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

This page lists what the Idaho 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.

Idaho, field by field.

Board of accountancy

Idaho State Board of Accountancy (the Board of Accountancy within the Idaho Division of Occupational and Professional Licenses, DOPL).

CPE hours & reporting period

80 hours over two calendar years: licensees renewing an active licence 'are to demonstrate that during the two (2) calendar years immediately preceding the date the reporting form is due that no less than eighty (80) hours of CPE are recorded, of which at least four (4) hours are ethics with a minimum of thirty (30) hours in any one (1) calendar year, and a maximum of fifty (50) hours recorded in any one (1) calendar year' (IDAPA 24.30.01.111.01). CPE is completed January 1–December 31 and the signed reporting form is due 'No later than January 31 of each year' (IDAPA 24.30.01.112.01; Board CPE page: 'The CPE Reporting deadline is January 31'); a licence is not issued until the form, supporting documentation and any late filing fee are filed (112.03); late CPE filing fees run from $100 in February to $300 in June (IDAPA 24.30.01.400.03; Board page). Audit documentation is submitted before February 15 (Board CPE page), and CPE hours plus any penalty hours under an extension are completed 'no later than April 30' (IDAPA 24.30.01.113.01.b; Board CPE page). Renewal requires 'Completion of continuing professional education as specified by the board's rules' (Idaho Code § 54-211(1)(b)(ii)). DOPL press release (April 20, 2026) on the biennial-licence transition: 'Requirements have not changed. Each year, licensees must meet all CPE requirements by December 31st, and report CPE or request an extension by January 31st.' A renewal applicant licensed and residing in another state attests to compliance with that state's CPE requirements (IDAPA 24.30.01.112.02).

Ethics CPE requirement

4 hours of ethics within each two-calendar-year 80-hour requirement (IDAPA 24.30.01.111.01). New and reciprocal licensees complete 'at least a two-hour (2) course on Idaho state-specific ethics during the calendar year that the license is issued' (IDAPA 24.30.01.111.02; Board CPE page: 'Take at minimum a 2-hour Idaho State Specific Ethics course, which covers aspects of the Idaho Accountancy Act and Rules'). Reinstatement or re-entry to an active licence requires 80 hours in the prior 12 months including 4 ethics hours, at least 2 of them Idaho state-specific (IDAPA 24.30.01.117).

CPA firm permit / registration

Registration is required: 'A firm must be registered with the board in order to provide attest services or compilation reports' or to use the titles 'CPAs', 'CPA firm', 'LPAs' or 'LPA firm'; a firm licensed in another state must register if it establishes an Idaho office; 'Firms must register with the board annually on such form and between such dates as the board may specify by rule' (Idaho Code § 54-214(1)). 'All firms performing any of the peer reviewable services in Rule 207 annually file a firm registration no later than September 30' (IDAPA 24.30.01.211.01); a licensee who performs none of those services 'is exempt from firm registration and peer review' and notifies the Board at initial licensure and at each renewal (IDAPA 24.30.01.208.02). Fee: $20 per firm plus $5 per licensee up to $200 (biennial: $40 plus $10 per licensee up to $400) (IDAPA 24.30.01.400.01, fee table dated 7-1-25); non-compliance with firm registration $100 per licensee (400.03). DOPL: 'Firm Registration Renewal Deadline: September 30th'; 'Failure to register your Firm by September 30th will result in a penalty'; 'Licenses will not be renewed if Firm Registration requirements are not met'; 'Firm registration renewals will not be impacted by this change' to biennial licences (press release, April 20, 2026).

Peer review requirement

Required for 'Any firm that issues reports on accounting and auditing engagements, including audits, reviews, compilations, prospective financial information, engagements performed in accordance with the PCAOB, and any examination, review or agreed-upon procedures engagement performed in accordance with the statement on standards for attestation engagements' (IDAPA 24.30.01.207.01); a licensee who issues compilation reports other than through a firm also participates (207.01). A firm performing those services undergoes a peer review 'not less than once in each three (3) years' (IDAPA 24.30.01.209.01); new firms enrol with an approved administering organisation within one year of registration (209.04); a firm that begins providing the services commences a peer review within 18 months of its initial report (208.01); peer review documents are filed within 30 days of receipt (211.02). 'As a condition of registration renewal under this section, the board, by rule, shall require firms' to undergo peer review (Idaho Code § 54-214(6)). Individuals with Idaho practice privileges follow the peer review requirements of their principal state (IDAPA 24.30.01.207.02). DOPL: 'All firms providing compilation, review, and audit services must enroll with an approved Administering Organization for a Peer Review'; 'Failure to enroll and undergo a Peer Review when required will result in a penalty for each act of non-compliance.'

Licence renewal cycle

'Licenses expire on June 30 of each year' (IDAPA 24.30.01.108.01); licences renewed after July 1 but before August 1 pay the late renewal fee ($100, IDAPA 24.30.01.400.03) and 'After August 1, any license not renewed is deemed lapsed' (108.03). Board page: 'License Renewal Deadline: July 1st'; 'Active License Renewal' $240; 'Late License Renewal' $100; 'Reinstatement of Lapsed License' $240 per missed renewal. Statute: a renewal licence is effective for 'no more than twenty-four (24) months' after issuance (Idaho Code § 54-211(1)(b), am. 2024, ch. 86), and a licence not renewed within thirty days after the previous licence expires is placed in expired status (§ 54-211(1)(e)). DOPL press release (April 20, 2026): 'As of May 1st, 2026, DOPL has begun transitioning the Board of Accountancy to biennial licensure', staggered by birth year — even birth year: the 2026 renewal issues a licence expiring June 30, 2028 at $240 for two years; odd birth year: the 2026 renewal is a one-year licence expiring June 30, 2027 at $120, followed by two-year licences expiring June 30, 2029; renewal opens May 1 of the expiration year; 'Once you move to a 2-year renewal cycle, your licensing fee will double'. IDAPA 24.30.01.400.01 lists the active licence fee as '$120 (Biennial: $240)'.

Mobility / practice privilege

Yes. An individual whose principal place of business is not in Idaho, who holds a valid, active CPA licence in good standing from another state and meets the education and experience requirements of Idaho Code §§ 54-207 and 54-209, 'shall have all the practice privileges of licensees of this state without the need to obtain a license under this chapter' (Idaho Code § 54-227(1)); 'no notice or other submission shall be required of any such individual' (§ 54-227(2)); the individual and employing firm consent to Board jurisdiction, to comply with the chapter and rules, to cease practice in Idaho if the home-state licence is no longer valid, and to service of process through the issuing state board (§ 54-227(3)); individuals who held a valid active licence and practice privileges as of December 31, 2024 keep them (§ 54-227(4)). Section 54-227 was added by 2026, ch. 48, § 6. A non-Idaho licensee providing services through a website under practice privileges discloses its principal state of licensure, licence number, address and a contact method (IDAPA 24.30.01.109); where the practice privilege standard does not apply, the Board issues a reciprocal licence on the terms of IDAPA 24.30.01.110 and Idaho Code § 54-210.