NASBA Fields of Study: The Full List and How to Use It (2026)

Every CPE course certificate for a CPA carries a field of study, and that label decides whether your hours count towards the subjects your board cares about. NASBA's Fields of Study document lists 13 technical fields and 7 non-technical fields, and it is the list that sponsors on the NASBA Registry use to classify programs. This guide sets out the full list, what NASBA says sponsors must do with it, and the limits of what we could confirm. The document we read is dated January 2024, and we found no 2026 revision, so check the NASBA Registry for the current version before you rely on any detail. For the wider picture, see our guide to what NASBA CPE means and our CPA CPE requirements guide.

The full list at a glance

Source: NASBA Fields of Study document, effective 1 January 2024, linked from the NASBA Registry. Names are as published there.

Technical and non-technical fields

NASBA splits the fields into two groups. The technical group covers accounting, auditing, tax, law, finance and related subjects, plus Regulatory Ethics. The non-technical group covers skills and management topics, plus Behavioral Ethics. Many boards set a minimum number of hours in technical or specific subjects, so a course classified as non-technical may not help with that minimum. Your board decides how its own rules treat each field, so read its requirement before you buy a course. Our ethics CPE guide explains why the two ethics fields are not interchangeable.

What sponsors have to do

According to NASBA's document, a sponsor must make sure the field of study reasonably reflects the underlying content of the course. Sponsors may also issue an alternative, state-specific field of study where a board uses its own labels. Practice-based courses go under the field of the practice they teach. Because the sponsor chooses the label, two providers can classify similar content slightly differently, so look at the course outline as well as the certificate.

Specialized Knowledge is not a catch-all

NASBA's guidance for sponsors, which is older and dated to a 2016 revision, says Specialized Knowledge is not meant as a catch-all for content that does not fit elsewhere. Treat any course filed under it with some care: check that your board accepts it for the requirement you are trying to meet.

Courses that span several fields

The same older guidance says that credit for a program that covers more than one field is split across the fields shown on the certificate, and that the credit is rounded down. In practice, a two-hour course on tax and ethics might show some hours under Taxes and some under an ethics field. Read the certificate to see the split, because only the hours in the right field count towards a field-specific minimum.

Who has the final say

NASBA's guidance says the state board has the final say on a course's field of study. A sponsor's label is a starting point. If you are unsure, ask your board before you book, and keep the course outline with your certificate in case of an audit. Our CPE audit guide covers the records boards ask for.

What changed in 2026

NASBA approved revisions to its CPE Standards in 2026, with the revised Standards effective 1 August 2026. Existing programs must conform by 1 November 2028. We found no change to the Fields of Study in those announcements, and the Registry pages we read still link the January 2024 document. Our guide to the 2026 revision dates covers the timeline. We could not read the final 2026 Standards text, so we cannot say whether it alters how fields are assigned.

How to use the list when you choose courses

First, check your board's rule for the hours it wants in particular subjects, and note any ethics requirement. Second, match each requirement to the NASBA fields above. Third, look at the field printed on the course page and certificate, and ask the provider if it is unclear. Fourth, keep records. If you want to confirm that a provider is approved, see our guide to how to verify a NASBA CPE sponsor, and for how credit is measured, see CPE credits explained and NASBA Registry versus QAS self-study.

What we could not confirm

We could not confirm any 2026 change to the list of fields, how each state board maps its own subject requirements onto the NASBA fields, or whether the current Registry document has been replaced since January 2024. NASBA publishes the current list on its Registry site, so use it as the source of truth.

Frequently asked questions

How many fields of study does NASBA list?

Thirteen technical and seven non-technical, according to the January 2024 document.

Is ethics a technical or non-technical field?

Both groups have an ethics field: Regulatory Ethics is technical and Behavioral Ethics is non-technical.

Who decides which field a course belongs in?

The sponsor assigns it, and NASBA says the state board has the final say.

Can a course count in more than one field?

Yes. Credit for a multi-field program is split across the fields on the certificate and rounded down.

Did the fields change in 2026?

We found no change. The Registry still links the January 2024 document.

Next steps

Read our complete CPE guide for CPAs and the Learnsignal CPD hub, and see the Learnsignal pricing page when you are comparing CPE providers.

Source: NASBA Fields of Study document (January 2024), NASBA Registry guidance for sponsors and NASBA's 2026 announcement. Checked October 2026.