In total
80 hours
Over the period ending December 31, 2027.
Colorado CPA CPE Requirements
Colorado CPAs must complete 80 hours of CPE every two years, including 4 hours of professional ethics. The current period runs January 1, 2026 to December 31, 2027 for every licensee. Extra hours don’t carry over.
Colorado CPE requirements at a glance
- Required hours
- 80 hours
- Every two years.
- Reporting period
- 2026–2027
- January 1, 2026 – December 31, 2027, the same for every licensee. The next period runs January 1, 2028 – December 31, 2029.
- Ethics
- 4 hours
- Every two years. Counts toward the 80-hour total for the period.
- License renewal
- Every 2 years
- You affirm CPE compliance when you renew your license.
- Self-study
- Accepted
- Colorado’s rules set no cap on self-study hours.
- Carryover
- Not allowed
- Extra hours can’t be applied to a later period.
Still need CPE hours for this period? Unlimited self-study CPE covers accounting, auditing, tax and business courses — $149 for the year.
Get Unlimited CPEHow many CPE hours do Colorado CPAs need?
Colorado counts CPE over a two-year period every licensee shares, now January 1, 2026 to December 31, 2027. Within that period:
Is ethics CPE required in Colorado?
Yes. Colorado CPAs must complete 4 hours of professional ethics during each two-year period. Ethics hours also count toward the 80-hour total for the period.
Which ethics courses count?
This Sequoia CPE course meets Colorado’s 4-hour ethics requirement:
- Ethics for Colorado CPAs$64.50 · 4 hours
What subjects qualify for Colorado CPE?
Courses in any NASBA field of study (the field shown on each course certificate) count toward the 80 hours, with a limit on Personal Development. Learning activities that do not maintain or improve professional competence as a CPA do not earn Colorado credit, including activities that teach fundamental accounting skills such as, or comparable to, first and second semester principles of accounting or their equivalent.
Ethics
Includes Regulatory Ethics
Personal Development
No more than 16 of the 80 hours.
When is the Colorado CPE deadline?
December 31, 2027. Every Colorado licensee shares the same two-year period, January 1, 2026 to December 31, 2027. Your license expires on November 30 of odd-numbered years.
January 1, 2026
The period starts
Hours you complete from this date count toward this period. Extra hours can’t be applied to a later period.
December 31, 2027
All 80 hours due
Finish 80 hours by the end of the period. When you renew, you affirm that you met the requirement; you don’t submit certificates.
January 1, 2028
The next period starts
It runs January 1, 2028 to December 31, 2029.
Newly licensed?
A newly certified Colorado CPA owes 10 hours of CPE for each full calendar quarter the certificate is active during the reporting period, rather than the full 80 hours. The same rule requires 4 hours of Ethics, of which 2 may be Colorado Rules and Regulations (CR&R), and allows no more than 20 percent in Personal Development and no more than 50 percent in teaching or publishing.
A new CPA must also complete 2 hours of CR&R within six months after the date the Board grants the initial certificate. CR&R completed in the six months immediately before that date also satisfies it; CR&R completed outside that window does not, but may count toward general CPE. These CR&R hours may also count toward the CR&R part of the Ethics hours and toward general CPE. CPE completed before certification but within the same reporting period may be eligible for credit at renewal if it was not used to meet the education requirements for initial certification, reinstatement or reactivation.
This Sequoia CPE course meets the course requirement for newly licensed Colorado CPAs:
- Ethics for Colorado CPAs - CR&R$39.50 · 2 hours
How Colorado counts CPE credit
The rules that decide whether — and how much — a course counts.
| Rule | What Colorado requires |
|---|---|
| Credit hour | One credit equals one 50-minute contact hour. |
| Self-study | Accepted. Credit is measured by the AICPA/NASBA Statement on Standards for CPE Programs. |
| Approved sponsors | Colorado doesn’t register CPE sponsors. Programs must meet the standards in Colorado’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 period. |
Keep your certificates
Colorado doesn’t collect your certificates when you renew. Keep each certificate for at least 5 years after the end of the calendar year you completed it in.
Sequoia issues your certificate the moment you pass, and it stays in your account.
Your records must show
- Sponsor’s name and contact information
- Your name
- Program title
- Field of study
- Date completed
- Type of instruction or delivery method
- Number of CPE credits completed
- Sponsor’s verification (signature, seal or similar)
Finish your Colorado 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
Colorado CPE questions, answered
How many CPE hours do Colorado CPAs need?
Colorado CPAs need 80 CPE hours every two years. Every licensee shares the same period, now January 1, 2026 to December 31, 2027. No more than 16 of them may be in Personal Development.
When is the Colorado CPE deadline?
December 31, 2027, the end of the current two-year period, which is the same for every licensee; hours beyond the requirement can’t be applied to a later period. The next period runs January 1, 2028 to December 31, 2029. Your license expires on November 30 of odd-numbered years. When you renew, you affirm that you met the requirement.
How many ethics hours do Colorado CPAs need?
