Idaho CPA CPE Requirements

Idaho CPAs must complete 80 hours of CPE in every two consecutive calendar years, including 4 hours of professional ethics, with at least 30 hours each calendar year. Extra hours don’t carry over.

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Idaho CPE requirements at a glance

Required hours
80 hours
At least 30 hours each calendar year.
Reporting period
Two calendar years, rolling
Any two calendar years in a row: each December 31, that year and the one before it must hold 80 hours.
Ethics
4 hours
In every two consecutive calendar years. Counts toward the 80-hour total.
License renewal
Every 2 years
You report each course to the board online.
Self-study
Accepted
No cap on self-study hours appears in Idaho’s rules.
Carryover
Not allowed
Each December 31 counts only that calendar year and the one before it, so older hours drop off.

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How many CPE hours do Idaho CPAs need?

Idaho counts CPE over every two consecutive calendar years: each year, together with the one before it, must hold 80 hours. Within that:

In total

80 hours

In every two consecutive calendar years.

Each year

30 hours

At least 30 hours in each calendar year.

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Is ethics CPE required in Idaho?

Yes. Idaho CPAs must complete 4 hours of professional ethics in every two consecutive calendar years. Ethics hours also count toward the 80-hour total.

Which ethics courses count?

This Sequoia CPE course meets Idaho’s 4-hour ethics requirement:

What subjects qualify for Idaho CPE?

Courses in any NASBA field of study (the field shown on each course certificate) count toward the 80 hours, and the areas below have rules of their own. The 8-hour AICPA ethics course taken to become licensed does not count toward Idaho CPE. Agendas, class programs, registration forms and canceled checks are not accepted as proof of a course.

Ethics

Includes Regulatory Ethics

When is the Idaho CPE deadline?

December 31, every year. Each December 31 closes a two-year window: that year and the one before it.

  1. January 1

    Your CPE year starts

    Hours you complete from this date count toward this year. Each December 31 counts only that calendar year and the one before it, so older hours drop off.

  2. December 31

    At least 30 hours this year

    Complete at least 30 hours each calendar year.

  3. December 31

    80 hours over this year and last

    This year’s hours and last year’s must add up to 80.

  4. June 30 of the year your license expires

    Renew your license

    Your license expires on June 30 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. Report each course to the board online before you renew; the board may ask for your certificates.

Newly licensed?

Idaho’s first-year requirement is an ethics course. In the calendar year an Idaho license is first issued, whether to a new licensee or by reciprocity, the licensee must complete a course of at least 2 hours on Idaho state-specific ethics, covering the Idaho Accountancy Act and Rules, and report it by January 31 of the next year. Once the course is recorded, the Board credits 48 non-ethics hours.

In the second calendar year of licensure, at least 30 hours of CPE are required, which may include an ethics component based on the prior year’s submission. The 8-hour AICPA ethics course taken to become licensed does not count toward CPE.

How Idaho counts CPE credit

The rules that decide whether — and how much — a course counts.

Idaho CPA CPE credit rules
RuleWhat Idaho requires
Credit hourOne credit equals one 50-minute contact hour.
Self-studyAccepted. Credit is measured by the AICPA/NASBA Statement on Standards for CPE Programs.
Approved sponsorsIdaho doesn’t register CPE sponsors. Programs must meet the standards in Idaho’s rules.Sequoia CPE is a NASBA QAS self-study sponsor (sponsor number 121900).
CarryoverNot allowed. Each December 31 counts only that calendar year and the one before it, so older hours drop off.

Keep your certificates

You report each course to Idaho online; your certificates are the evidence if the board checks. 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
  • Your name
  • Course title
  • Date completed
  • Delivery method
  • CPE credits by field of study
  • Sponsor’s identification number
  • A statement that credits are granted on a 50-minute hour

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1,000+ hours across accounting, auditing, taxation and business. Ethics sold separately.

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Idaho Professional Ethics

Meets Idaho’s 4-hour professional ethics requirement.

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Idaho CPE questions, answered

How many CPE hours do Idaho CPAs need?

Idaho CPAs need 80 CPE hours in every two consecutive calendar years, with at least 30 hours each calendar year.

When is the Idaho CPE deadline?

