Alabama CPA CPE Requirements 2026: 40 Hours Every Year

Alabama CPAs must complete 40 hours of CPE in each fiscal year ending September 30, including at least two hours in a qualifying ethics course and at least eight hours in accounting and auditing. The Alabama Board of Public Accountancy amended its CPE chapter, Alabama Administrative Code 30-X-5, with an effective date of October 15, 2026, so this guide follows the amended text. Renewal and the CPE attestation for the year that just ended are due by December 31, 2026. For a comparison across states see our CPA CPE requirements guide.

Alabama CPE requirements at a glance

The annual requirement

Alabama has no multi-year total. Rule .02(1) asks for 40 hours in each fiscal year ending September 30, and the next CPE year after the one that just closed runs to September 30, 2027. Permits expire on the last day of September, and the renewal application and fees are due no later than the last day of December. The attestation you make at renewal covers the fiscal year that ended on September 30, so the next filing date is December 31, 2026.

What changed on October 15, 2026

The Board certified amendments to all of chapter 30-X-5 (.01 through .06) in August 2026, and the Alabama Administrative Monthly published them on August 31, 2026 with an effective date of October 15, 2026. The Board notice describes four changes: aligning catch-up CPE with annual CPE, cleaning up wording, removing references to out-of-state non-licensee owners, and adding experience requirements for new licensure pathways. The licensure pathway changes concern the permit and do not alter the CPE hours. Our summary below follows the text we could read, and we could not see the marked-up redline.

Ethics and subject rules

At least two of the 40 hours must be in a qualifying ethics course, and at least eight must be in accounting and auditing. General-use software courses do not count toward the eight hours, but software courses focused on accounting or audit application do. No more than 12 of the 40 hours may be personal development such as soft skills, time management or leadership. The text we read does not say the ethics course must be Alabama-specific or Board-approved. Our overview of ethics CPE for CPAs explains how ethics credit works in other states.

Counting credit

One 50-minute period equals one CPE hour, and a one-day or split-day session of at least 360 clock minutes earns eight hours. Self-study has a 25-minute minimum, and the Board Quick Guide says there is no cap on it. Nano-learning must be at least 10 minutes, electronic, single-objective and assessed, earns one-fifth of a credit, and is capped at 25 percent of the required hours. Instructors earn twice the actual session hours, with no credit for repeats. Published articles and books earn self-declared credit up to 50 percent of the requirement. College courses count 15 hours per semester credit and 10 per quarter credit, and non-credit college courses earn one hour per classroom hour.

Returning to active status and new licensees

A person who elects active licensure within five years of passing the CPA exam must complete 40 hours within the period ending one year after the September 30 that follows the initial election. Someone returning to active status, or moving from inactive status after more than five years or having never been active, must complete 40 hours for each year off active status, capped at 120, with 20 percent in accounting and auditing and 5 percent in ethics, all earned in the three years before the permit request. Our complete guide to CPE for CPAs compares these rules with other states.

Sponsors and records

Programs with class or meeting attendance must be run by persons approved by the Board. The rule lists recognized national and state accounting organizations, in-firm programs, university courses and live webinars with real-time interaction, and it does not require NASBA registry sponsors. Our explainer on what NASBA does describes the registry anyway. Keep your evidence for five years after each learning activity, and note that sponsors must also keep records for five years.

Exemptions and audits

The rule excuses CPE for health reasons certified by a medical doctor, for retired or inactive status where the licensee is over 55 and notifies the Board in writing, and for other good cause. The Board verifies CPE on a test basis, and a licensee who fails an audit is automatically audited for two additional fiscal years. Newsletter findings from the Board say tax is classified as "other" and not accounting and auditing, finance does not count as accounting and auditing, and you need the certificate in hand before you claim hours. A fall 2025 Board newsletter listed fines of $580 to $2,400 and a required Board course within 30 days for audit failures.

Planning your hours

Because the fiscal year ends on September 30 but the filing date is December 31, it is easy to treat the autumn as spare time. Check your accounting and auditing hours first, since they are the usual audit failure, and keep every certificate. For a comparison across states see our CPA CPE requirements guide.

What we could not confirm

We could not see the redline of the October 2026 amendment, so we cannot say exactly which words changed. The Board CPE Quick Guide, revised August 2023 and re-uploaded in April 2026, is stale: it describes catch-up CPE at 25 percent accounting and auditing with a 30 percent personal development cap and a 10 percent nano cap, while the current rule text says 20 percent and 5 percent and contains no such caps in the catch-up paragraphs. We followed the Administrative Code, and we do not know whether the Board still applies the Quick Guide caps. We read rules .01 to .05 in detail and only summarized .06. The late-fee schedule of $100 after the deadline and $500 after February 28 is from the 2025 cycle, so the 2026 dates are not confirmed.

Frequently asked questions

How many CPE hours do Alabama CPAs need?

40 hours in each fiscal year ending September 30.

How many ethics hours are required?

At least two hours in a qualifying ethics course.

When is the next Alabama deadline?

December 31, 2026, for renewal and the CPE attestation for the year ended September 30, 2026.

Did the Alabama rule change in 2026?

Yes. Chapter 30-X-5 was amended with an effective date of October 15, 2026.

Finding CPE that counts

Learnsignal publishes accounting, tax, audit, ethics and finance courses in its CPD and CPE library. Before you buy any course for credit, check that the provider is listed as an approved sponsor with your board or on the NASBA registry, and keep the certificate. Our page on NASBA CPE sponsor information explains what we publish about sponsor status. For a wider comparison read our guide to online CPE providers.

Other states: Texas California New York Florida Illinois.

Source: Alabama Administrative Code chapter 30-X-5 and the Alabama Administrative Monthly, August 2026 (admincode.legislature.state.al.us), and Alabama State Board of Public Accountancy pages (asbpa.alabama.gov), checked October 2026.