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

This page lists what the South 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.

South Carolina, field by field.

Board of accountancy

South Carolina Board of Accountancy (S.C. Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation)

CPE hours & reporting period

40 hours per calendar year, reported by February 1 of the following year. S.C. Code § 40-2-250(C): "A licensee shall document forty hours of continuing professional education that is acceptable to the board," "completed during the immediately preceding calendar year." § 40-2-250(C)(3): "A licensee is not required to report continuing professional education for the year in which" "the initial license was obtained." S.C. Code Regs. 1-08(A)(1)(a): excess hours "not exceeding twenty (20) credit hours, may be carried forward and treated as credit hours earned in the following year." Reg. 1-08(A)(2)(e): "No more than twelve (12) credit hours of CPE can be earned in a single calendar day." Reg. 1-08(A)(3)(c): evidence retained "for at least five (5) years." Board CPE page: "All licensees are now required to submit CPE documentation via the NASBA CPE Audit Service" (from the 2025 calendar year) and "CPE documentation must be reported by February 1st, 2026."

Ethics CPE requirement

2 of the 40 annual hours; no South Carolina-specific course. S.C. Code § 40-2-250(C)(6): "An annual ethics requirement must be met and included in the documented hours of continuing professional education." "No less than two hours of the annual forty hours of continuing professional education must relate to ethics." Board FAQ: "Two of the required 40 hours of CPE must be in ethics for each annual reporting period." and "Effective with calendar year 2022, the Board ceased requiring a specific South Carolina ethics course."

CPA firm permit / registration

Firm registration is required under S.C. Code § 40-2-40(B) for (1) a firm with a South Carolina office performing attest services or engaging in the practice of accounting, (2) a firm with a South Carolina office using the "CPA" or "CPA firm" title, and (3) a firm without a South Carolina office that performs attest or compilation services for a South Carolina client unless exempt under § 40-2-30(I); registration is renewed annually with a February 1 due date. § 40-2-40(B)(1): "a firm with an office in this State performing attest services as defined in Section 40-2-20(2) or engaging in the practice of accounting"; § 40-2-40(B)(3): "a firm that does not have an office in this State but performs attest services described in Section 40-2-20(2), or performs compilation services as defined in Section 40-2-20(6), for a client in this State, unless it is exempt from registration pursuant to Section 40-2-30(I)." § 40-2-20(23): the "practice of accounting" includes issuing reports on financial statements, offering or rendering attest or compilation services, and using the CPA title. § 40-2-30(E): "A firm may not provide attest services or assume or use the title "Certified Public Accountants," "Public Accountants,"" ... unless "the firm holds a valid registration issued under this chapter or is exempt from the registration requirement by operation of subsection (I)." § 40-2-40(C)(1): a simple majority of firm ownership, in financial interests and voting rights, must belong to CPAs currently licensed in some state; § 40-2-40(C)(3): each South Carolina office has a designated resident manager who is a CPA licensed in South Carolina. § 40-2-40(D): "Registration must be initially issued and renewed annually." S.C. Code Regs. 1-05(A): "A firm with an office in this State, providing attest or compilation services, or using in its business name the title, "Certified Public Accountants", "Public Accountants", "Accounting Practitioners", or the abbreviation "CPAs", "PAs", or "APs", or using any other title, designation, words, letters, abbreviation, sign, card, electronic file, metadata tag, or other device indicating the firm is a CPA firm or an Accounting Practitioner firm, must be registered with the Board." Reg. 1-05(B): a designated resident manager licensed by the Board is required for each firm office in the State. § 40-2-255(A): the registrant files for renewal of the calendar-year registration "on or before the renewal date" (February 1, § 40-2-20(28)). Board renewals page: in-state and out-of-state firm renewal fee $60.

Peer review requirement

Firms providing attest or compilation services must enrol in a qualified peer review program; evidence of satisfactory completion is required no more frequently than once every three years. S.C. Code § 40-2-255(C): a registrant engaged in attest or compilation services "must provide evidence of satisfactory completion of peer review no more frequently than once every three years." S.C. Code Regs. 1-09(A): "As a condition of firm registration and/or renewal (including those firms registered in other jurisdictions operating in this state under practice privilege), a licensed firm providing any of the following services to the public shall enroll in a qualified peer review program" — audits; reviews of financial statements; compilations of financial statements; examinations, compilations and agreed-upon procedures of prospective financial statements; examinations of and agreed-upon procedures of written assertions. Reg. 1-09(B): a firm not providing those services "is exempt from peer review"; "Upon the issuance of the first report provided to a client, the firm must enroll in a qualified peer review program." Reg. 1-09(C): the AICPA Peer Review Program or a program substantially equivalent to the AICPA Standards for Performing and Reporting on Peer Reviews. Reg. 1-09(F)(3): "If a firm fails to complete peer review in a timely fashion, the Board may refuse to renew the firm registration and/or take disciplinary action as appropriate." Board FAQ: "A firm has thirty days from receipt of its final peer review report to provide a copy of the report to the Board."

Licence renewal cycle

Annual; renewal due February 1. S.C. Code § 40-2-20(28): "Renewal due date" is February first of a licensing year. § 40-2-250(A): "A licensee desiring to renew his license shall file an application for renewal on or before the renewal due date." Board renewals page: renewals open November 1; the deadline is February 1; late renewals are accepted through February 16, after which "the license is lapsed and you must complete a Reinstatement Application" ($500 reinstatement fee plus the $95 renewal fee); CPA renewal fee $95.

Mobility / practice privilege

Yes, without a licence and with no notice or fee. S.C. Code § 40-2-245 (rewritten by 2025 Act No. 34, S.176, effective June 30, 2025): (A) "An individual whose principal place of business is outside this State is presumed to have qualifications" "equivalent to this state's requirements if the individual:" "(1) has successfully passed the Uniform CPA Examination;" "(2) holds an active certificate, license, or permit issued pursuant to the laws of any state, territory of the United States," the District of Columbia, or a recognised foreign authority; "and (3) is legally authorized to practice in the jurisdiction where the existing certificate, license, or permit is held." (B) "Such individual may exercise all privileges of a licensee in this State without obtaining a license" "pursuant to Section 40-2-35 if the individual meets the requirements contained in subsection (A)." (C) an individual offering or rendering services in person, by mail, telephone or electronic means "shall be granted practice privileges in this State" subject to subsection (A), and "No notice, fee, or other submission is required for the individual to practice pursuant to these privileges." Board FAQ: a CPA whose principal place of business is in South Carolina "must obtain a South Carolina CPA license before you begin practicing."