Tax season ends. The filing deadlines pass. And for most CPAs, the first real window to address CPE compliance opens up on April 16.
For practitioners who’ve been heads-down since January, the stretch between mid-April and June 30 is typically the most productive CPE period of the year. Reporting deadlines vary by state, but the post-busy-season window lines up with when most practitioners have the bandwidth to actually complete coursework. Here’s a look at how CPE requirements are structured and what the April-through-June window covers.
How CPE Requirements Are Structured
CPE standards for CPAs are established jointly by the AICPA and NASBA (the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy). State boards of accountancy have final authority over their own requirements, including total hours, subject matter rules, and accepted delivery formats. The NASBA Registry maintains a jurisdiction-by-jurisdiction breakdown of those requirements.
Most states require 40 CPE credits per year, or 80 credits over a two-year reporting period, though structures vary. Some jurisdictions use annual periods, others biennial or triennial. Ethics is a required subject in most jurisdictions, typically 2 to 4 hours per reporting period. States also often layer on additional technical subject matter requirements, such as accounting, auditing, or tax, beyond the general CPE minimum.
AICPA members carry a separate obligation of 120 hours per three-year reporting period, which runs independently of state board requirements.
Reporting Periods Vary by State
The timing of CPE deadlines isn’t uniform. NASBA tracks three main structures across U.S. jurisdictions:
| Structure | How It Works | Example Jurisdictions |
|---|---|---|
| Annual | Reporting period ends December 31 each year | Arkansas, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma |
| Biennial | Reporting period ends every two years, often tied to license renewal or birth year | California, Florida, Virginia |
| Triennial | Reporting period ends every three years on fixed dates | Indiana, New Jersey, Texas (both NJ and IN end Dec. 31, 2026) |
For jurisdictions with periods ending December 31, 2026, including Indiana and New Jersey, the current reporting period closes at year-end. Practitioners in those states who haven’t tracked their hours through the year may find the April-through-June window especially relevant. The full list of jurisdictions and their specific periods is available through the Surgent CPE requirements page.
Which Delivery Formats Count?
AICPA/NASBA CPE standards recognize several delivery formats for credit. State boards have final authority on which formats they accept, but the most widely recognized include:
- Group live — instructor-led sessions delivered in person
- Group internet-based — webinars with real-time instructor interaction
- Self-study — on-demand courses completed independently, with credit calculated at one hour per 50 minutes of average completion time
- Nano learning — short-format courses of 10-20 minutes
Self-study and webinar formats have made it practical to complete significant CPE hours during evenings and weekends, which suits the post-busy-season schedule for most practitioners. Course quality and provider approval status still matter; state boards have final authority on whether a given course counts toward their specific requirements.
Subject Matter and Technical Requirements
NASBA divides CPE into technical and non-technical categories. Technical subjects (accounting, auditing, taxation, regulatory ethics) may carry minimum hour requirements. Non-technical subjects (communication, personal development) are often capped at a percentage of total required hours.
Ethics is almost universally required. Some states require ethics content from a board-approved provider specifically, not just any NASBA-registered sponsor.
Tax-focused content covers a broad range of qualifying subject areas: federal income tax, state and local tax, international taxation, tax planning, and related regulatory updates. For CPAs primarily in tax practice, the April-through-June window coincides with a natural influx of new course content covering current-year legislative changes and IRS guidance released during and after filing season.
Unlimited CPE Access Through a Single Subscription
Surgent CPE offers an unlimited CPE subscription that provides access to the full course catalog across all subject areas and delivery formats. The subscription covers webinars, self-study courses, and on-demand content in tax, accounting, auditing, advisory, and ethics.
For practitioners looking to address multiple compliance gaps or complete high credit-hour requirements in a single period, a subscription model provides access to content across subject areas without per-course pricing. Surgent CPE is registered with NASBA as a sponsor of continuing professional education on the National Registry of CPE Sponsors.
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