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

This page lists what the South Dakota 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 Dakota, field by field.

Board of accountancy

South Dakota Board of Accountancy (S.D. Department of Labor and Regulation)

CPE hours & reporting period

120 hours in each three-year renewal period on a rolling basis, with a minimum of 20 hours reported each year; reporting period July 1 to June 30, reported at the annual renewal. SDCL 36-20B-27: "A licensee shall complete one hundred twenty hours of continuing education in each three-year renewal period." Board FAQ: "A minimum of 20 hours per year must be reported, and 120 hours must be obtained in a rolling three year period." "The reporting period is from July 1 to June 30 each year, and the reporting is completed during the annual renewal." "CPE is figured on a rolling three year cycle." ARSD 20:75:04:07 (initial certificate holders): none if the certificate was issued less than one year before the renewal date; 20 hours if one to two years; "40 hours with a minimum of 20 hours per year" if two to three years. ARSD 20:75:04:09: "No more than 24 hours of credit for behavioral or motivational courses is allowed in a three-year renewal period for those individuals engaged in public accounting." ARSD 20:75:04:12: a nonresident meets the requirement by meeting the CPE requirement of the state of the principal place of business. Board FY27 renewal form: record of CPE "July 1, 2025, to June 30, 2026."

Ethics CPE requirement

No separate ethics requirement published. SDCL 36-20B-27 and ARSD chapter 20:75:04 (all sections read) set no ethics-hour requirement; ARSD 20:75:04:02 lists ethics among acceptable subjects. The AICPA ethics examination is an initial-certificate requirement (ARSD 20:75:03:05; SDCL 36-20B-16), not a CPE requirement.

CPA firm permit / registration

A firm permit is required for a firm with a South Dakota office that performs attest services or uses CPA/PA firm titles, and for an out-of-state firm performing specified attest services for South Dakota clients; permits are annual and expire July 31. SDCL 36-20B-32.1: "the following firms are required to hold a permit: (1) Any firm with an office in this state performing attest services as defined in § 36-20B-2; (2) Any firm with an office in this state that uses the title CPAs, CPA firm, PAs, or PA firm; or (3) Any firm that does not have an office in this state but performs attest services described in subdivisions 36-20B-2(1), (3) or (4) for a client who resides in this state or whose home office is located in this state." SDCL 36-20B-32: "A permit shall be initially issued and renewed for periods of not more than one year." ARSD 20:75:03:08: "Firm permits expire annually on July thirty-first"; ARSD 20:75:03:08.01: renewal received or postmarked by August first, or an additional $100 late fee; renewal fee $100 plus per-owner amounts. SDCL 36-20B-60: "No holder of a certificate issued under this chapter or a registration issued under this chapter may perform attest services through any business form that does not hold a valid permit issued under this chapter." SDCL 36-20B-32.2: a firm without a South Dakota office may perform the services described in subdivision 36-20B-1(5) or 36-20B-2(2) for a client residing in or having a home office in South Dakota, and use the CPA-firm titles, without a permit only if it has the qualifications in §§ 36-20B-33 (majority ownership by certificate holders licensed in some state) and 36-20B-36 (peer review) and performs the services through an individual with practice privileges under § 36-20B-66 or 36-20B-67. SDCL 36-20B-32.3: other professional services under the CPA-firm titles without a permit only through such an individual and only if the firm can lawfully do so in the state where that individual has a principal place of business.

Peer review requirement

Permitted firms engaged in the financial reporting area of practice must undergo peer review once every three years as a condition of firm-permit renewal. SDCL 36-20B-36 authorises the board to require peer review "as a condition of renewal of firm permits." ARSD 20:75:07:02: "A permitted firm, as a condition for renewal of its permit pursuant to SDCL chapter 36-20B, must undergo a peer review, in accordance with this chapter, once every three years unless prior approval is granted by the board for special circumstances." ARSD 20:75:07:03: a firm is exempt if it represents to the board, in writing under oath annually at firm-permit renewal, that it does not engage in the financial reporting area of practice, "including audits, reviews, compilations, and accounting services on prospective financial information." ARSD 20:75:07:04: "A new firm, as a condition to renewal of its firm permit, must undergo a peer review during the first calendar year after it has been engaged in the practice of public accountancy for one full calendar year. After the initial review, the firm shall be reviewed every three years." SDCL 36-20B-61: an individual issuing compilation reports through a business that does not hold a permit must undergo a peer review "no less frequently than once every three years." Board peer review page: the final acceptance letter, reviewer's report, findings and firm response are "due in the Board office within 30 days of the date of the final acceptance letter."

Licence renewal cycle

Annual; certificates expire July 31 and renewals are due August 1. SDCL 36-20B-23: "A certificate shall be initially issued, and renewed, for a period of one year." ARSD 20:75:03:01: "The certificate expires annually on July thirty-first." ARSD 20:75:03:12: an active-certificate renewal "must be received by the board by August first, postmarked by August first, or, if completed on the internet, submitted on or before 11:59 p.m. Central Time on August first, to be considered on time"; fee $100; late fee an additional $100. ARSD 20:75:03:03: a renewal for which the CPE requirement has not been met by the deadline is late unless an extension was granted. Board FY27 form: "ACTIVE CERTIFICATE RENEWAL APPLICATION FOR YEAR ENDING JULY 31, 2027" — "The active certificate fee is $100 if filed by August 1, 2026 ($200 if filed after August 1, 2026)." Board newsletter, July 2026: "DON'T MISS THE AUGUST 1, 2026, RENEWAL DEADLINE."

Mobility / practice privilege

Yes, without a certificate or permit and with no notice, fee or submission. SDCL 36-20B-66 (as amended by SL 2026, ch 160, § 9): an individual whose principal place of business is not in South Dakota and who holds a valid CPA certificate or license from any state "has all the privileges of a licensee under this chapter, without the need to obtain a certificate or permit under this chapter," provided the individual passed the uniform CPA examination and holds one of the listed degree-and-experience combinations (a bachelor's degree in accounting, or in a course of study the board has determined to be comparable, plus two years' experience, or one year plus 30 additional semester hours; or a graduate degree in accounting, or in a comparable course of study, plus one year; experience as described in § 36-20B-21); such an individual "must be granted practice privileges in this state, and no notice, fee, or other submission is required of the individual." SDCL 36-20B-67 continues the privilege for an individual who exercised it on or before December 31, 2024. SDCL 36-20B-68: the individual and employing firm consent to the board's jurisdiction and disciplinary authority and the individual "shall cease offering or rendering professional services in this state" if the home-state license is no longer valid. SDCL 36-20B-70: SAS audits, SSAE examinations of prospective financial information and PCAOB engagements for an entity with its home office in South Dakota "shall do so only through a firm which has obtained a permit under the provisions of § 36-20B-32." Board mobility page: "South Dakota is a substantially equivalent state."