December 31 of each year. Each December 31, that calendar year and the one before it must hold 80 hours, with at least 30 hours each calendar year. Your license expires on June 30 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. You report each course to the board online, and the board may ask for your certificates.

How many ethics hours do Idaho CPAs need?

Idaho CPAs need 4 hours of professional ethics in every two consecutive calendar years. Ethics hours also count toward the 80-hour total.

Does behavioral ethics count toward Idaho’s ethics requirement?

Idaho’s rules don’t say whether behavioral ethics courses meet the ethics requirement, so a regulatory ethics course is the safe choice. Sequoia CPE’s Idaho ethics courses are regulatory ethics courses and meet the 4-hour requirement.

Do online and self-study CPE courses count in Idaho?

Yes. Idaho accepts self-study programs, with credit measured by the AICPA/NASBA Statement on Standards for CPE Programs. No cap on self-study hours appears in Idaho’s rules. Idaho doesn’t register CPE sponsors. Programs must meet the standards in Idaho’s rules.

Can Idaho CPAs carry extra CPE hours forward?

No. Each December 31 counts only that calendar year and the one before it, so older hours drop off (IDAPA 24.30.01.111.01 (no carryover provision in Rules 111 through 117)).

Do I report my CPE to Idaho?

Yes. You report each course to the board online, and the board may ask for your certificates. Keep your certificates for at least 5 years after the end of the calendar year you completed them in.

What CPE do newly licensed Idaho CPAs need?

Idaho’s first-year requirement is an ethics course. In the calendar year an Idaho license is first issued, whether to a new licensee or by reciprocity, the licensee must complete a course of at least 2 hours on Idaho state-specific ethics, covering the Idaho Accountancy Act and Rules, and report it by January 31 of the next year. Once the course is recorded, the Board credits 48 non-ethics hours.

Are there exemptions from Idaho CPE?

Idaho’s rules cover four situations: inactive, retired or lapsed status; reinstating or returning to an active license; exceptions and extensions; and living and licensed in another state. The details and their conditions are under Exemptions and special circumstances, below.

Exemptions and special circumstances

Inactive, retired or lapsed status

Idaho requires no CPE of a licensee who elects inactive or retired status, and the Board’s CPE page adds lapsed status. A change of license status takes effect July 1.

A licensee in inactive or retired status may still provide these volunteer, uncompensated services: tax preparation, taking part in a government-sponsored business mentoring program, serving on the board of directors of a nonprofit or governmental organization, or serving on a government-appointed advisory board.

Reinstating or returning to an active license

A licensee whose license has lapsed or is in a non-active status must complete at least 80 hours of CPE in the 12 months immediately before applying for reinstatement or re-entry to an active license, including at least 4 hours of ethics, at least 2 of them in Idaho state-specific ethics. The Board’s CPE page says the Idaho ethics course must be completed before the application is submitted.

Completing that CPE excuses the licensee from CPE hours for the calendar year of the return to an active license. Reinstating to an inactive or retired license requires no CPE.

Exceptions and extensions

The Board may make exceptions to the CPE requirements, or extend the time to complete them, when reasons of health certified by a medical doctor prevent compliance, or when other good cause exists. The request goes on the reporting form for the year it is sought, within the CPE reporting period, with the reasons; a request not filed on time is subject to a late fee and possible administrative action.

With an extension, the Board may assess a penalty of up to 50% of the hours the licensee is short, and the missing hours and any penalty must be completed by April 30. A shortfall in ethics, or in the Idaho state-specific ethics course, is made up with the missing ethics hours or the course plus 50% in penalty ethics hours, before April 30.

Living and licensed in another state

A licensee who lives in another state and is licensed to practice public accounting in that state meets Idaho’s CPE requirement by meeting that state’s continuing education requirements, and attests to this on the Idaho renewal application.

Both conditions apply: the licensee must live in that state and be licensed there. If the state where the licensee lives has no continuing education requirement, the licensee must meet Idaho’s requirements.

Official sources

This page explains Idaho’s rules in plain language. The Idaho State Board of Accountancy is the final authority; confirm details for your situation with it.

Idaho State Board of Accountancy · Boise, ID · (208) 334-3233

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