Continuing Professional Education

For those holding an Active status CPA license or a RAP license, statutes require that you participate in a program of learning designed to maintain professional competency. The program must meet the minimum standards of quality of development, presentation, measurement, and reporting of credits in the Statement on Standards for Continuing Professional Education (CPE) Programs (Revised December 2019) jointly approved by NASBA and AICPA or other standards acceptable to the Board.

Before selecting CPE courses and when recording new hours in Online Renewal, consult the NASBA Fields of Study document. You are required to complete a minimum of 60 technical hours each rolling three-year period. Be sure the field of study designated by the CPE sponsor on your certificate/transcript is "technical," if you need that course to count as such.

Technical fields of study include, but are not limited to:

• Accounting
• Accounting (Governmental)
• Auditing
• Auditing (Governmental)
• Business Law
• Statistics
• Economic
• Finance
• Information Technology
• Management Services
• Regulatory Ethics
• Specialized Knowledge
• Taxes

• Behavioral Ethics
• Business Management & Organization
• Communications and Marketing
• Computer Software & Applications
• Personal Development
• Personnel/ Human Resources
• Production

Tools to Understand the CPE Rules

• 2019 Statement on CPE Standards
• 2019 NASBA Fields of Study
• Board rules regarding CPE
• CPE Requirements Infographic
• CPE Reporting Table and Summary (Graphical Presentation)
• FAQs about CPE

Please avail yourself of these resources. Remember that it is your responsibility as a licensee to understand and comply with the rules as written.

CPE Reporting

The CPE reporting (or "fiscal") year runs from July 1 to June 30. CPE must be earned by June 30 and reported by December 31 each year. Nonresidents seeking exemption from Minnesota CPE requirements must claim that exemption every year by December 31.

You do not need to wait until December 31 to report your CPE (or claim exemption). Once you have completed all your CPE, report it through Online Renewal.

You are only able to enter your CPE for the year once via Online Renewal . Have all your information gathered prior to beginning. Should you subsequently need to modify your hours, contact the Board office for assistance.

Note: If you did not complete your required CPE by June 30 of the reporting year, you'll need to complete the necessary carryback CPE and send the associated certificates of completion along with all accrued noncompliance fees to the Board office as soon as possible. There is no required Board form; simply send the items requested above. Fees continue to accrue until you submit the certificates of completion and correct fees to the Board office . See "CPE Non-Compliance" section below and the CPE section of the FAQs.

Do NOT include CPE certificates earned during the current period with your carryback hours. It is your responsibility to record hours earned during the current period either online prior to renewal or as part of your renewal. Submitting unrecorded, noncarryback hours along with carryback hours may result in your entire submission being returned to you.

Newly licensed and wondering when you start reporting CPE?

If you are newly licensed, when you must begin reporting depends upon when in the year you were licensed.

• Licensed between January 1-June 30? You begin earning CPE July 1-June 30 and you first report that following December. Example: Licensed June 30, 2023; begin earning July 1, 2023-June 30, 2024; first report by no later than December 31, 2024.
• Licensed between July 1-December 31? You don't need to begin earning CPE until the following year July 1-June 30 and you first report that subsequent December. Example: Licensed July 1, 2023; begin earning July 1, 2024-June 30, 2025; first report by no later than December 31, 2025.

CPE Requirements

RAPs: See MN Rules 1105.7000 for differences in your requirements and limitations.

CPAs: See below. For additional information, see MN Rules 1105.3000-1105.3350.

• There are both single reporting year and rolling three-year CPE requirements.
• The CPE reporting (or "fiscal") year runs from July 1 to June 30.
• CPE for any given year must be earned within that July 1 to June 30 period and reported by no later than December 31.
• Nonresidents seeking exemption from Minnesota CPE requirements must claim that exemption every year by December 31.
• Each reporting year you must earn a minimum of 20 hours.
• In any given three-year reporting period, you must have a minimum of 120 hours, with 8 of those hours being in regulatory (technical) or behavioral (nontechnical) ethics.
• Carry forward of hours is not allowed.
• Carry back of hours is allowed, provided the CPE noncompliance fees are paid as required by MN Rules 1105.3000 E.
• Recordkeeping: Licensees are required to retain CPE coursework documentation for five years following completion of each program. What that documentation must consist of is described below and in MN Rules 1105.3200 B.
• When a new CPA must begin reporting depends upon when in the reporting year they were licensed. Please see the sidebar above or MN Rules 1105.3000 G for details.

