In total
80 hours
Over each two-year license period, which ends the last day of your birth month.
California CPA CPE Requirements
California CPAs must complete 80 hours of CPE every two years, by the last day of their birth month, including 4 hours of professional ethics, with at least 20 hours each year (12 of them in technical subjects). You also need a 2-hour Board-approved Regulatory Review course every six years. Extra hours don’t carry over.
California CPE requirements at a glance
- Required hours
- 80 hours
- At least 20 hours each year (12 of them in technical subjects).
- Reporting period
- Two years
- Ends the last day of your birth month, when your license expires.
- Ethics
- 4 hours
- Every two years, plus a 2-hour Board-approved Regulatory Review course every six years.
- License renewal
- Every 2 years
- You affirm CPE compliance when you renew your license.
- Self-study
- Accepted
- California’s rules set no cap on self-study hours.
- Carryover
- Not allowed
- Extra hours can’t be applied to a later renewal period.
Still need CPE hours for your renewal? Unlimited self-study CPE covers accounting, auditing, tax and business courses — $149 for the year.
Get Unlimited CPEHow many CPE hours do California CPAs need?
California counts CPE over the two years before your license expires. Within that period:
Is ethics CPE required in California?
Yes. California CPAs must complete 4 hours of professional ethics during each two-year license period. Ethics hours also count toward the 80-hour total for the period. They also need a 2-hour Board-approved Regulatory Review course once every six years, which doesn’t count toward the 4 ethics hours.
Which ethics courses count?
The 4 ethics hours
These Sequoia CPE courses meet California’s 4-hour ethics requirement:
- Ethics for California CPAs$64.50 · 4 hours
- California Ethics - Industry Focus$64.50 · 4 hours
- California Ethics - Tax Focus$64.50 · 4 hours
Regulatory Review course
This Sequoia CPE course is approved for California’s Regulatory Review course requirement:
- California Ethics - Regulatory Review$39.50 · 2 hours
Does your work add CPE requirements in California?
Some California CPAs owe additional CPE because of the work they do.
Performing government audits?
California sets a separate requirement for a licensee who plans, directs or conducts a substantial portion of the field work on, or reports on, a financial or compliance audit of a government agency.
Such a licensee must complete 24 hours of governmental accounting, auditing or related CPE, plus 4 hours on preventing, detecting or reporting fraud affecting financial statements, in the same two-year period as the work. These hours are part of the 80, not in addition to them, and meeting this requirement also meets the accounting and auditing requirement.
Doing audit, review, compilation or attest work?
California sets a separate requirement for a licensee who plans, directs, performs a substantial portion of, or reports on an audit, review, compilation or attestation service for a non-governmental entity.
Such a licensee must complete 24 hours of accounting and auditing CPE, plus 4 hours on preventing, detecting or reporting fraud affecting financial statements, in the same two-year period as the work, as part of the 80 hours.
Is a preparation engagement your highest level of service?
California sets a separate requirement for a licensee whose highest level of service in public accounting was a preparation engagement.
Such a licensee must complete 8 hours of CPE in preparation engagements or accounting and auditing, plus 4 hours on preventing, detecting or reporting fraud affecting financial statements, as part of the 80 hours.
What subjects qualify for California CPE?
Courses in any NASBA field of study (the field shown on each course certificate) count toward the 80 hours, with a minimum in technical subjects and a limit on non-technical subjects. Courses in personal growth, self-realization, spirituality, personal health or fitness, sports and recreation, foreign languages and cultures, or any other subject that does not contribute directly to a licensee’s professional competence do not earn California credit.
Technical subjects
At least 40 of the 80 hours, and 12 in each year.
Includes Accounting, Accounting (Governmental), Auditing, Auditing (Governmental), Business Law, Economics, Finance, Fraud, Information Technology, Management Services, Regulatory Ethics, Specialized Knowledge, Statistics and Taxes
Non-technical subjects
No more than 40 of the 80 hours.
Includes Business Management & Organization, Communications and Marketing, Computer Software and Applications, Personal Development, Personnel/Human Resources and Production
When is the California CPE deadline?
Your license expires at midnight on the last day of your birth month every two years: in even years if you were born in an even year, and in odd years if you were born in an odd year. Your CPE is due by then.
The day after your last expiration
Your two-year period starts
Hours you complete from this date count toward your next renewal. Extra hours can’t be applied to a later renewal period.
Each year
Yearly minimum
Complete at least 20 hours each year (12 of them in technical subjects).
The last day of your birth month
All 80 hours due
Finish 80 hours by the date your license expires. When you renew, you affirm that you met the requirement; you don’t submit certificates.
Newly licensed?
A California CPA’s first renewal is prorated: 20 hours of CPE for each full six months from the date the license was issued to its first expiration date, at least half of them technical. The 2-hour Regulatory Review course is required however short the first period is. Of each 20 hours, 6 must be in governmental accounting, auditing or related subjects for a licensee who works on government audits at any time from the date the license was issued to its first expiration date; otherwise, 6 must be in accounting and auditing for one who does audit, review, compilation or attest work in that time, or 2 in preparation engagements or accounting and auditing for one whose highest level of service in that time is a preparation engagement.
If the license was held for less than six full months, no other CPE is required. The 20-hours-each-year minimum does not apply at the first renewal, and the 4 hours of ethics (and 4 hours of fraud, for that work) apply only when the prorated requirement is the full 80 hours. Only CPE completed on or after the date the license was issued counts.
