CPA Alberta CPD Requirements 2026: Hours, Deadline and Penalty

CPA Alberta requires members to complete 20 hours of CPD each year and 120 hours over a rolling three-year period, with 10 and 60 of those hours verifiable, including four verifiable ethics hours across the cycle. Members declare compliance, non-compliance or exemption by 1 March following the calendar year. Failing to report by that date carries a $150 penalty, suspension if the report and penalty are not dealt with within 30 days, and cancellation within 60 days of suspension. This guide covers the numbers, the exemption test, the rules for new members and what to keep. For neighbouring provinces see our CPABC CPD guide and CPA Ontario CPD guide.

At a glance

The hours

CPA Alberta's requirement mirrors the national pattern: 20 hours a year with at least 10 verifiable, and 120 hours over a rolling three years with at least 60 verifiable. The three-year window covers the current year and the two before it. CPA Alberta's directives, last published in February 2025, agree with the web pages on these numbers.

Ethics

Four of your verifiable hours across the three-year cycle must be professional ethics, a requirement that began on 1 January 2019. We found no public-practice-specific CPD rule on CPA Alberta's CPD pages, but members in practice should also check the practice standards that apply to them.

Reporting by 1 March

You report in the Member Portal by 1 March following the calendar year, choosing comply, non-comply or exempt. The 2025 declaration instructions give 1 March 2026 as that year's date and say that a member declaring non-compliance must submit an action plan by 31 December 2026. We could not confirm the date for the 2026 reporting year on the page we read, so check the Member Portal.

Penalty, suspension and cancellation

Failing to report by 1 March carries a $150 penalty. A member who does not report and pay the penalty within 30 days is suspended, and one who does not report and pay within 60 days of suspension is cancelled and becomes ineligible for continuing registration. CPA Alberta's bylaws describe the same sequence of 30 days and 60 days; the $150 figure comes from the web page because the fee schedule was not available to us.

Exemptions

From 1 January 2022 a member is exempt if all of the following hold: no regulated services, no board or committee role at a public or large organisation, and gross active revenue not over $30,000. Members with extenuating circumstances can apply to the Registration Committee. An exempt year is excluded from the cycle, and a member who has been exempt for more than 36 consecutive months must prepare a CPD plan on return. Since 2022 new members are not exempt for their admission year.

Records and evidence

Keep CPD records for at least five years and be ready to provide third-party verification for the verifiable hours. Certificates, attendance records and course outlines all help. Our CPE tracking log template shows what to record, and our what boards ask for in a CPE audit guide explains how regulators sample records.

What we could not confirm

We could not retrieve the Alberta regulation or the resolutions that set the penalty, so the $150 penalty and the exact exemption wording are taken from CPA Alberta's web pages. The only bylaw text we found dates from 2016 and may have been replaced. Check with CPA Alberta before you rely on a figure.

How it compares

Alberta's hours match Ontario and British Columbia, but its deadline is the earliest of the three at 1 March, and it carries an explicit dollar penalty. See our CPA Québec CPD guide for the Quebec system, which counts hours differently.

Frequently asked questions

How many CPD hours does CPA Alberta require?

20 a year and 120 over a rolling three years, with 10 and 60 verifiable.

When do I report my CPD?

By 1 March following the calendar year, in the Member Portal.

What is the penalty for late reporting?

$150, followed by suspension if not resolved within 30 days and cancellation within 60 days of suspension.

Can I be exempt?

Yes, if you provide no regulated services, hold no board or committee role at a public or large organisation and your gross active revenue does not exceed $30,000.

How long must I keep records?

At least five years.

Finding courses that count

Learnsignal publishes accounting, tax, audit, ethics and finance courses in its CPD and CPE library. Before you pay for any course, check the awarding body's own rules on what it accepts, and keep the certificate and the course details. Confirm the current rules with CPA Alberta before you report.

Source: CPA Alberta CPD reporting, three-year rolling cycle, ethics, exemptions and evidence pages (cpaalberta.ca) and CPA Alberta Directives, February 2025, checked October 2026.