Free CPE for Accountants in 2026: How to Find Credit Your Board Will Accept

Continuing professional education adds up. Many CPAs, enrolled agents and other finance professionals look for free CPE to take the edge off the cost. Free credit is real and plentiful, but it is only worth having if your state board will accept it. A free hour that your board rejects costs you time and leaves you short at renewal. This guide explains how to find free CPE that counts, how to check it before you commit, and what to keep as evidence. Always confirm your own board's rules, because they vary from state to state.

Free does not mean accepted

The price of a course tells you nothing about whether it qualifies. What matters is who sponsors it, how it is delivered and whether your board recognises that sponsor. Boards typically accept CPE from sponsors on the National Registry of CPE Sponsors or from sponsors approved by the board itself, but acceptance can differ by jurisdiction. Our guide to the NASBA Registry and QAS self-study explains the two main approval routes.

A three-step check before you register

1. Find the sponsor on the Registry. NASBA publishes a sponsor list at nasbaregistry.org/sponsor-list.
2. Confirm Registry status. NASBA provides a tool for confirming that a sponsor is on the Registry at cpeauditservice.nasba.org/confirm-registry-sponsor.
3. Check your board accepts Registry sponsors. NASBA maintains a page listing the jurisdictions that accept Registry sponsors at nasbaregistry.org/resources/jurisdictions-that-accept-registry-sponsors.

For a fuller walkthrough, see how to verify a NASBA CPE sponsor.

Where free CPE usually comes from

Free credit is generally offered because the provider gains something else: your attention, your email address or your loyalty to a product. That is not a problem, as long as the CPE itself is properly sponsored. Common sources include:

• Trade publications and practice-management sites. Some run free online conferences. For example, CPA Practice Advisor has announced its Ensuring Success 2026 conference for 9 and 10 December 2026. According to the organiser, registration and CPE or CE credit are free for professionals, with 14 one-hour sessions across the two days, each qualifying for one hour of certified CPE in various fields of study. Several tax sessions also offer one hour of IRS continuing education credit for enrolled agents, with details to be finalised. The organiser states that it is registered with NASBA as a sponsor on the National Registry of CPE Sponsors.
• Software vendors. Accounting and tax software companies often run webinars or virtual conferences with free CPE, for example Intuit's ELEVATE virtual conference in May 2026. Look for any conditions in the small print, such as a requirement to be a customer.
• Professional bodies and state societies. Membership often includes some free or discounted webinars. Check which sessions carry CPE credit.
• Government and regulator webinars. Some regulators run free sessions. Whether they carry CPE depends on the sponsor arrangements, so check before you rely on them.

Know what your hour is worth

Credit is measured in set increments, and for live group sessions, a 50-minute session is typically worth one credit. A one-hour session with breaks may therefore not give you a full hour, so check the credit figure the sponsor publishes rather than assuming. Our guide to how CPE credit is calculated explains the increments in detail.

Free self-study and your state's limits

If the free course is self-study, check whether your board caps self-study hours or requires a particular type of approval. Rules differ across states, and some boards treat live webinars differently from on-demand courses. Our self-study rules by state guide is a useful starting point.

What to keep as evidence

Whatever you attend, keep a record in case your board audits you. At a minimum, save:

• The certificate of completion, showing your name, the course title, date, credits and the sponsor's name.
• The registration confirmation and the programme or agenda.
• A note of the field of study, which matters if your board has subject requirements such as ethics.
• Proof of attendance for live sessions, if the sponsor provides it.

Building a mixed plan

A practical approach is to use free events for general technical updates and keep a small budget for the sessions where you need a specific subject, a particular delivery method or a provider your board names. Set a target at the start of your reporting period, map each free event against it, and note which hours remain. That way a missed webinar in November does not turn into a scramble in December.

Red flags

• No sponsor name, or a sponsor you cannot find on the Registry.
• A promise that the course is "accepted everywhere".
• No certificate, or a certificate with no credit figure.
• A sign-up that requires payment details for a "free" course.

Frequently asked questions

Can I meet all my CPE requirements with free courses?

Possibly, if the sessions are properly sponsored, accepted by your board and cover any required subjects. In practice, you may need to supplement free events with paid courses for specific topics such as ethics.

Do free webinars always count?

No. They count only if the sponsor is recognised by your board and the session meets the delivery rules.

Are free enrolled agent CE sessions the same as CPE?

Not necessarily. IRS continuing education for enrolled agents has its own approval route, so check that a session is approved for the credit you need.