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

This page lists what the North Carolina 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.

North Carolina, field by field.

Board of accountancy

North Carolina State Board of Certified Public Accountant Examiners

CPE hours & reporting period

2,000 CPE minutes per calendar year, completed by December 31 of each year (21 NCAC 08G .0401(d): "Active CPAs shall complete 2,000 CPE minutes computed in accordance with Rule .0409 of this Section by December 31 of each year"). Prorated in the year of initial certification: 1,500 minutes if the certificate application was approved April–June, 1,000 if July–September, 500 if October–December, and minutes completed in the approval year before the certificate was granted count toward that year (21 NCAC 08G .0401(d)(1)–(3)). Up to 1,000 excess minutes are carried forward to the following year; no credit is allowed for activities taken before the year of certification (21 NCAC 08G .0401(g)). CPE is reported with the annual licence renewal: "All active CPAs shall file a reporting of CPE minutes by the July 1 renewal date of each year." (21 NCAC 08G .0406(a)). A non-resident licensee may satisfy the annual requirement in the jurisdiction where the CPA is licensed and currently works or resides; if that jurisdiction has no annual CPE requirement, paragraph (d) applies (21 NCAC 08G .0401(j)). "There shall be no CPE requirements for inactive or CPA-retired CPAs." (21 NCAC 08G .0401(f)). Records substantiating CPE must be kept for the current year and the four prior calendar years (21 NCAC 08G .0401(i)). A CPA who fails to complete the requirement by the end of the calendar year but completes it by June 30 may receive a letter of warning for the first failure within a five-calendar-year period; for the second failure the Board may deny renewal for not less than 30 days and until the reissuance requirements of 21 NCAC 08J .0106 are met (21 NCAC 08G .0406(b)). The Board's posted Section .0400 text is marked "Effective June 1, 2026".

Ethics CPE requirement

A minimum of 50 CPE minutes annually in activities on regulatory or behavioral professional ethics and conduct, offered by a CPE sponsor registered with NASBA (21 NCAC 08G .0401(e): "A CPA shall complete a minimum of 50 CPE minutes annually in activities on regulatory or behavioral professional ethics and conduct."). Ethics minutes may not be included in carry-forward minutes to meet paragraph (e) (21 NCAC 08G .0401(g)). The Board's NC CPAs page states: "North Carolina-specific ethics courses are not required." and that an ethics activity from a sponsor not on the NASBA National CPE Sponsor Registry does not satisfy the ethics requirement but counts toward general CPE. A non-resident licensee whose office is in North Carolina must comply with paragraph (e); other non-residents may satisfy it by completing the ethics requirement of the jurisdiction where they are licensed and work or reside, and if that jurisdiction has no ethics CPE requirement, paragraph (e) applies (21 NCAC 08G .0401(j)).

CPA firm permit / registration

All CPA firms must register with the Board within 30 days after opening a North Carolina office or beginning a new CPA firm, except professional corporations, professional limited liability companies and registered limited liability partnerships, which register before formation (21 NCAC 08J .0108(a)). Annual renewal: the rule text posted by the Board (Section .0100 marked "Effective June 1, 2026") states "all CPA firms shall renew annually by January 31 with the Board upon forms provided by the Board" (21 NCAC 08J .0108(b)), and a complete renewal must be received, or sent electronically, not later than the last day of January (21 NCAC 08J .0108(h)). The Board's CPA Firms page describes a firm registration renewal period that starts in November and ends on December 31, states that firm registration renewal and peer review compliance reporting begin in November, and cites 21 NCAC 08J .0101 for the annual firm renewal. A CPA who uses CPA in or with the name of the business, or offers or renders audits, reviews, compilations, agreed-upon procedures or engagement services under the standards in 21 NCAC 08A .0301(b)(5), must do so only through a registered sole proprietorship, partnership, Professional Corporation, Professional Limited Liability Company or Registered Limited Liability Partnership, and a CPA firm must be at least 51 percent owned and controlled by holders of valid CPA certificates (21 NCAC 08N .0302, as quoted on the Board's CPA Firms page). A firm name may use the CPA title when all named individuals are owners who hold the CPA title or former owners who held it when they ceased to be owners (21 NCAC 08N .0307, as quoted on the Board's CPA Firms page); the page adds that non-CPA firms may not use "CPA(s)" or "certified public accountant(s)". Annual registration fees: $25 for professional corporations and PLLCs; for non-incorporated firms with offices both within and outside North Carolina, $2,500 or $10 per CPA member of the firm, whichever is less (21 NCAC 08J .0110). The Board's fee table lists $0 to register and renew an individual practitioner, a partnership or an LLP with partners in North Carolina only; $10 per partner (maximum $2,500) for partnerships and LLPs with partners in other jurisdictions; $50 to register and $25 to renew a PC or PLLC, with a $10 late fee under NCGS 55B-11 after the final renewal deadline; and $0 for an out-of-state firm's Notice of Intent to Practice. If a firm fails to comply with Rule .0108 or .0110 and continues to offer or render services, the Board may discipline the firm's members, including civil penalties of $100 for non-compliance of less than 60 days, $200 for 60 to 120 days and $500 per member for more than 120 days (21 NCAC 08J .0111; Board CPA Firms page). A firm whose principal place of business is outside North Carolina with no North Carolina office practises under G.S. 93-10(c) without registering, subject to the notice requirement in G.S. 93-10(c)(3).

