Mississippi CPAs complete 40 hours of continuing professional education annually. The state enforces a unique triennial ethics requirement — four hours over three years with at least one hour covering Mississippi public accountancy law and regulations. Licenses renew Jan. 1 each year, but CPE reporting happens every Aug. 1.
General requirements
Forty hours per compliance year are required. The CPE period runs July 1 through June 30.
New licensees who obtain their license during a compliance period are exempt from earning CPE hours for that entire year. They are also exempt from the ethics requirement for the remainder of that triennial period.
Ethics requirements
Three CPE hours of board-approved ethics and professional conduct are required every three years. In addition, one CPE hour of a board-approved course covering Mississippi public accountancy law and regulations is required every three years.
After meeting the four-hour triennial requirement, additional ethics hours may be reported as general CPE credits and potentially carried forward, but they cannot be counted toward future ethics requirements.
Credit limitations
Mississippi enforces specific restrictions on certain CPE types:
- Independent study: Not accepted for credit.
- Self-study: Courses must be approved by the NASBA Quality Assurance Service (QAS) program. The board only accepts self-study from QAS-approved sponsors.
- Personal development: Maximum 20 hours per compliance year. Personal development hours earned beyond 20 cannot be carried forward to future years.
- Published materials: Authorship credit requires submission of the published document along with a request for credit hours to the board.
Credit calculation
Mississippi uses standard calculation methods with specific rules:
- Partial credit: Fifty minutes of continuous participation equals one CPE credit hour. The shortest recognized program is 10 minutes of continuous participation.
- Instruction: Credit equals preparation time, limited to two times the actual class presentation time. Repeated presentations do not qualify for additional credit.
- University or college courses: Fifteen CPE credits per semester hour and 10 CPE credits per quarter hour. Noncredit classes earn one CPE hour for each hour of classroom attendance.
Carryover
Excess credits, up to a maximum of 20 hours, may be carried forward to the immediately following compliance year only.
Two important limitations apply:
- Personal development hours earned beyond 20 in a compliance year cannot be carried forward.
- Ethics CPE cannot be carried over between triennial ethics periods.
Reporting and renewal
Mississippi separates CPE reporting from license renewal. Licenses renew annually on Jan. 1. CPE must be reported each year by Aug. 1 for the compliance period ending the previous June 30.
The online CPE reporting form opens in May and closes Aug. 1. The form only accepts hours earned during the reporting period (July 1 through June 30).
Important reporting rules include:
- All licensees must complete the online form — even if reporting zero hours.
- A blank form is interpreted as zero hours.
- CPAs not in compliance will not be permitted to renew their license.
- Failure to report minimum CPE hours may trigger disciplinary action.
Nonresident exemption
The board may exempt nonresident licensees from Mississippi CPE requirements if all of the following conditions are met:
- Primary employment is outside Mississippi in a state with substantially equivalent CPE requirements.
- The licensee holds a license in that state and reports CPE credit hours there, along with a sworn statement confirming compliance to the Mississippi board.
- The licensee complies with Mississippi’s ethics CPE requirement unless the principal state of employment has its own ethics requirement and the licensee satisfies that requirement.
If a licensee works primarily in another state but is not licensed there, the Mississippi board requires completion of four hours of board-approved ethics CPE.
Recordkeeping
License holders must maintain CPE records for at least five years. The board conducts compliance audits and may request documentation at any time during this retention period.