Pennsylvania CPA CPE Requirements 2026: 80 Hours, Renew by December 31, 2027

Pennsylvania CPAs must complete 80 hours of CPE in each two-year period, with at least 20 hours in each calendar year and at least four hours of professional ethics. The current period runs from January 1, 2026 to December 31, 2027, and licenses expire on December 31, 2027 unless renewed, with no grace period. This guide follows 49 Pa. Code sections 11.61 to 11.72, as they stood in August 2026, and the State Board of Accountancy renewal pages. For a comparison across states see our CPA CPE requirements guide.

Pennsylvania CPE requirements at a glance

The two-year period

Pennsylvania counts CPE in biennia that run from January 1 of an even-numbered year to December 31 of the next odd-numbered year. All licenses expire on December 31 of odd-numbered years, so the next expiry is December 31, 2027. The Board says all CPE must be complete before you submit the renewal application, that renewal applications must be in before 11:59 pm on December 31, 2027, and that there is no grace period. Renewal usually opens in late October or early November 2027.

Annual minimum and ethics

Section 11.62(b) requires at least 20 hours in each year of the two-year period, so the 80 hours cannot all be left to the second year. The Board has a waiver form for the 20-hour annual minimum. Section 11.63 requires at least four hours of professional ethics in the period, and we found no rule requiring Pennsylvania-specific content. Our overview of ethics CPE for CPAs explains how ethics credit works in other states.

Attest work

A licensee who takes part in attest activity needs at least 24 hours of CPE in accounting and attest subjects, and all other subject areas have no minimum. A separate competency rule asks anyone who supervises or signs attest reports to have 400 hours of attest experience in the previous five years and 24 hours of accounting, auditing or attest CPE in the 24 months before the report, unless the firm is in a peer-review route. A proposed regulation published in July 2025 clarifies that wording but the Board says it creates no new requirement.

Caps and credit rules

Individual study programs, interactive and non-interactive, and authorship together are capped at 40 hours a period. Non-interactive study earns one hour for each 100 minutes, and it must include an exam with a 70 percent minimum grade, while interactive study and group study earn one hour for each 50 minutes. Instructors earn three hours for each 50 minutes of instruction, which includes up to two hours of preparation, up to 40 hours a period, with no credit for repeat teaching without substantial change. Authorship earns up to 20 hours per publication and 40 in total, and the Board must approve the credit before you renew in reliance on it. College courses count 15 hours per semester credit and 10 per quarter credit. We found no nano-learning category. Our overview of how CPE credits are counted compares counting rules across states.

No carryover

The CPA Law says no carry-over of credits is permitted from one biennial license period to another. We could read only a January 2017 compilation of the statute, so we could not confirm the wording after a 2025 amendment.

New licensees and reactivation

An applicant who passed the CPA exam during the same biennium is not required to show the 80 hours. The Board page says licensees who passed in 2026 or 2027 are exempt for the 2027 renewal and start with the 2028 and 2029 period, although that exemption is not in the text of the renewal rule. Reactivating an expired or inactive license needs 80 hours in the two years before the application, and in July 2026 the Board confirmed that credit counts only from those 24 months. Reinstatement also costs $35 on top of the renewal fee.

Sponsors

Sponsors deemed approved are members in good standing of the NASBA National Registry, sponsors approved by a state board in a state that permits practice under substantial equivalency, and accredited colleges and universities for programs in their curriculum. Anyone else must apply to the Board for an approval number. Certificates must show the sponsor name and approval number, program title, hours, subject area and your name. Our explainer on what NASBA does describes the registry, and our list of online CPE providers can help you choose.

Fees, records and audits

Biennial renewal of a CPA license costs $100 under section 11.4, and the Board reports the fee unchanged in December 2025. Keep documentation for five years after each program, and if you are selected for the random audit that follows each renewal you send it with a summary on the Board form. Penalties for missing the 80 hours run from $300 to $1,000 for a first offense, missing the 24 attest hours costs $50 per hour up to $1,000, and failing to produce documents costs $500. A disciplined licensee must make up the shortfall within six months.

Waivers and extensions

The Board can waive a CPE requirement in whole or part for individual hardship such as health, military service or other good cause, and can extend the time for reasonable cause. The Board request forms are dated August 2026, requests must reach the Board before November 1, 2027 to be heard at its November 15, 2027 meeting, and a waiver does not reduce the 80 hours you still need to renew unless the Board says so.

Planning your hours

Check each calendar year has 20 hours, then check ethics and any attest hours. Schedule individual study early in the period since the 40-hour cap includes authorship. For a comparison across states see our CPA CPE requirements guide.

What we could not confirm

The Pennsylvania General Assembly website blocked our access, so we read the CPA Law only through a 2017 compilation and Board minutes for a 2025 amendment, Act 27 of 2025, whose text we did not read. The Board says a licensee practicing under reciprocity or automatic mobility follows the CPE rules of the principal license state, and we only saw that in minutes. A proposed general revisions regulation, 16A-5519, was still in the final stage in July 2026 and had not taken effect in the Code. The September 2026 Board minutes were not available.

Frequently asked questions

How many CPE hours do Pennsylvania CPAs need?

80 hours in each two-year period, with at least 20 in each year.

When is the Pennsylvania renewal deadline?

December 31, 2027, with no grace period.

How many ethics hours are required?

At least four hours of professional ethics in the period.

Is there a carryover in Pennsylvania?

No. The CPA Law says credits cannot be carried from one biennial period to another.

Finding CPE that counts

Learnsignal publishes accounting, tax, audit, ethics and finance courses in its CPD and CPE library. Before you buy any course for credit, check that the provider is listed as an approved sponsor with your board or on the NASBA registry, and keep the certificate. Our page on NASBA CPE sponsor information explains what we publish about sponsor status. For a wider comparison read our guide to online CPE providers.

Other states: Texas California New York Florida Illinois.

Source: Pennsylvania State Board of Accountancy renewal pages (pa.gov), 49 Pa. Code Chapter 11 as of August 2026 and the CPA Law, checked October 2026.