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

This page lists what the Louisiana 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.

Louisiana, field by field.

Board of accountancy

State Board of Certified Public Accountants of Louisiana

CPE hours & reporting period

80 hours per rolling two-calendar-year period with a minimum of 20 hours each calendar year; the compliance period ends December 31 each year and hours are reported by January 31. LAC 46:XIX §1301.A: 'Each certificate holder shall participate in a minimum of 20 hours of continuing professional education (CPE) annually, and at least 80 hours of continuing professional education (CPE) within a rolling two-calendar-year period defined as the compliance period in §1301.F.1.' §1301.F.1: the compliance period 'is defined as a rolling two-year period ending on December 31 of each year'. §1301.A.5: 'The CPE must be reported to the board no later than January 31 after the end of each December 31 calendar year.' §1301.A.1: certificate holders who participate in one or more attest engagements during the calendar year 'shall complete at least 8 hours during the calendar year' in accounting and auditing. §1301.A.3: 'Personal development hours in excess of 20 hours during a calendar year will be disallowed and cannot be used for CPE credit.' §1301.E.1: no current CPE is required of an individual who obtains an initial certificate or reinstates a licence until the following calendar year. Board CPE page: 'All Louisiana CPAs must report at least 80 hours of CPE for a two-year period.' with 'always a minimum of 20 hours each year'; excess hours cannot be carried over; CPE documentation is kept for five full calendar years after the program is completed.

Ethics CPE requirement

A Board-approved professional ethics course is required in even-numbered years; 2026 is an ethics year; the hour count for the course is Not stated on the Board's pages or in the rule. LAC 46:XIX §1301.A.2: 'All certificate holders who are required to complete CPE shall complete a course in professional ethics as required by the board, the contents of which must have been pre-approved by the board.' Board CPE page: a Board-approved professional ethics course is required in even-numbered years (Board Rule §1301.A.2), other ethics courses count toward total hours but do not satisfy this requirement, and a CPA who practises primarily outside Louisiana and holds an active licence in another state that requires an ethics course is not required to complete the Louisiana course. Board homepage: '2026 is an Ethics year!' Board CPE page: a nonresident licensee may meet the renewal CPE requirement by complying with the CPE requirements of the principal-place-of-business state, signing a statement on the renewal application; Louisiana's requirements apply if that state has no CPE requirement.

CPA firm permit / registration

A firm permit is required for any firm with a Louisiana office that provides attest services or uses CPA titles; permits expire December 31 and renew annually. LAC 46:XIX §1501.A: 'Any firm which has or establishes an office or place of business in Louisiana which provides attest services or which uses the title "CPA," "CPAs," "CPA firm," "Certified Public Accountant," "firm of Certified Public Accountants," or similar such designations and firms described in Subsection B of this Section must obtain and hold a valid and current firm permit issued by the board under R.S. 37:77(A).' §1501.A.2: a CPA firm 'organized as and/or represented as a professional accounting corporation is considered to be using the title "firm of certified public accountants" and therefore must hold a firm permit'. §1501.B: a firm with no Louisiana office may serve a client whose home office is in Louisiana and use 'CPA' or 'CPA firm' without a permit only if it meets the R.S. 37:77(C) ownership qualifications and has completed an approved quality or peer review within the last three years, performs the services only through licensees with R.S. 37:94 practice privileges or Louisiana licensees, and can lawfully perform them where those licensees have their principal place of business. R.S. 37:77(B)(1) (legis.la.gov and the Board's copy of the Act): 'Permits shall be initially issued and renewed annually.' R.S. 37:77(C)(1): 'a simple majority of the ownership of the firm in terms of financial interests and voting rights' must belong to holders of valid active certificates licensed in some state. §1501.D.1: firm permit renewals 'are due by December 31, delinquent if not renewed prior to February 1, and expired if not renewed prior to March 1', and 'Permits shall expire on the last day of each calendar year, or such date following December 31 if another date is determined by the board for good cause.' Board firm-permit page: renewal opens November 1 with a December 31 due date; a $300 delinquent fee applies after January 31; the renewal fee is $50 for firms with 10 or fewer owners plus $25 per owner over 10, capped at $2,500.

