (96 total) (61H1-33.003(1)(e); DBPR renewal page). Proof of completion is retained for at least two years after the period and produced on random DBPR audit (61H1-33.003(5)). Statute: 'not less than 48 or more than 80 hours of continuing professional education programs in public accounting subjects approved by the board' in the 2 years before renewal, with 'Not less than 10 percent of the total hours' in accounting-related and auditing-related subjects (s. 473.312(1)(a), (b), F.S.). No annual minimum is stated. A nonresident licensee who has complied with the CPE requirements of the state where the licensee's office is located is deemed to meet s. 473.312 'except for the requirements in s. 473.312(1)(c)' (ethics) (s. 473.311(1)(b)). DBPR division page: '80 total continuing professional education (CPE) hours with at least eight (8) hours in accounting and auditing', 'four (4) hours in Florida Board-approved ethics, and no more than 20 hours can be in behavioral subjects', completed 'by June 30th of the renewal year'; the DBPR division and renewal pages also state that licensees 'have until July 31st to input course details and upload their proof of completion', a date that differs from the rule's December 31.

Ethics CPE requirement

4 hours per reestablishment period: 'at least four hours shall be in Florida Board-approved ethics' (Rule 61H1-33.003(1)(b), F.A.C.). The ethics course must come from a provider approved under Rule 61H1-33.0032 and consist of 'A review of Chapters 455 and 473, F.S., and the related administrative rules' and other ethics subjects (61H1-33.003(2)(c)). Statute: 'Not less than 5 percent of the total hours required by the board shall be in ethics applicable to the practice of public accounting', administered by board-approved providers, with 'a majority of the hours' including a review of chapter 455, chapter 473 and the related administrative rules (s. 473.312(1)(c), F.S.). A nonresident licensee relying on home-state CPE must still show completion of a Florida Board-approved ethics course and submit the Out of State Licensee CPE Acknowledgement Form, DBPR CPA 14 (Rule 61H1-33.003(1)(d); s. 473.311(1)(b); DBPR CPE reporting page).

CPA firm permit / registration

Required. 'The following must hold a license issued under this section': 'Any firm with an office in this state which performs services as defined in s. 473.302(8)(a)'; 'Any firm with an office in this state which uses the title "CPA," "CPA firm," or any other title' indicating a CPA firm; and 'Any firm that does not have an office in this state but performs the services described in s. 473.3141(4)' for a client whose home office is in Florida, unless the exemptions in s. 473.3101(1)(c) apply (s. 473.3101(1)(a)–(c), F.S.). A firm not subject to paragraph (1)(c) may perform other professional services under a CPA title without a licence only through an individual with s. 473.3141 practice privileges and only where it may lawfully do so in that individual's home state (s. 473.3101(3)). Licences 'must be renewed every 2 years', and a licensed firm must 'notify the department within 1 month after any change in the information' in its application (s. 473.3101(5)). DBPR: 'All firm licenses expire on December 31st of each odd year.' Section 473.302(8)(a) covers 'the expression of an opinion on financial statements', 'the attestation as an expert in accountancy to the reliability or fairness of presentation of financial information' and the use of opinions or financial statements 'that provide a level of assurance'; 'firm' means any legal entity engaged in the practice of public accounting (s. 473.302(5)) and 'licensed firm' means an entity licensed under s. 473.3101 (s. 473.302(7)).

Peer review requirement

Required for licensed firms that perform the services in s. 473.302(8)(a). 'Effective January 1, 2015, a licensed firm or public accounting firm as defined in s. 473.302(7) and licensed under s. 473.3101 and engaged in the practice of public accounting as defined in s. 473.302(8)(a), except for the performance of compilations and reviews as those terms are defined by the board, must be enrolled in a peer review program' (s. 473.3125(4), F.S.). 'Effective January 1, 2015, if the firm performs services as specified in Section 473.3125(4), F.S., the firm shall enroll with a board-approved AE prior to submitting an application for licensure or an application for license renewal' (Rule 61H1-39.005(2), F.A.C.); a firm that performed no such services in the prior licence period was not required to be enrolled on January 1, 2015, but a firm that later decides to perform them 'shall enroll in a board approved AE prior to performing such services' (61H1-39.005(3)(b)–(c)); a firm terminated by an administering entity 'shall notify the board in writing within 30 days of the effective date of the termination' (61H1-39.005(5)). The Board adopts the AICPA Standards for Performing and Reporting on Peer Review (effective May 2015) as minimum standards (61H1-39.002) and the AICPA and entities administering its program as approved administering entities (61H1-39.003(3)). Neither s. 473.3125 nor Chapter 61H1-39 fixes a review cycle.

Licence renewal cycle

Biennial: the department adopts rules for 'the biennial renewal of licenses' (s. 473.311(2), F.S.) and renews a licence 'upon certification by the board that the Florida certified public accountant has satisfactorily completed the continuing education requirements of s. 473.312' (s. 473.311(1)(a)). DBPR: 'The Renewal Cycle is the period from October 1st to December 31st of the year in which your current, active license expires'; 'Pay a $100.00 license renewal fee'; a licence not renewed reverts to delinquent status on January 1 of the following year, and 'Delinquent status licenses will revert to Null and Void after two years unless the license is reactivated or placed on Inactive status' (DBPR renewal page, citing Rule 61H1-33.003 and s. 473.311). The DBPR division page states 'Failure to renew a license by the December 31, 2026 deadline results in the license being delinquent' and that firm licences expire December 31 of each odd year.

Mobility / practice privilege

Yes. An individual without an office in Florida who holds a valid CPA licence from a state the Board has determined meets its substantial-equivalence standards, or whose qualifications the Board verifies as substantially equivalent, may provide public accounting services in Florida without a Florida licence, notice or fee (s. 473.3141(1), F.S.); the individual may offer or render services in person, by mail, by telephone or electronically, and 'a notice, fee, or other submission is not required' (s. 473.3141(2)); the individual and the employing firm consent to Board jurisdiction, to comply with chapter 473 and Board rules, to cease practice in Florida if the home-state licence is no longer valid, and to service of process through the issuing state board (s. 473.3141(3)); s. 473.302(8)(a) services may be performed only 'through a firm that has obtained a license issued under s. 473.3101' or is authorised under that section (s. 473.3141(4)).