State Board of CPAs of Louisiana · Board Rule §1301
Louisiana CPAs must report at least 80 hours of continuing professional education across a rolling two-calendar-year period, with a minimum of 20 hours in every year. Each year at renewal, the sum of the current year's hours and the prior year's hours must total at least 80. A Board-approved 3-hour professional ethics course is required in even-numbered years, and CPAs who participate in attest engagements must earn 8 hours in accounting and auditing for that calendar year.
Because the window looks both forward and backward, a 20-hour year forces a 60-hour year immediately after. The Board advises aiming for roughly 40 hours annually to stay on pace.
One square equals one CPE hour across the rolling two-year period.
| Rolling requirement | 80 hours across a rolling two-calendar-year period, looking forward and backward |
|---|---|
| Annual minimum | 20 hours each calendar year. The Board recommends approximately 40. |
| Reporting period | January 1 to December 31, annually |
| CPE completion deadline | December 31 each year |
| CPE reporting deadline | January 31 of the following year, through the Board's online licensee portal |
| License renewal | December 31, annually |
| Ethics requirement | 3 hours in a Board-approved professional ethics course, required in even-numbered years. General ethics courses are not a substitute. |
| Attest practitioners | 8 hours in accounting and auditing for each calendar year in which the CPA participates in attest engagements — compilations, reviews, audits, and agreed-upon procedures |
| Personal development cap | 20 hours per calendar year |
| Instruction cap | 20 hours per year, first presentations only |
| Publishing cap | 10 hours per year |
| Board-approved exams | 20 hours per year maximum |
| Self-study | Non-interactive self-study CPE credits are not accepted in Louisiana |
| Carryover | Hours earned in excess of the annual limitations do not roll into the next year |
| Record retention | Five years |
Doing the bare 20 hours in a light year. Because Louisiana always looks back two years, a 20-hour year immediately obligates you to 60 hours the following year to keep the rolling total at 80. Earning 80 hours in one year does not exempt you from the 20-hour floor the next.
Satisfies the three-hour Board-approved ethics requirement due in even-numbered years. Louisiana requires the ethics course to be pre-approved by the Board and offered only through approved vendors — a general ethics course will not substitute.
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Louisiana requires self-study CPE to be earned through the National Registry, and does not accept non-interactive self-study
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Louisiana reports annually but measures across two years, and separates the completion deadline from the reporting deadline.
Always applies. The Board recommends about 40 hours a year so the rolling total stays comfortably above 80.
Required of every CPA subject to the mandatory CPE requirement.
Renewal is annual. The Board advises against leaving courses to late December, since cancellations create compliance problems.
Reported through the Board's online licensee portal. The sum of the current and prior year must total at least 80 hours.
Documentation may be requested during Board audits.
The 8-hour accounting and auditing requirement turns on a specific definition of participation, so it catches more people than "signing the report."
Louisiana CPAs must report at least 80 hours of CPE across a rolling two-calendar-year period, with a minimum of 20 hours in each year.
Each year at renewal, the sum of the current year's reported hours and the prior year's reported hours must equal at least 80.
The Board looks forward and backward: in any given year, that year's hours plus the previous year's hours must always total at least 80.
Practically, a 20-hour year obligates you to 60 hours the next. Earning 80 hours in one year does not excuse the following year's 20-hour minimum. The Board recommends roughly 40 hours annually.
CPE must be completed by December 31 each year and reported by January 31 of the following year.
Reporting is done through the Louisiana State Board's online licensee portal. License renewal is separately due December 31, annually.
Three hours in a Board-approved professional ethics course, required in even-numbered years.
The content must be pre-approved by the Board and the course offered through approved vendors. A general ethics course is not an acceptable substitute.
No. The Board-approved ethics course is required in even-numbered years only.
Every CPA subject to the mandatory CPE requirement must complete it in those years.
CPAs who participate in attest engagements during the calendar year, including compilations, reviews, audits, and agreed-upon procedures.
Participation covers performing substantial portions of the procedures, or planning, directing, or reporting on the engagement — typically the in-charge accountant, the supervisor or manager, and the signing partner.
Interactive self-study is accepted, but non-interactive self-study CPE credits are not accepted in Louisiana.
Louisiana is one of the states that requires self-study CPE to be earned through the National Registry of CPE Sponsors.
No. Hours earned in excess of the annual limitations do not roll into the next year.
Excess hours in one year still count toward the rolling two-year total in the year earned, but they do not reduce the following year's 20-hour minimum.
Personal development is capped at 20 hours per calendar year, instruction at 20 hours, publishing at 10 hours, and Board-approved exams at 20 hours.
Instruction credit is available for first presentations only, without substantial revisions counting as new.
There is no CPE requirement in the year you become licensed or reinstate a license.
The following year will require 60 hours to satisfy the rolling two-year total. A CPA licensed more than halfway through a reporting cycle — during the second calendar year — is responsible for only 20 hours for that initial period.
120 CPE hours, including a 3-hour Board-approved ethics course, completed before submitting the reinstatement application.
Only hours earned within the three years prior to the application are accepted, and previously submitted hours cannot be reused.
No. Only CPAs renewing as Active are required to complete and report CPE.
CPAs renewing as Inactive or Retired are not required to report continuing professional education.
Yes. A non-resident CPA seeking renewal of a Louisiana certificate is considered to have met Louisiana's CPE requirements by meeting the requirements of their principal place of business.
Confirm the details with the Board, since the ethics component may be treated separately.
| Agency | State Board of Certified Public Accountants of Louisiana |
|---|---|
| Address | 601 Poydras Street, Suite 1770, New Orleans, LA 70130 |
| Phone | (504) 566-1244 |
| Website | cpaboard.state.la.us |
| CPE guidance | Louisiana State Board — CPE |
| State society | LCPA — CPE policies |
This page summarizes Louisiana CPE rules for general informational purposes and is reviewed against the State Board of CPAs of Louisiana's published guidance. The Board-approved ethics course and its required hours are set by the Board and can change between cycles. 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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