Peer review requirement

A CPA or CPA firm providing audits, reviews of financial statements, compilations of financial statements, or engagements under the Statements on Standards for Attestation Engagements to the public must participate in the AICPA Peer Review Program or a program that substantially complies with the AICPA Standards for Performing and Reporting on Peer Reviews (21 NCAC 08M .0105(a), (d)). A CPA or firm providing none of those services is exempt until it issues its first such report to a client, and must register with the peer review program within 30 days of that report (21 NCAC 08M .0105(b)) and furnish the selected financial statements, work papers and other required information within 18 months of the first report (21 NCAC 08M .0105(c)). "Subsequent peer reviews of a CPA firm are due three years and six months from the year end of the 12-month period of the first peer review, unless granted an extension by the peer review program." (21 NCAC 08M .0105(g)). A firm with no North Carolina office that has provided the services listed in G.S. 93-10(c)(3) to North Carolina clients must enrol (21 NCAC 08M .0105(f); Board CPA Firms page). Firms enrolled in the AICPA program and registered with the Board must also participate in the AICPA Facilitated State Board Access process (21 NCAC 08M .0105(h)). A registered firm must give the Board its peer review due date, its year-end and the administering entity's acceptance letter within 60 days of the letter, plus a report package within 60 days of the completion letter for failed and second passed-with-deficiencies reports (21 NCAC 08M .0106(a)). If a firm does not comply with .0105(c), (d) or (g) and continues to offer or render services, the Board may suspend each member's CPA certificate for not less than 30 days and assess a civil penalty of up to $1,000 under G.S. 93-12(9) (21 NCAC 08M .0106(c)). The Board's CPA Firms page states: "The Board does not grant extensions to complete the peer review." and that Coastal Peer Review, Inc. administers the AICPA Peer Review Program for North Carolina firms that do not provide services to publicly traded companies. The Board's posted Subchapter 08M text is marked "Effective June 1, 2026".

Licence renewal cycle

Annual. "All active CPAs shall renew their certificates annually by the first day of July." (21 NCAC 08J .0101(a)); the annual renewal fee is $60 (21 NCAC 08J .0101(b); Board NC CPAs page). If a CPA has not renewed by July 1, the Board sends a demand letter, and failure to complete the renewal within 30 days after the letter is mailed "automatically results in forfeiture of the CPA's certificate, as required by G.S. 93-12(15)" (21 NCAC 08J .0101(c)); G.S. 93-12(15) provides for forfeiture for failure to renew and pay the fee within 30 days after the Board's demand. 21 NCAC 08J .0113(a) separately states: "Failure to submit a completed renewal application by July 31 shall cause the licensee's license to be forfeited." The Board's NC CPAs page states that all active and CPA-retired status CPAs must renew annually before July 1, that a Letter of Demand is sent to a CPA who has not renewed or requested inactive status by July 1, and that failure to complete the renewal within 30 days of its mailing date results in forfeiture under G.S. 93-12(15). CPA-retired status holders renew annually but are exempt from the annual CPE requirement (21 NCAC 08J .0112(c); Board NC CPAs page); inactive status holders are not subject to renewal fees or CPE (Board NC CPAs page).

Mobility / practice privilege

G.S. 93-10(a): "An individual whose principal place of business is outside this State is granted the privilege to perform or offer to perform services, whether in person or by mail, telephone, or electronic means, in this State as a certified public accountant without notice to the Board, the submission of any other documentation, or the payment of any fee" if the individual holds a valid and unrevoked CPA certificate (or its equivalent) issued by another state, holds a valid and unrevoked licence or permit to practise issued by another state, has passed the Uniform CPA Examination, and has no disqualifying felony or dishonesty conviction (G.S. 93-10(a)(1)–(4)). The individual consents to comply with North Carolina law, Chapter 93 and Board rules, to service of an administrative notice of hearing on the home licensing board, and to the Board's personal and subject-matter jurisdiction and disciplinary authority (G.S. 93-10(b)(1)–(3)). G.S. 93-10(c): a firm whose principal place of business is outside North Carolina and has no office in the State is granted the privilege "without notice to the Board, submission of any other documentation, or payment of any fee, except as otherwise provided in subdivision (3)"; under G.S. 93-10(c)(3) the firm must "Provide notice without a fee to the Board" if an individual with the firm exercising the privilege performs for a North Carolina client a financial statement audit or other Statements on Auditing Standards engagement, an SSAE examination of prospective financial information, or an engagement under PCAOB auditing standards. The notice is made on the Board's form, which carries no fee (21 NCAC 08J .0109). The Board's Notice of Intent page states: "Notifications are valid indefinitely and need to be filed only once." and "No application fee or renewal fee is required." The Board's Practice Privilege/Mobility page states: "A CPA performing services through mobility may only perform the same level of services (attest or non-attest)" as permitted in the home jurisdiction.