CPE Compliance at the Time of Status Change

Leaving Active Status for Retired, Exempt, or Inactive Status

On or After July 1: If you held an Active license after June 30 of a CPE reporting year then you have incurred a CPE reporting obligation (MN Rules 1105.3200[D]). An exception to this is new licensees who have not yet held their license for a first full CPE reporting year—see description above. To request status change to any other status (Inactive, Exempt, or Retired), you are first required to be in good standing with that prior obligation: You must complete and report the required CPE and pay any fees.

• It is July 1, 2024, and you plan to change to Retired or Exempt status on December, 31, 2024: You must report CPE that will make you compliant with the 1- and 3-year CPE reporting requirements. If you did not earn all CPE needed to meet the requirements, you will need to earn carryback and pay the late earning CPE noncompliance fee. You must submit the Retired or Exempt status form and be in compliance with the other requirements associated with the requested status (see form).
• It is January 1, 2024, and you did not yet renew for 2024 and now plan to change to Retired or Exempt status: You must report CPE that will make you compliant with the 1- and 3-year CPE reporting requirements. You will owe the CPE late reporting noncompliance fee or will, if you did not earn all CPE needed to meet the requirements, need to earn carryback and pay the late earning CPE noncompliance fee. You must submit the Retired or Exempt status form and pay the $50 late filing fee.
• It is January 1, 2024, and you did not yet renew for 2024 and now plan to change to Inactive status: You must report CPE that will make you compliant with the 1- and 3-year CPE reporting requirements. You will owe the CPE late reporting noncompliance fee or will, if you did not earn all CPE needed to meet the requirements, need to earn carryback and pay the late earning CPE noncompliance fee. You must submit the 2024 Late CPA Renewal form and pay the $50 late filing fee. If applying for an Inactive license, you also owe the $25 Inactive licensee fee.

Prior to July 1: An Active licensee seeking status change to Exempt or Retired whose license is in good standing and who has not yet incurred the CPE obligation (the current CPE period has not concluded as it is not yet July 1) may request status change to Exempt or Retire without reporting any additional CPE.

• You renewed as Active for 2024. It is now after January 1, 2024 but not yet July 1, 2024, and you wish to change to Retired or Exempt status: You have no CPE obligation. Submit the Retired or Exempt status form and be in compliance with the other requirements associated with the requested status (see form). There is no status change fee.
• It is June 30, 2024, and you did not renew for 2024 and now plan to change to Retired or Exempt status: This is the same situation as the second bullet point above. You owe CPE, CPE noncompliance fees, and late filing fees. If applying for an Inactive license, you also owe the $25 Inactive licensee fee.
• You renewed as Active for 2024. It is now after January 1, 2024 but not yet July 1, 2024, and you wish to change to Inactive status: You cannot change to Inactive status except at the time of renewal (MN Rules 1105.3000.F). You will need to wait for 2025 renewals. You will incur the CPE obligation for CPE reporting year FY24 (July 1, 2023-June 30, 2024).

Reactivating When Currently Retired, Exempt, or Inactive Status

Request for reactivation (status change to Active) may be made at any time of the year and is made using the Status Change to Active Request form. It is effective upon approval. An exception is that Inactive status holders in good standing may use the current year's Renewal form to request a status change that would be effective on January 1 of that renewal year (or as of the date the renewal is accepted, if the renewal request is late).

To reactivate from Retired, Exempt or Inactive to Active, the applicant must document 120 hours of CPE complying with MN Rules 1105.3000.E earned within three calendar (not fiscal) years of the date the Board receives your application. Qualifying CPE previously reported to the Board as well as any new CPE needed to meet requirements may be used; however, the applicant has the obligation to submit the detail as requested on the application form for all CPE reported. Complete the CPE reporting forms; do not submit your own spreadsheets or lists. Incorrectly completed applications/forms will be returned. CPE certificates of completion are not required unless the Board explicitly requests them from you.

