Kentucky State Board of Accountancy · 201 KAR 1:100
Kentucky CPAs must complete either 80 or 60 hours of continuing professional education per two-year reporting period, depending on hours worked in a public accounting firm. A CPA who works 3,000 hours or more in a Kentucky-licensed public accounting firm during the period needs 80 hours; every other licensee needs 60. Both groups must include at least 2 hours of professional ethics, and at least 50% of the total must be technical.
Kentucky staggers its licensees by certificate number. Even-numbered certificates renew in even years and odd-numbered certificates renew in odd years, so two CPAs in the same firm can be on opposite cycles.
CPAs working 3,000 hours or more in a public accounting firm.
Industry, education, government, or under 3,000 firm hours.
| Total CPE hours | 80 hours if working 3,000 or more hours in a public accounting firm during the period; 60 hours for all other licensees |
|---|---|
| Reporting period | January 1 to December 31, biennially, in odd or even years based on certificate number |
| Renewal deadline | August 1 of the renewal year; the renewal window opens July 1 |
| Ethics requirement | 2 hours in a qualifying professional ethics course, included in the 80 or 60 total |
| Technical minimum | 50% of the total requirement — 40 hours if 80 are required, 30 hours if 60 are required |
| Attest practitioners | 8 accounting or auditing credits each year, for 16 hours across the two-year period, for CPAs performing attest services or SSARS financial statement preparation engagements |
| Personal development cap | 8 hours maximum if 80 are required; 12 hours maximum if 60 are required |
| Instruction cap | 60% of total hours. Repeated presentations of the same material do not qualify. |
| Published materials cap | 25% of total hours |
| Sponsor registration | Kentucky has no state sponsor registration requirement. The Board accepts courses from NASBA-registered sponsors. |
| Partial credit | A course must be at least one CPE hour. Credit for a segment under 50 minutes is allowed only where the program also offers at least one full 50-minute credit. |
Assuming you are in the 60-hour group. The threshold is 3,000 hours worked in a public accounting firm across the whole two-year period, which is roughly 30 hours a week — reachable by many full-time firm staff. Guessing wrong in that direction leaves you 20 hours short at renewal.
Satisfies the two-hour professional ethics requirement for the Kentucky biennial period. Kentucky maintains no state sponsor registration, and the Board accepts ethics courses from NASBA-registered sponsors.
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Kentucky separates the education deadline from the renewal deadline by seven months, and splits licensees across two alternating cycles.
Odd-numbered certificates run on odd-year cycles; even-numbered certificates run on even-year cycles.
CPAs performing attest or SSARS preparation engagements need 8 accounting or auditing credits every year, not just across the period.
80 or 60 hours depending on firm hours worked, including the 2 ethics hours and the 50% technical minimum.
Renewal opens July 1 and closes August 1 of the following year. Kentucky is one of the few states with a mid-year renewal deadline.
The licensee carries the burden of substantiating that a course meets 201 KAR 1:100. Keep completion certificates showing the required criteria.
At least half of a Kentucky licensee's hours must be technical, and the Board defines the category by subject matter.
Kentucky CPAs need 80 hours per two-year period if they worked 3,000 hours or more in a public accounting firm during that period, and 60 hours otherwise.
Both totals must include at least 2 hours of professional ethics, and at least 50% of the total must be in technical standards subjects.
The test is whether you worked 3,000 hours or more in a Kentucky-licensed public accounting firm during the two-year reporting period.
At or above that threshold, 80 hours are required. Below it — including CPAs employed in industry, education, or government — 60 hours are required. The count covers the full two-year period, not one year.
The Kentucky CPE reporting period runs January 1 to December 31 over two calendar years, in odd or even years depending on your certificate number.
CPAs holding even-numbered certificates report on even years; those with odd-numbered certificates report on odd years.
Kentucky CPA licenses renew by August 1, with the renewal window opening July 1.
This falls seven months after the December 31 CPE deadline, so education and renewal are two separate dates. Missing the August 1 renewal is a distinct failure from missing the CPE requirement.
Kentucky requires at least 2 hours in a qualifying professional ethics course per two-year reporting period.
The ethics hours count toward the 80- or 60-hour total rather than adding to it.
No. Kentucky has no state sponsor registration requirement and accepts qualifying ethics courses from NASBA-registered sponsors.
This is a meaningful difference from states like Florida, Texas, and Ohio, where the ethics course must carry state-specific board approval.
CPAs who perform attest services or financial statement preparation engagements subject to SSARS must complete 8 accounting or auditing credits each year, for 16 hours across the two-year period.
Note this is an annual requirement, so it cannot be satisfied by completing all 16 hours in one year.
At least 50% of the total requirement must be technical standards courses — 40 hours where 80 are required, 30 hours where 60 are required.
Technical subjects include accounting, auditing, business law, economics, finance, information technology, management services, professional ethics, statistics, securities, tax, and specialized industry areas.
Up to 8 hours where 80 hours are required, and up to 12 hours where 60 hours are required.
These limits took effect January 1, 2021. Certain adjacent areas, including behavioral ethics and human resources topics, are not accepted at all.
Instruction is capped at 60% of total hours and published materials at 25%.
Instructors receive one hour for each contact hour plus up to two times the actual class time for preparation. Repetitious presentations of the same material do not qualify for credit.
A course must be at least one CPE hour to be granted credit.
Credit for a segment shorter than 50 minutes is allowed only where it forms part of a CPE program that also offers at least one full 50-minute credit.
No. Kentucky has no specific sponsor registration requirement, and providers do not need to be NASBA members or register with the Kentucky State Board of Accountancy.
Responsibility for substantiating that a course meets 201 KAR 1:100 rests with the licensee, so choose courses that issue a completion certificate carrying the required criteria.
NASBA offers a free, voluntary CPE tracking service, but the Kentucky State Board does not require its use.
Whatever method you use, retain completion certificates showing sponsor, course title, date, delivery method, subject area, and credit hours.
| Agency | Kentucky State Board of Accountancy |
|---|---|
| Address | 312 Whittington Parkway, Suite 200, Louisville, KY 40222 |
| Phone | (502) 595-3037 |
| Fax | (502) 595-4500 |
| Website | cpa.ky.gov |
| CPE guidance | Continuing Professional Education |
This page summarizes Kentucky CPE rules for general informational purposes and is reviewed against the Kentucky State Board of Accountancy's published guidance. Rules change. Confirm your specific obligations with the Board before relying on any summary, including this one. Last reviewed August 2026 by CPE Solutions, LLC dba Professionals Publishing Group, NASBA Registry ID #111907.
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