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

Members of CPA Ontario must complete at least 20 hours of continuing professional development each calendar year and at least 120 hours over every rolling three-year period, and at least half of those hours must be verifiable, according to CPA Ontario's CPD page and Regulation 7-2. Four of the three-year hours must be verifiable professional ethics. You declare compliance through My Portal when you pay your annual dues, and the window runs from 1 April to 1 June. This guide sets out the numbers, the deadlines, the public accounting extras and what happens if you fall short. It sits alongside our guides for other Canadian provinces, such as the CPABC CPD guide, the CPA Alberta CPD guide and the CPA Québec CPD guide, and our wider professional body CPD and CPE requirements compared.

At a glance

The annual and three-year rules

The requirement has two layers. Each year you need 20 hours, and across any rolling three years you need 120. Because the three-year test rolls forward every year, a strong year can cover a weak one, but you cannot skip the annual minimum. At least half of both totals must be verifiable, meaning activities where a third party can confirm that you took part, such as a course with a certificate or a recorded webinar. The rest can be non-verifiable, such as reading or on-the-job learning, as long as it relates to your professional development.

Ethics hours

Four of your verifiable hours in each three-year period must be professional ethics, according to CPA Ontario's CPD page. Regulation 7-2 introduced the ethics requirement for periods ending 31 December 2021 onward. Book the ethics course early in the cycle so that it does not become the thing you scramble for in May. Our CPA CPE requirements guide explains how US boards handle ethics hours if you also hold a US licence.

Declaring your CPD

You declare through the annual membership dues application in My Portal. The window opens on 1 April and closes on 1 June, and the CPD declaration is made at the same time as paying dues. You do not upload certificates when you declare, but you must keep them in case CPA Ontario asks. A member who declares that they have not met the requirement is asked to file a plan of action and complete it within a fixed period under Regulation 7-2; the regulation text should be read for the exact timings.

Late declarations and suspension

A declaration received after 1 June attracts a $25 late fee. Members with outstanding declarations after 30 June are subject to suspension. Neither the late fee nor the 30 June date appears in the regulation itself, which leaves the Registrar to set the date, so the dates come from CPA Ontario's web page. Treat 1 June as the real deadline.

Public accounting licence holders

If you hold or apply for a Public Accounting Licence, your CPD must be linked to the competencies of public accounting and to IES 8, and you attest to that in your annual declaration. CPA Ontario's guidance says general tax updates do not count toward this unless they meet the IES 8 outcomes. Members who are short of hours cannot apply for or renew the licence.

Exemptions and reductions

Regulation 7-2 gives relief for members who were without work for six months or more because of maternity, parental, medical or family-care leave or unemployment and provided no reliance services, for retired members who provided no reliance services, and for members admitted after 30 September. The Registrar also has discretion in compassionate or extraordinary circumstances. An exempt year reduces the three-year requirement. A CPA Ontario guide from 2022 gives 80 hours as an example after one exempt year, but check the current figure with CPA Ontario.

Records

Keep the certificate or proof of attendance, the date, the provider, the hours and a note of what you learned for at least five years. Regulation 7-2 requires the previous five years of records to be produced on request. Our what boards ask for in a CPE audit guide describes what regulators ask to see, and our CPE tracking log template gives you a ready-made layout.

What we could not confirm

CPA Ontario's regulation page mentions an amendment dated September 2026, but we could not confirm what changed. The 2022 requirements guide predates the current web page, so its deadlines may be out of date. Check the live regulation and your My Portal before the next declaration window.

Frequently asked questions

How many CPD hours does a CPA Ontario member need?

20 hours each year and 120 over a rolling three-year period, with at least half verifiable.

How many ethics hours are required?

Four verifiable ethics hours in each three-year period.

When is the CPA Ontario CPD declaration due?

The window opens on 1 April and closes on 1 June. A $25 late fee applies afterwards, and suspension is possible after 30 June.

How long should I keep CPD records?

At least five years.

Do retired members need to complete CPD?

Regulation 7-2 gives relief to retired members who provided no reliance services. Confirm the conditions with CPA Ontario.

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 Ontario before you declare.

Source: CPA Ontario CPD page (cpaontario.ca), Regulation 7-2 and the CPD Requirements Guide 2022, checked October 2026.