CPA Manitoba CPD Requirements 2026: 20 Hours a Year, 120 in Three

CPA Manitoba asks members for at least 20 hours of CPD each year, at least 120 hours over a rolling three-year period, and at least 60 of those 120 hours must be verifiable, according to its CPD Requirements Policy. Four of the verifiable hours must be professional ethics. The annual reporting deadline is 1 April for the previous calendar year. CPA Manitoba's own documents disagree on a few points, including how long to keep records and what the late fee is, and we flag those below rather than guess. Compare it with our guides to CPA Ontario CPD guide, CPABC CPD guide, CPA Alberta CPD guide and CPA Québec CPD guide, or read the wider CPA Canada CPD requirements by province overview.

At a glance

The hours rule

Each year you must report at least 20 hours, of which at least 10 are verifiable, meaning there is evidence that a third party can check, such as a course certificate. Over any rolling three-year period you need 120 hours, with at least 60 verifiable. CPA Manitoba's FAQ and policy do not set a separate minimum for unverifiable hours, so the remaining hours up to 120 can be unverifiable, such as technical reading. One news page for the 2025 reporting cycle showed a table with 56 verifiable hours plus 4 ethics hours. We could not read that table as text, so we have not relied on it.

Ethics hours

The policy requires at least 4 hours of verifiable learning in professional ethics in the three-year period, and says self-study does not qualify as verifiable ethics. CPA Manitoba has applied the ethics requirement since 1 January 2019 and suggests spreading it at one to two hours a year. Our guide to ethics CPE for CPAs explains how US boards treat ethics hours if you also hold a US licence.

Reporting and the deadline

You report and declare CPD for the previous calendar year by 1 April, under Bylaw 704. For the 2025 cycle, which covers 2023 to 2025, the report was due by 1 April 2026. A member who is short of the minimum has to submit a non-compliance declaration and an action plan, and cannot reach the fee invoice until the report is filed. An older notice gave members until 30 May 2025 to fix a deficiency.

Suspension and cancellation

Bylaw 702 provides that a member who has not filed within two months after the reporting date is suspended. The FAQ says membership is cancelled after a further two months, and mentions prescribed reinstatement and readmission fees without giving amounts.

Late fees: what we could not confirm

A 2022 notice set a $100 late fee for reports filed after 14 April 2022. A separate board policies document says failing to report by 31 January results in a $100 non-compliance fee, which conflicts with the 1 April deadline. We could not find a dated current statement of the late fee, so check with CPA Manitoba.

Records

Three official sources give three different retention periods. Bylaw 705 says five years after the completion of the year, the CPD policy says a minimum of 60 months, and one FAQ answer says 36 months while two others say 60. The bylaw and the policy agree on five years, and the FAQ says bylaws prevail, so five years is the safe period. Our CPE tracking log template gives you a ready layout.

Exemptions and relief

The policy says members may qualify for an exemption when they do not earn income related to the provision of accounting or related services; the sentence is cut off in the text we could read, so use CPA Manitoba's application page for the full wording. Parental and medical leave are named as examples where an exemption may be considered, and the FAQ says parental leave is generally exempt for one calendar year. A member exempt for two or more years has to submit a CPD action plan. Retirement is not an automatic exemption.

Public accounting

We found no extra CPD hours for licence holders. Engagement practice leaders on audits of financial statements complete an annual IES 8 self-assessment and declaration. Providing public accounting services requires firm registration and a permit.

Recent changes

CPA Manitoba updated the CPD policy on 23 March 2026 and the bylaws on 24 June 2026, but neither document lists what changed, and we found no announced change in hours, deadline or fees. Read the current policy before you report.

Frequently asked questions

How many CPD hours does a CPA Manitoba member need?

20 hours a year, including 10 verifiable, and 120 over a rolling three-year period, including 60 verifiable.

How many ethics hours are required?

Four verifiable hours of professional ethics in the three-year period. Self-study does not qualify.

When must I report CPD to CPA Manitoba?

By 1 April for the previous calendar year.

How long should I keep CPD records?

Keep them for five years. The bylaw and the policy agree on that, although one FAQ answer says 36 months.

What happens if I do not report?

A member who has not filed within two months of the reporting date is suspended under Bylaw 702, and membership can then be cancelled after a further two months.

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 late-fee amount and the current policy with CPA Manitoba before you report.

Source: CPA Manitoba CPD Requirements Policy, bylaws, FAQ and news pages (cpamb.ca), checked October 2026.