All Florida CPAs must complete continuing professional education to maintain an active license. Florida operates on a biennial reporting period from July 1 through June 30. Licenses renew biennially on Dec. 31.
Biennial CPE requirements
Florida requires 80 hours of CPE for each reestablishment period. The 80 hours may be completed at any time during the two-year reporting period.
The 80 required hours must include:
- 8 hours in accounting or auditing
- 4 hours in Florida Board-approved ethics
- No more than 20 hours in behavioral subjects
Florida ethics CPE requirements
Four hours in a Florida Board-approved ethics course are required during each biennial reporting period. Only ethics courses approved by the Florida Board of Accountancy satisfy this requirement.
Specialized practice area requirements
Government auditing: Florida does not impose separate, state-specific CPE requirements for government auditing. CPAs who perform governmental audits must comply with the continuing professional education requirements
established by the applicable national standards governing government auditing engagements.
Subject categories
Florida recognizes three subject categories for CPE purposes:
Accounting and auditing: Accounting and auditing courses include accounting and financial reporting subjects, professional pronouncements of authoritative accounting principles issued by standard-setting bodies, and
related topics generally classified within the accounting discipline. This includes financial accounting, accounting for specialized industries, general auditing theory and practice, auditing for specialized industries, and audit
applications to computers and information systems.
Technical business: Technical business subjects contribute directly to professional competence in public accounting and include taxation, general business and management advisory services.
Behavioral: Behavioral subjects include courses in oral and written communications, the social environment of business, and administration of accounting practice. No more than 20 hours of behavioral CPE may be applied
during a reestablishment period.
Self-study requirements
All self-study courses qualifying for accounting, auditing or technical business credit must be taken from sponsors approved by NASBA’s Quality Assurance Service program. Self-study providers offering only behavioral credit are
not required to participate in the QAS program.
Credit limitations
Instruction: Credit is equal to two times the presentation time for the first presentation, one times the presentation time for the second presentation, and no credit for the third and subsequent presentations. Repeat
instruction of material that is substantially changed is considered a first presentation.
Authored published material: Authored published material must be in a technical business subject area and may not be applied toward the Florida ethics requirement. No more than 20 hours of CPE may be earned from authorship
during a reestablishment period.
Credit may be granted for published materials related to accounting, assurance, tax or technical business topics in journals or textbooks that would otherwise qualify as CPE. Credit is not granted for repeated publication of the same
material.
Renewing your Florida CPA license
The biennial reporting period runs from July 1 through June 30. Proof of CPE completion must be reported in the DBPR Online Services portal on or before July 31 immediately following the reestablishment period and prior to license
renewal.
Licenses renew biennially on Dec. 31. CPAs must retain proof of CPE completion for at least two years following the end of the reestablishment period and make records available upon request for random audit by the Department of Business
and Professional Regulation.
Automatic extensions
Florida CPAs who do not meet the CPE requirements by June 30 are granted automatic extensions:
- First extension through Sept. 15: Completion of an additional 8 hours in accounting and auditing, for a total of 88 hours
- Second extension through Dec. 31: Completion of an additional 16 hours in accounting and auditing, for a total of 96 hours
CPE reciprocity
The Florida Board of Accountancy grants CPE reciprocity to a nonresident licensee seeking renewal if the licensee has satisfied the continuing education requirements of the state in which their principal office is located. If that
state has no CPE requirements, the nonresident licensee must comply with Florida’s CPE requirements. Nonresident licensees are still required to complete the Florida ethics requirement.