Arizona CPA CPE Requirements 2026: 80 Hours Every Two Years

Arizona CPAs must complete 80 hours of CPE every two-year registration period, including 4 hours of ethics and at least 40 hours in accounting, auditing, taxation, business law or consulting. Registration renews in your birth month, so your period is personal rather than a fixed calendar block. This guide explains rule R4-1-453, the minimum live-learning hours, the caps on nano-learning, teaching and writing, and how Arizona treats carryover, short periods and reinstatement. For a comparison across states see our CPA CPE requirements guide.

Arizona CPE requirements at a glance

How your period is set

Arizona registrations renew every two years in the registrant's birth month. The Board explains that if you were born in an even-numbered year you renew in even-numbered years, and if you were born in an odd-numbered year you renew in odd-numbered years. Your CPE period runs from the first day of the month after your birth month to the last day of your birth month two years later. This means two Arizona CPAs can have different deadlines, so check your own renewal date.

Subject rules

Of the 80 hours, at least 40 must be in accounting, auditing, taxation, business law or consulting services, and at least 16 of those 40 must be in accounting, auditing or taxation. The rest can be in other subjects that meet the rule, subject to caps. Introductory computer courses are capped at 20 hours. Keep the course outline, because the rule expects written outlines and knowledgeable developers and instructors.

Ethics

You need four hours of ethics in each period. At least one hour must be on accounting ethics, including the AICPA Code of Professional Conduct, and at least one hour must cover the Board's statutes and rules. Ethics programs taught or developed by your employer or a co-worker do not count. Our overview of ethics CPE for CPAs explains how other states define ethics credit.

Live learning and delivery caps

At least 16 hours must be classroom, interactive live webinar, or earned as a lecturer or discussion leader. Self-study counts hour for hour, and a class hour is at least 50 continuous minutes. Nano-learning is capped at 4 hours, teaching and writing combined at 40 hours, and writing alone at 20 hours. You cannot claim credit for repeating the same course.

Carryover, short periods and reinstatement

The Board says excess hours may not be carried forward to a later registration period. For a registration period shorter than two years, CPE may be prorated by quarter, except ethics. If you reactivate or reinstate, the rule requires up to 160 hours in the four years before the application, including at least 80 in the subject areas above, at least 32 of them in accounting, auditing or taxation, and at least 32 in classroom, live webinar or teaching. Ethics is 4 hours if 1 to 24 months have passed.

Sponsors and records

The Board does not pre-approve providers, and registrants are responsible for deciding whether a course qualifies. Sponsors of self-study and correspondence courses must keep participation records and outlines for three years, and you should keep your own records for three years from the date your registration was received. Our explainer on what NASBA does covers the registry that many CPAs use to reduce risk.

A planning example

Because there is no carryover and no annual minimum, many registrants split the 80 hours into 40 a year. In each year you could take about 8 live hours, 2 ethics hours and 30 hours in the core subject areas, which gives you 16 live hours, 4 ethics hours and well over the 40-hour subject minimum across the period. Check your running totals against the 16-hour live requirement before the final months, because that is the requirement that self-study cannot fill.

What to check

The rule text we reviewed comes from the 2021 rulemaking packet, and a secondary source reports it was amended again in 2023. A 2026 law, SB1181 (Laws 2026, chapter 17), amends A.R.S. 32-703 so that CPE requirements shall not exceed 80 hours in any two-year renewal period, effective from and after December 31, 2026. Before relying on this page for a renewal, confirm the current wording with the Board.

Frequently asked questions

How many CPE hours do Arizona CPAs need?

80 hours for a two-year registration period, including 4 hours of ethics.

Does Arizona allow carryover?

No. Excess hours may not be carried forward.

How many live-learning hours are required?

At least 16 hours of classroom, interactive live webinar or lecturer or discussion-leader time.

How long should I keep records?

Three years from the date your registration was received.

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: Arizona State Board of Accountancy CPE page (azaccountancy.gov) and rule R4-1-453 as published in the Governor's Regulatory Review Council rulemaking materials, checked October 2026.