How California counts CPE credit
The rules that decide whether — and how much — a course counts.
| Rule | What California requires |
|---|---|
| Credit hour | One credit equals one 50-minute contact hour. |
| Self-study | Accepted. |
| Approved sponsors | California doesn’t register CPE sponsors. Programs must meet the standards in California’s rules.Sequoia CPE is a NASBA QAS self-study sponsor (sponsor number 121900). |
| Carryover | Not allowed. Excess hours can’t be applied to a later renewal period. |
Keep your certificates
California doesn’t collect your certificates when you renew. Keep each certificate for at least 6 years following the date of the last renewal you claimed it in.
Sequoia issues your certificate the moment you pass, and it stays in your account.
Your records must show
- Your name
- Provider’s name
- Course title or a description of its content
- Date completed
- Hours credited
- Subject areas
- Provider’s verification (signature or seal)
- Receipt showing when you bought or enrolled in the course
Finish your California CPE with Sequoia CPE.
Self-study courses: learn from a PDF, take the exam online and get your certificate the moment you pass.
NASBA QAS self-study sponsor #121900Try a free sample course
California CPE questions, answered
How many CPE hours do California CPAs need?
California CPAs need 80 CPE hours every two years, with at least 20 hours each year (12 of them in technical subjects). At least 40 of them must be in technical subjects, and no more than 40 in non-technical subjects.
When is the California CPE deadline?
Your license expires at midnight on the last day of your birth month every two years: in even years if you were born in an even year, and in odd years if you were born in an odd year. California counts CPE over the two years before it expires, and hours beyond the requirement can’t be applied to a later renewal period. When you renew, you affirm that you met the requirement.
How many ethics hours do California CPAs need?
California CPAs need 4 hours of professional ethics during each two-year license period. Ethics hours also count toward the 80-hour total for the period. They also need a 2-hour Board-approved Regulatory Review course once every six years, which doesn’t count toward the 4 ethics hours.
Does behavioral ethics count toward California’s ethics requirement?
No. California does not count behavioral ethics toward the professional ethics requirement. Behavioral ethics courses count as non-technical subjects instead. Sequoia CPE’s California ethics courses are regulatory ethics courses and meet the 4-hour requirement.
Do online and self-study CPE courses count in California?
Yes. California accepts self-study programs. California’s rules set no cap on self-study hours. California doesn’t register CPE sponsors. Programs must meet the standards in California’s rules.
Can California CPAs carry extra CPE hours forward?
No. Hours beyond the requirement cannot be applied to a later renewal period (16 CCR § 87(a)).
Do I report my CPE to California?
Not course by course. When you renew your license, you affirm that you met the requirement for the period, and California may audit your records. Keep your certificates for at least 6 years following the date of the last renewal you claimed them in.
What CPE do newly licensed California CPAs need?
A California CPA’s first renewal is prorated: 20 hours of CPE for each full six months from the date the license was issued to its first expiration date, at least half of them technical. The 2-hour Regulatory Review course is required however short the first period is. Of each 20 hours, 6 must be in governmental accounting, auditing or related subjects for a licensee who works on government audits at any time from the date the license was issued to its first expiration date; otherwise, 6 must be in accounting and auditing for one who does audit, review, compilation or attest work in that time, or 2 in preparation engagements or accounting and auditing for one whose highest level of service in that time is a preparation engagement.
Are there exemptions from California CPE?
California’s rules cover four situations: extensions for health, military service or other good cause; renewing in inactive or retired status; returning to active status; and renewing an expired license. The details and their conditions are under Exemptions and special circumstances, below.
Exemptions and special circumstances
Extensions for health, military service or other good cause
The Board may grant an extension of time or an exception when a health condition certified by a medical doctor, extended active duty with the U.S. Armed Forces, or other good cause keeps a licensee from completing CPE.
Request it with the Board’s Extension Request Form, by mail rather than through CBA Connect. Separately, a licensee who met the 80 hours but became subject to the government, accounting and auditing, or preparation-engagement hours during the last six months of the renewal period is granted, on request, up to six more months to complete those hours.
Renewing in inactive or retired status
No CPE is required to renew a California license in inactive or retired status.
To practice again, the licensee must first convert the license to active status.
Returning to active status
Converting an inactive or retired license to active status requires 80 hours of CPE in the two years before the conversion, including at least 20 hours (12 of them technical) in the year before it, 4 hours of ethics, and the Regulatory Review course if more than six years have passed since it was last taken. A licensee who, in those two years, did any of the work described above (government audits, or audit, review, compilation, attest or preparation-engagement work) must also include the 24 hours that work requires (8 for preparation engagements), plus 4 hours of fraud, in the 80.
At the next renewal after converting, the requirement is 20 hours for each full six months from the conversion to the license expiration date, at least half of them technical, all completed on or after the conversion date. Of each 20 hours, 6 must be in governmental accounting, auditing or related subjects for a licensee who works on government audits after converting; otherwise, 6 must be in accounting and auditing for one who does audit, review, compilation or attest work, or 2 in preparation engagements or accounting and auditing for one whose highest level of service is a preparation engagement. The yearly minimum does not apply, and ethics and fraud hours are owed only if the requirement comes to the full 80.
Renewing an expired license
A licensee renewing an expired license must meet the full requirement, including the 80 hours and the subject rules, in the two years immediately before applying to renew.
The next renewal’s 80 hours then run from the day after the late renewal to the next expiration date, and hours used for the late renewal do not count again.
Official sources
This page explains California’s rules in plain language. The California Board of Accountancy is the final authority; confirm details for your situation with it.
California Board of Accountancy · Sacramento, CA · (916) 561-1702
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