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

This page lists what the Tennessee 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.

Tennessee, field by field.

Board of accountancy

Tennessee State Board of Accountancy (Tennessee Department of Commerce & Insurance)

CPE hours & reporting period

80 hours in the two-year period preceding renewal, minimum 20 hours in each year, at least 40 hours in technical fields; licences expire December 31 (2026 cycle: December 31, 2026). Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0020-05-.03(1): "A license holder seeking regular biennial renewal shall, as a prerequisite for such renewal, show that he or she has completed no less than eighty (80) hours of qualified continuing professional education during the two (2) year period immediately preceding renewal, with a minimum of twenty (20) hours in each year"; (1)(a): "All license holders shall complete at least forty (40) hours in technical fields of study"; (1)(c): licensees engaged in the attest function complete at least 20 hours in attest and accounting theory and practice; (1)(e): "Up to twenty-four (24) CPE hours taken in excess of the eighty (80) hour requirement for each two (2) year period may be applied to the requirement of the next succeeding two (2) year renewal cycle." Rule 0020-05-.03(2): a first renewal of a certificate issued more than one but less than two years before expiration requires 40 hours including 20 technical hours and the state-specific ethics course; a certificate issued less than one year before expiration is exempt for that renewal. Rule 0020-05-.03(7): a non-resident meets the requirement by meeting the CPE requirements of the principal-office state. Board CPE page: "80 approved hours every two (2) years with a minimum of 20 hours in each year"; records kept "for at least five (5) years."

Ethics CPE requirement

A Board-approved two-hour state-specific ethics course each two-year renewal period. Rule 0020-05-.03(1)(b): "All license holders shall complete a board-approved two (2) hour state-specific ethics course designed to familiarize the licensee with accountancy law and rules as well as professional ethics." Board ethics page: the Board-approved state-specific ethics course "is the only course that satisfies the state ethics renewal CPE requirement." Rule 0020-05-.03(7)(c): a non-resident whose principal-office state does not require an ethics course "shall complete the ethics requirement for this state."

CPA firm permit / registration

A firm permit is required for each office location of a firm providing attest services or using CPA/PA firm titles; permits expire annually on December 31. Rule 0020-01-.11(1): "Each sole proprietorship, corporation, partnership or other form of organization providing attest services to the public or using the title "CPAs," "CPA firm," "PAs," or "PA firm" shall obtain a permit from the Board for each office location for the ensuing calendar year." Rule 0020-01-.11(2): "All CPA and PA firm permits shall expire annually on December 31." Board firm page (citing T.C.A. § 62-1-108): "A permit is required for those firms offering attest services" and for firms using "Accountant," "Accounting," or "CPA" in the firm name; the firm "Must have a Resident Manager who holds an active CPA/PA license in Tennessee." Rule 0020-01-.04: initial firm permit $50; "Renewal of firm permit Fifty dollars ($50.00) per year." Board renewal page (2026 cycle): firm permits expire December 31, 2026; attest firms attach the most recent peer review report and acceptance letter.

Peer review requirement

Firms issuing attest work must enrol in an approved peer review program as a condition of permit renewal; each attest-performing location is covered at least once every three years. Rule 0020-06-.04(1) (amendments effective September 28, 2025): "Enrollment in an approved peer review program is a condition for renewal of a permit for firms that issue attest work as defined in T.C.A. § 62-1-103(1). Each firm location required to hold a permit to practice under T.C.A. § 62-1-108, which performs attest services, shall be covered by a peer review at least once every three (3) years with a report of that review to be submitted to the Board pursuant to Rule 0020-06-.07." Rule 0020-06-.04(3): "A firm shall enroll in an approved peer review program within thirty (30) days of the issuance of the first report provided to a client." Rule 0020-06-.04(4): "A firm is not required to enroll in an approved peer review program if its only level of service is performing preparation of financial statements (with or without disclaimer reports) under" SSARS. Rule 0020-06-.04(6): the initial peer review "is due eighteen (18) months from the date it enrolled or should have enrolled," "with subsequent peer reviews being due every three (3) years thereafter." Rule 0020-06-.07(2): results submitted to the Board "within thirty (30) days from the date of acceptance or completion letter." Board firm page: "All firms offering attest services must have a peer review completed once every three years."

Licence renewal cycle

Biennial; expiration December 31. Rule 0020-01-.08(1): "Each holder of a certificate as a certified public accountant or a registration as a public accountant shall be required to renew such certificate or registration biennially." Rule 0020-01-.08(6): licences between one day and six months past expiration are delinquent, with a $100 late fee after 30 days; (7): licences more than six months past expiration "shall be deemed to have expired." Rule 0020-01-.04: "Renewal of certificate or registration One hundred ten dollars ($110.00) biennially." Board renewal page (2026 cycle): licences and firm permits "with an expiration date of December 31, 2026"; renewal applications open November 2, 2026; "The last day to renew is June 30, 2027"; renewal fee $110, late fee $100.

Mobility / practice privilege

Yes, without a Tennessee license and with no notice, fee or other submission. T.C.A. § 62-1-117(a), as rewritten by 2025 Tenn. Pub. Acts ch. 524 (HB 1330), § 38, effective July 1, 2025 under § 65(c): "An individual whose principal place of business is not in this state but who has a valid license in good standing as a certified public accountant from another state must be granted practice privileges in this state, if at the time the individual was licensed, the individual showed evidence of having successfully completed the Uniform Certified Public Accountant Examination. A notice, fee, or other submission must not be required from the individual." § 62-1-117(b): the individual and the employing CPA firm consent to the personal and subject matter jurisdiction and disciplinary authority of the board, to comply with the chapter and the board's rules, to cease offering or rendering services in Tennessee if the home-state license is no longer valid, and to the appointment of the issuing state board as agent for service of process. Rule 0020-01-.13(1): "An individual with a principal place of business in another state may offer or render services in this state if the applicant has met the requirements of T.C.A. § 62-1-117"; an individual establishing a principal place of business in Tennessee "may qualify for a reciprocal license." Rule 0020-06-.04(8): a firm or individual without Tennessee offices that has provided attest services to Tennessee clients "shall participate in an approved peer review program."