If you held an Active license after June 30 of a CPE reporting year then you have incurred a CPE reporting obligation. An exception to this is new licensees who have not yet held their license for a first full CPE reporting year—see description above. To request status change to any other status (Inactive, Exempt, or Retired), you are first required to be in good standing with that prior obligation: You must complete and report the required CPE and pay any fees.

• It is July 1, 2023, and you plan to change to Retired or Exempt status on December, 31, 2023: You must report CPE that will make you compliant with the 1- and 3-year CPE reporting requirements. If you did not earn all CPE needed to meet the requirements, you will need to earn carryback and pay the late earning CPE noncompliance fee. You must submit the Retired or Exempt status form and be in compliance with the other requirements associated with the requested status (see form).
• It is January 1, 2024, and you did not yet renew for 2024 and now plan to change to Retired or Exempt status: You must report CPE that will make you compliant with the 1- and 3-year CPE reporting requirements. You will owe the CPE late reporting noncompliance fee or will, if you did not earn all CPE needed to meet the requirements, need to earn carryback and pay the late earning CPE noncompliance fee. You must submit the Retired or Exempt status form and pay the $50 late filing fee.
• It is January 1, 2024, and you did not yet renew for 2024 and now plan to change to Inactive status: You must report CPE that will make you compliant with the 1- and 3-year CPE reporting requirements. You will owe the CPE late reporting noncompliance fee or will, if you did not earn all CPE needed to meet the requirements, need to earn carryback and pay the late earning CPE noncompliance fee. You must submit the 2024 Late CPA Renewal form and pay the $50 late filing fee as well as the $25 Inactive licensee fee.

CPE Limitations

The following hour limitations apply during the rolling three-year CPE period:

• A maximum of 60 hours may be claimed for presenting or instructing qualifying courses or seminars (see "Teaching/Speaking Credits" below for more details);
• A maximum of 60 hours may be claimed for authoring articles, books, or CPE courses for publication or for content review of the same (see "Authoring/Writing/Reviewing Credits" below for information on how to calculate and report);
• At least 24 hours must be obtained from attending group or blended learning programs.
• The identical self-study course may not be retaken for credit within the same one-year CPE period.
• A minimum of 60 hours must be obtained from technical learning activities (as defined in NASBA Fields of Study); and
• At least 72 hours must be obtained through approved CPE sponsors (those meeting the requirements under MN Rules 1105.3100, subpart 1).
• Partial-hour credits are allowed as specified in the 2019 Statement on Standards for CPE. These vary by delivery method. Consult Standard 16 for details.

Teaching/Speaking Credits

Instructors, discussion leaders, or speakers who present a learning activity for the first time may receive CPE credit for actual preparation time up to two times the number of CPE credits to which participants would be entitled, in addition to the time for presentation, subject to regulations and maximums established by the Board.

For example, for learning activities in which participants could receive 8 CPE credits, instructors may receive up to 24 CPE credits (16 for preparation plus 8 for presentation). For repeat presentations, CPE credit can be claimed only if it can be demonstrated that the learning activity content was substantially changed and such change required significant additional study or research. See Standard 20.

Documentation for teaching/presenting credits must include the following:

• the name and contact information of the sponsor,
• the title and description of the content of the program, its date and location and the number of CPE hours those attending were awarded;
• a copy of the detailed timed agenda for the program;
• a statement by the licensee describing how the program contributes to the licensee's professional knowledge and competence; and
• the total hours (preparation and presentation) the licensee is claiming.

If you submit teaching/speaking credits as "Approved," be sure to include the NASBA registry number or otherwise note the approved sponsor (see list of approved CPE sponsors below) in your records.

Authoring/Writing/Content Reviewing Credits

Writers of published articles, books, or CPE programs may receive CPE credit for their research and writing time to the extent it maintains or improves their professional competence. For the writer to receive CPE credit, the article, book, or CPE program must be formally reviewed by an independent party. CPE credits can be claimed only upon publication. CPE credits cannot be claimed for both authoring and presenting the same program or authoring and reviewing or presenting. See Standard 20 and 21.