Peer review requirement

Firms providing attest services must participate in an approved peer review program and complete a review at least once every three years. LAC 46:XIX §1503.A: 'The board hereby requires firms that provide attest services, excluding engagements subject to a permanent inspection program of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, to participate in an approved peer review program enumerated in R.S. 37:77(G)(2)(a)(i), (ii), and (iii), and comply with the applicable requirements of that program.' §1503.A.1: each licensee or CPA firm performing attest services in Louisiana 'shall at its own expense undergo and complete a peer review that has been accepted by the administering entity at least once each three years', with the initial review under standards 'not less stringent than the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) Standards for Performing and Reporting on Peer Reviews'. §1503.A.2: 'Peer reviews shall be administered by the Society of Louisiana Certified Public Accountants (LCPA) or by another board approved administering entity or sponsoring organization'. R.S. 37:77(G)(1) (legis.la.gov): firms providing attest services 'shall enroll in a board-approved peer review program and comply with the applicable requirements of that program.' §1503.B: peer review reports are made available or submitted to the Board 'within 45 days of the acceptance date'. Board firm-permit page: reviews at least once every three years; reports submitted to the Board within 45 days of acceptance by the administering entity.

Licence renewal cycle

Annual; certificates expire December 31. LAC 46:XIX §1105.B.1: 'Each certified public accountant shall renew his certificate annually during the period for renewal on or before the last day of December preceding the year for which renewal is applicable.' §1105.B.3: 'Certificates expire on the last day of each calendar year, or on a date following December 31, if another date is determined by the board for good cause.' §1105.B.7: 'A delinquent renewal fee may be assessed against those certified public accountants who have not renewed prior to February 1.' §1105.B.12: a licensee who has renewed an active licence but has not satisfied the §1301.A CPE requirement 'shall have their certificate status changed to "CPA inactive" status effective February 1 of the renewal year in which the deficiency occurred'. R.S. 37:76(B)(1) (legis.la.gov): 'Certificates shall be initially issued and renewed annually.'; (B)(2): a certificate not timely renewed 'shall expire on the date specified by the board' and may be reinstated on payment of the renewal fee and penalty fees. Board CPA Resources page: 'Louisiana CPA Licenses expire each year at December 31st.'; 'You can renew your license online beginning November 1st.'; 'After January of each year, late fees apply.'; 'CPE must be completed by December 31st of each year and reported no later than January 31st of the following year.'

Mobility / practice privilege

Yes, without licence, notice, registration or fee, for a CPA whose principal place of business is not in Louisiana. R.S. 37:94(A)(1) as amended by Act 653 of the 2026 Regular Session (HB 548, signed June 2, 2026, effective August 1, 2026; enrolled text on legis.la.gov): an individual 'whose principal place of business is not in this state and who holds a valid active license as a certified public accountant in good standing from any state' has 'all the privileges of active licensees of this state without the need to obtain a license as provided in this Part or otherwise notify or register with the board or pay any fee, if at the time of initial licensure, the individual was required to show evidence of having passed the uniform CPA examination and having met one of the following requirements' — (a) a baccalaureate or higher degree plus an additional thirty semester hours with an accounting concentration and 'not less than one year of experience'; (b) a post-baccalaureate or higher degree with an accounting concentration and 'not less than one year of experience'; or (c) a baccalaureate or higher degree with an accounting concentration and 'not less than two years of experience', all 'as defined by board rule'. Amended (A)(2) preserves the privilege, without licence, notice, registration or fee, for an individual who held a valid active licence and had Louisiana practice privileges 'as of December 31, 2024'. R.S. 37:94(A)(3) requires the individual and the employing firm to consent to the board's jurisdiction and rules, to cease practising if the home licence is no longer valid and to service of process through the home-state board; (A)(4): an individual with practice privileges 'who performs any attest service may do so only through a firm which meets the requirements of this Part.' The pre-amendment text still displayed on legis.la.gov's section page (history ending Acts 2016, No. 553) and in the Board's copy of the Act required notice to the board and any fee unless the board waived them by rule; the Board's rule LAC 46:XIX §1105.E.2 grants practice privileges 'without the necessity of giving notice to the board or paying a fee to the board', and §1105.E.1 conditions the privilege on the individual not being domiciled and not having a principal place of business in Louisiana. Board firm-permit page: qualifying CPAs may practise under §1105(E) without filing a notice form or paying a fee. Board CPA Resources page: a CPA who establishes a principal place of business in Louisiana must obtain a reciprocal licence.