Colorado CPAs need 4 hours of professional ethics during each two-year period. Ethics hours also count toward the 80-hour total for the period.
Does behavioral ethics count toward Colorado’s ethics requirement?
Yes. Colorado counts behavioral ethics courses toward its ethics requirement, as well as regulatory ethics. Sequoia CPE’s Colorado ethics courses are regulatory ethics courses and meet the 4-hour requirement.
Do online and self-study CPE courses count in Colorado?
Yes. Colorado accepts self-study programs, with credit measured by the AICPA/NASBA Statement on Standards for CPE Programs. Colorado’s rules set no cap on self-study hours. Colorado doesn’t register CPE sponsors. Programs must meet the standards in Colorado’s rules.
Can Colorado CPAs carry extra CPE hours forward?
No. Hours beyond the requirement cannot be applied to a later period (3 CCR 705-1, Rule 1.9(A)(4)).
Do I report my CPE to Colorado?
Not course by course. When you renew your license, you affirm that you met the requirement for the period, and Colorado may audit your records. Keep your certificates for at least 5 years after the end of the calendar year you completed them in.
What CPE do newly licensed Colorado CPAs need?
A newly certified Colorado CPA owes 10 hours of CPE for each full calendar quarter the certificate is active during the reporting period, rather than the full 80 hours. The same rule requires 4 hours of Ethics, of which 2 may be Colorado Rules and Regulations (CR&R), and allows no more than 20 percent in Personal Development and no more than 50 percent in teaching or publishing.
Are there exemptions from Colorado CPE?
Colorado’s rules cover four situations: exceptions for health, military service, public practice or other good cause; nonresident CPAs; inactive, retired or expired certificates; and returning to active status. The details and their conditions are under Exemptions and special circumstances, below.
Exemptions and special circumstances
Exceptions for health, military service, public practice or other good cause
A Colorado CPA may ask the Board for an exception to the CPE requirements by a written request justifying it, and the Board decides case by case whether good cause has been shown. The Board lists an Emergency Exemption for reasons of health or other good cause, a Military Exemption, and a Public Practice Exemption for CPAs who do not engage in public practice, and calls them limited circumstances that require board approval.
A written request for an emergency or public practice exception goes to dora_accountancyboard@state.co.us and must be submitted before the certificate is renewed. For a military exemption from licensing fees and CPE, the Board points to the Division’s Military License Renewal Information webpage. The Board may also grant exceptions, for reasons of individual hardship or other good cause, to the requirements of the Board rule that sets the CPE hours for an active certificate and for reactivating or reinstating one.
Nonresident CPAs
A nonresident CPA renewing, reactivating or reinstating a Colorado certificate may satisfy the Board’s CPE requirements by submitting, with the application, an attestation of compliance with the continuing education requirements of the certification issued in the state where the CPA’s principal place of business is located.
The documentation must include a copy of the out-of-state certification and verification of the principal place of business. The Board lists this among the exceptions that are limited circumstances and require board approval.
Inactive, retired or expired certificates
Colorado requires no CPE for the period during which a certificate is in inactive, retired or expired status.
Changing status does not erase CPE already accrued: CPE accrued but not completed as of the date of the change must be completed before the certificate is returned to active status, and failing to complete it on time can lead to discipline. An inactive or retired certificate holder cannot hold out or perform any service that requires an active certificate, nor can the holder of an expired certificate once the grace period has passed.
Returning to active status
To reactivate a retired or inactive certificate, or reinstate an expired one, after less than two years in that status, the CPA must have completed the minimum 80 hours required for the reporting period before the one in which the application is received, plus 10 hours for each full quarter of the current reporting period in which the certificate was retired, inactive or expired, up to 80 hours. No more than 20 percent of the required CPE may be in Personal Development and no more than 50 percent in teaching or publishing. After two but less than six years, the CPA must also complete and pass the AICPA’s Professional Ethics comprehensive course (for licensure) or a subsequently named course. After six years or more, the CPA must either meet the two-to-six-year requirements and obtain one year of experience, or a master’s degree or higher with a concentration in accounting, within the two years before applying; or meet the same conditions as an applicant for initial certification; or hold a qualification from a country with a mutual recognition agreement, or an active certificate or license from a substantially equivalent state, submit official verification of it and attest to 80 hours of CPE. The time is measured as the total combined period in expired, retired or inactive status.
Once the certificate is active again, the CPE required for the rest of that reporting period is 10 hours for each full quarter remaining in it, with the same 20 and 50 percent limits, and 2 of the hours must be in Ethics, which cannot be CR&R. CPE used for the reactivation or reinstatement does not count toward it.
Official sources
This page explains Colorado’s rules in plain language. The Colorado Board of Accountancy is the final authority; confirm details for your situation with it.
Colorado Board of Accountancy · Denver, CO · (303) 894-7800
CPE requirements in other states
Contact Information
Customer Support: (800) 572-9675 || Support@SequoiaCPE.com
Monday–Friday | 7:00am–4:00pm PT
