Tennessee State Board of Accountancy · Rule 0020-05
Tennessee CPAs must complete 80 hours of continuing professional education during each two-year reporting period, with a minimum of 20 hours in each year. At least 40 of the 80 hours must be in technical subjects, and 2 hours must be a Board-approved Tennessee state-specific ethics course. Only Board-approved sponsors may offer that ethics course.
Tennessee splits licensees by license number: even-numbered licenses renew December 31 of even years, odd-numbered licenses on odd years. Two CPAs in the same firm can therefore be on opposite cycles.
One square equals one CPE hour in the two-year reporting period.
| Total CPE hours | 80 hours per two-year reporting period |
|---|---|
| Annual minimum | 20 hours in each year |
| Reporting period | January 1 to December 31 biennially, ending in even years for even license numbers and odd years for odd license numbers |
| License renewal | December 31 of even years for even-numbered licenses; December 31 of odd years for odd-numbered licenses |
| Ethics requirement | 2 hours of Board-approved state-specific ethics designed to familiarize the licensee with accountancy law and rules as well as professional ethics. Only Board-approved sponsors may offer this course. |
| Technical minimum | 40 hours in technical subjects, including accounting, auditing, business law, economics, finance, information technology, management services, regulatory ethics, specialized knowledge, statistics, or taxes |
| Carryover | Up to 24 excess hours may be carried into the immediately succeeding two-year period, and only to bring that period's total to 80 |
| Carryover limits | Carried hours cannot meet annual minimums, the 40 technical hours, the state-specific ethics requirement, or assessed penalty hours |
| Instruction cap | 50% of total hours |
| Published materials cap | 50% of total hours, subject to documentation |
| Exams | Credit at five times the length of each Board-approved exam taken, limited to 50% of the total CPE required |
| Self-study | Accepted from NASBA Quality Assurance Service (QAS) members |
| Audit rate | The Board randomly audits a share of renewals each year |
Relying on carryover to cover a benchmark. Tennessee lets you carry up to 24 excess hours forward, but those hours count only toward the 80-hour total. They cannot satisfy the 20-hour annual minimum, the 40 technical hours, the state-specific ethics course, or penalty hours — all of which must be earned in the current reporting period.
Satisfies the two-hour Tennessee state-specific ethics requirement. The Board maintains and approves a specific course designed to cover Tennessee accountancy law, rules, and professional responsibilities, and only Board-approved sponsors may offer it.
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Tennessee runs two alternating cycles, so your deadline depends on whether your license number is odd or even.
Even license numbers report on cycles ending in even years; odd license numbers on cycles ending in odd years.
Required in both years. Carryover hours cannot be used to satisfy it.
Both must be earned in the current reporting period from Board-approved sources.
Submit a signed statement on the prescribed form setting out the number of hours completed during the reporting period.
For prolonged health issues, military deployment, or natural disasters. Requests must be submitted before the license expiration date.
Tennessee handles new licensees and out-of-state CPAs with two specific carve-outs worth knowing.
Tennessee CPAs need 80 hours of qualified continuing professional education during the two-year period immediately preceding renewal, with a minimum of 20 hours in each year.
At least 40 hours must be in technical subjects, and 2 hours must be Board-approved Tennessee state-specific ethics.
The reporting period runs January 1 to December 31 biennially, ending in even-numbered years for even license numbers and odd-numbered years for odd license numbers.
Your license number, not your name or birth date, determines which cycle you are on.
Two hours of Board-approved state-specific ethics during each two-year reporting period.
The course is designed to familiarize the licensee with Tennessee accountancy law and rules as well as professional ethics. It counts toward the overall 80-hour total.
No. Only Board-approved sponsors may offer the Tennessee state-specific ethics course.
A general ethics course may count toward your 80-hour total and, if it is regulatory ethics, toward the 40 technical hours — but it does not satisfy the state-specific requirement.
At least 40 of the 80 hours must be in technical subjects in each two-year period.
Technical subjects include accounting, auditing, business law, economics, finance, information technology, management services, regulatory ethics, specialized knowledge, statistics, and taxes.
Yes, up to 24 hours, and only into the immediately succeeding two-year period.
Carried hours bring the next period's total to 80 and nothing more. You must have actually earned more than the required hours in a reporting period to have excess available, and previously carried hours do not count in that assessment.
Carryover hours may not be applied to the annual minimums, the 40 technical hours, the Tennessee state-specific ethics requirement, or assessed penalty hours.
Those benchmarks must all be earned in the current reporting period.
Yes. At least 20 hours must be completed in each year of the two-year period.
Aim for roughly 40 hours a year to stay evenly paced, since a shortfall in one year cannot be repaired by the next.
It depends on how long you have held the license. CPAs granted a license in the same year as their first renewal have no CPE requirement for that renewal.
Those who have held a license more than one year but less than the full two-year reporting period must earn at least 40 hours for the first renewal, including the Board-approved state ethics course, with no yearly minimum applying.
Yes. Non-resident CPAs who hold a Tennessee license but live, work, and hold a license issued by their home state are compliant with Tennessee if compliant with that home state.
The exemption applies only if the home state requires an ethics credit for renewal. You will be asked to enter your home state license information when claiming it.
Yes, provided the sponsor is a NASBA Quality Assurance Service member.
Tennessee is one of the states that requires self-study CPE to be earned through the National Registry of CPE Sponsors.
Yes. Credit may be allowed for successful completion of exams approved by the Board, at a rate of five times the length of each exam taken.
This credit is limited to 50% of the total CPE required under Board Rule 0020-05-.03.
Biennially, at renewal, on a prescribed form with a signed statement setting out the number of continuing education hours completed during the reporting period.
The Board randomly audits a share of renewals each year, so retain supporting documentation for every course claimed.
| Agency | Tennessee State Board of Accountancy, Department of Commerce and Insurance |
|---|---|
| Address | 500 James Robertson Parkway, Nashville, TN 37243 |
| Phone | (615) 741-2550 |
| Website | tn.gov — State Board of Accountancy |
| CPE guidance | Accountancy continuing education |
| CPE FAQs | Tennessee CPE FAQs |
This page summarizes Tennessee CPE rules for general informational purposes and is reviewed against the Tennessee 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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