Puerto Rico CPA CPE Requirements 2026: 120 Hours in 3 Years

Puerto Rico is the last US jurisdiction in our state-by-state CPE series. Its rules work a little differently from most states: the law that governs CPAs does not set a number of hours itself, it hands that job to the Junta de Contabilidad (the Puerto Rico accountancy board), and the hours are set in the Junta's continuing education regulation. According to the National Registry of CPE Sponsors, which NASBA runs, licensed CPAs need 120 hours of CPE in each three-year period, including three hours of professional ethics. This guide sets out what we could verify and, just as important, what you should confirm with the Junta before you rely on it. If you hold licences in several places, our overview of CPA CPE requirements compares the main states.

Puerto Rico CPE requirements at a glance

• Total hours: 120 per period, for CPAs in public practice and in private practice (NASBA registry summary).
• Reporting period: 1 August to 31 July, every three years (NASBA registry summary).
• Licence renewal: 1 December, every three years. Puerto Rico's law says a licence lasts three years and expires on 1 December of the third year after issue.
• Ethics: three hours of professional ethics, following AICPA standards.
• Annual minimum: the registry page does not state one.

What the law says

The governing statute is Ley Núm. 293 of 20 May 1945, the Ley de Contabilidad Pública de 1945. We read the copy published by the Oficina de Gerencia y Presupuesto. It does not fix a number of CPE hours or a CPE cycle. Instead, Section 2 authorises the Junta de Contabilidad to adopt rules on the continuing education requirements for certificate holders. In setting them, the Junta may rely on guidance from professional associations, define course content, duration and organisation, and specify the evidence required and how long it must be kept.

The same section lets the Junta suspend or modify CPE requirements for a CPA who certifies that they will not practise accounting, or who is temporarily unable to comply because of health, military service or another cause the Junta considers justified. Section 6 ties renewal to evidence: a renewal application must include the evidence the Junta requires under its regulations, and the Junta accepts certifications from the Colegio de Contadores Públicos Autorizados that are backed by supporting evidence. Under Section 8, failing to submit the required evidence prevents renewal unless the Junta finds the failure was justified. Section 7 lists violating the CPE requirements the Junta has adopted as a ground for revocation, suspension or other sanctions.

Section 3 also contains a supervision credit: CPAs who employ and directly supervise candidates or accounting students working toward the experience requirement can receive up to ten hours of continuing education credit per year. The subsection lettering differs between the versions we saw, so we refer only to the section.

What the regulator's own page says

The Departamento de Estado page for the Junta Examinadora de Contadores Públicos Autorizados cites two continuing education regulations: Reglamento Número 9447 of 30 March 2023 in its legal basis section, and Reglamento Núm. 8381 of 13 August 2013 in its list of regulations. It does not say which one applies and does not link to either text. It also says NASBA handles licensing, including renewals, for the Junta. We take the 2023 regulation to be the more recent of the two, but we could not read it.

How the hours are made up

The NASBA registry summary, last revised on 28 April 2023, gives this breakdown:

• Accounting, auditing and tax: 40 hours. For public practice, that means 28 hours of accounting and auditing plus 12 of tax, or 28 of tax plus 12 of accounting and auditing.
• Private practice: a minimum of 30 and a maximum of 60 hours in industry-specific subjects.
• Soft subjects: no more than 24 hours in communication, behavioural sciences, public relations and sales of securities.

How credit is counted

Self-study is limited to 50 percent of the total hours. Interactive self-study courses approved by NASBA's Quality Assurance Service receive full credit, while non-interactive or non-QAS-approved courses receive half credit. No more than ten hours can be claimed in a single calendar day, and credit for published material is limited to 60 hours. For how NASBA sponsor approval works, see our guide to what NASBA CPE means.

Grace period

A CPA who falls short may earn make-up credit between 1 August and 30 November of the year the licence expires. Credit earned this way to fix a shortfall does not count towards the next period.

Ethics

The three ethics hours must follow AICPA standards according to the registry summary. Our guide to ethics CPE for CPAs explains what typically qualifies.

Planning your hours

These are our suggestions, not requirements.

• Count backwards from the 31 July end of your period and the 1 December renewal, and leave room before the 30 November make-up window.
• Choose interactive, NASBA-approved courses for self-study so they earn full rather than half credit.
• Keep certificates and course outlines, because the law lets the Junta set how long evidence must be kept and the renewal depends on it.
• If you are in private practice, plan your 30 to 60 industry-specific hours early.

If you want structured online options, see the Learnsignal CPD courses.

What we could not confirm

We could not read the Junta's continuing education regulation itself, so the 120-hour figure and the breakdown come from the NASBA registry summary dated 28 April 2023, not from the regulation text. We could not tell which of the two regulations named on the Junta's page governs, and we found no annual minimum, first-year rules or retired-status rules. A 2025 Senate bill, P. del S. 642, proposes changes to licensure education and experience requirements and to the wording of the supervision credit; we do not know its current status. Check the current regulation and the NASBA Puerto Rico licensing page before you plan your hours.

Frequently asked questions

How many CPE hours do Puerto Rico CPAs need?

According to NASBA's registry summary, 120 hours per three-year period, including three hours of ethics.

When does the reporting period end?

The registry summary gives a period running from 1 August to 31 July every three years, with licence renewal on 1 December.

Can I earn make-up credit if I am short?

The registry summary describes a window from 1 August to 30 November of the year the licence expires. That credit does not count towards the next period.

Who sets the rules?

The law gives the Junta de Contabilidad the power to adopt continuing education rules, and NASBA handles licensing and renewals for the Junta.

Learnsignal publishes this guide for general education only. Confirm requirements with the Junta before relying on them.