District of Columbia CPA CPE Requirements

How to reach the regulator directly.

District of Columbia - Board of Accountancy
Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs
Occupational and Professional Licensing Administration
1100 4th Street, SW
Washington, DC 20024

Tel: (202) 442-4320
Fax: (202) 442-9445

Email: grace.ofori@dc.gov

The regulator's own published rules and related resources.

District of Columbia - Board of Accountancy

The total continuing education hours required.

80 hours.

A licensee seeking biennial renewal of a license shall provide proof of having completed no less than eighty (80) hours of acceptable continuing professional education during the two-year (2) period preceding the date the license expires.

The detailed rules behind that total -- category minimums, ethics, and other conditions.

Effective January 1, 2005: Licensees shall be required to complete four (4) hours of Professional Ethics instruction per licensing cycle as part of the continuing professional education requirement.

How the reporting cycle is structured.

Biennial.

When a reporting cycle begins.

January 1.

How completed credits are reported to the regulator.

Licensees requesting credit for continuing education courses taken to satisfy the requirements set forth in § 2530 shall submit a written application to the Board on the form approved by the Board.

Permit renewal application shall include a signed statement indicating the continuing professional education programs for which credit is requested and which shall include the following information:

1. The name of the sponsoring organization;
2. The location of program;
3. The title of program or description of content;
4. The dates attended;
5. The hours claimed.

Documentation evidencing completion of a CPE activity shall be retained by the applicant for a period of 5 years after completion of the program and shall consist of the following:

1. A copy of the course outline prepared by the course sponsor;
2. In the case of courses taken at accredited universities and colleges, proof of satisfactory completion of the course;
3. In the case of individual study programs, proof of written completion.

The renewal or reporting deadline.

December 31, even-numbered years.

→ Get monthly reminders before this deadline

What happens if the requirement is not met.

The Board may verify information submitted by licensees for permits.

Every licensee applying for license renewal who is denied accreditation or certification of their continuing education credit, for reasons other than the program’s failure to meet the requirements, shall be given an opportunity for a hearing.

Reduced or prorated requirements for a first renewal.

A licensee seeking to renew an initial license issued for less than two (2) years is not required to submit proof of continuing professional education for the first renewal.

Who may be excused from all or part of this requirement.

The Board may exempt a licensee from continuing education requirements for reason of individual hardship including health, military service, foreign residence, retirement, or other good cause if the licensee does not hold oneself out to the public as a CPA and does not issue audit reports or certify other reports and statements.

Licensees requesting an exemption from the Board shall file the request in writing no less than sixty (60) days before the expiration of the current license.

Licensees granted such an exemption by the Board shall place their license on inactive status.

Licensees granted an exemption by the Board shall comply with a re-entry competency requirement defined by the Board.

Reinstatement:

An applicant for reinstatement of a license, who has failed to renew the license for a period of less than five (5) years, shall provide proof of having completed since the previous issuance of the license, forty (40) hours of approved continuing education for each year of non-renewal, up to a maximum of one hundred twenty (120) hours.

Whether unused credits can apply to the next period.

Not permitted.

→ CE Tracking calculates carryover for you

Rule changes the regulator has finalized, with effective dates.

Refer to the specific sections above for more details on any of the items noted below.

Credit for Self-Study Education:

• NOTE: September 11, 2015: The DC Board of Accountancy voted to change its current municipal regulatory language to accept full credit for "self-study." While the Board moved to change its regulation, Section 2531.11, at the Board’s 9/11/2015 meeting, the new language has not yet appeared in the final published regulations.
  • CeriFi CPEdge has confirmed with the DC Board that as of September 11, 2015, the DC Board will accept full credit for "self study" from approved providers even though the DC regulations have not yet been updated. The CeriFi CPEdge content distributor has been updated to allow full credit for self-study activities in District of Columbia.

Effective January 1, 2005: Four (4) hours of the biennial requirement must be completed in the field of Professional Ethics.