Documentation for authoring/writing/reviewing credits must include the following:

• a copy of the publication (or in the case of a CPE program, course development documentation); for authoring credit it must name the CPA as author or contributor
• a statement from the writer or reviewer supporting the number of CPE hours claimed, and
• the name and contact information of the independent content reviewer(s) for authoring/writing credit or the publisher's representative for content reviewing.

If you submit writing credits as "Approved," be sure to include the NASBA registry number or otherwise note the approved sponsor (see list of approved CPE sponsors below) in your records.

Independent Study Credits

NOTE: Independent study is not self study. It is "an educational process designed to teach a participant a given subject using a learning contract with a continuing professional education program sponsor." (MN Rule 1105.0100 Subp. 9d)

The "learning contract" and the sponsor/instructor must meet the criteria defined in the CPE Standards (see Article 2.5). Some required outcomes include a written report and a presentation to the instructor/sponsor. The sponsor must certify the credits earned and provide their sponsor number (if applicable), name, and contact information.

Independent study can be taken from approved or nonapproved sponsors, as long as it meets the requirements of the Standards. For participants to claim the CPE, they must document the course as specified in MN Rule 1105.3200.

Approved CPE Sponsors

No self-study, nano learning or blended learning courses may be taken from any sponsor other than one approved for that method on the NASBA Registry. (MN Rule 1105.3100 Subp.2)

Group (Live or Internet-based), Self-study, Nano, Blended:

• NASBA Registry of CPE Sponsors
  
  • NOTE: Not all NASBA Registry sponsors are approved for all methods (group live, self study, nano, etc) of CPE delivery. Check the detail for a particular sponsor on the Registry to confirm its approved delivery method(s).

  Group (Live or Internet-based):

  • The office of the Legislative Auditor or State Auditor, if a peer review has been completed in the last three years and an unmodified report on such a review has been filed with the Board. This peer review must be similar in scope to a system review level peer review conducted on a CPA firm.
  • CPA firms who have had a system review level peer review completed in the last three-years and an unmodified report on such review has been filed with the Board.
  • Colleges and Universities whose academic programs qualify an applicant to sit for the CPA examination. (To convert college credits to CPE credits - one semester credit is equal to 15 CPE credits; one quarter credit is equal to 10 CPE credits.)
  • CPE programs sponsored by professional organizations recognized by the Board as Report Acceptance Bodies pursuant to part 1105.5300.
  • CPE programs sponsored by professional organizations recognized by another state's board of accountancy.

  Note to CPE providers not listed above: In order to be considered an approved CPE provider, you must be registered with NASBA's CPE Registry. Please visit NASBA's website for more information.

  Non-Approved CPE

  CPAs are allowed to take group internet-based and group live programs from non-NASBA CPE Registry/non-approved sponsors, provided the program contributes to the professional knowledge and competence of the individual CPA (keeping in mind that at least 72 CPE hours must be obtained through approved CPE sponsors). The program must meet the minimum standards of quality of development, presentation, measurement, and reporting of credits in the Statement on Standards for Continuing Professional Education (CPE) Programs jointly approved by NASBA and AICPA or such other standards acceptable to the board.

  Note: Self-study, nano learning and blended learning courses cannot be taken from non-approved sponsors. Those courses must be provided by a sponsor listed on the NASBA Registry as approved for the specific delivery method.

  Documentation for non-registry programs must consist of the following:

  • a certificate of attendance from the program sponsor containing the name and contact information of the sponsor, the title and description of the content of the program, its date and location and the number of CPE hours for which the licensee attended;
  • a copy of the detailed timed agenda for the program; and
  • a statement by the licensee describing how the program contributes to the licensee's professional knowledge and competence.

  CPE Noncompliance

  MN Rules 1105.3000(E) states "Failure to report CPE, failure to obtain CPE required by this part, reporting of an amount less than that required, or fraudulently reporting CPE is a basis for disciplinary action under MN Statutes 326A.08. A licensee not in compliance with this part shall be assessed a late processing fee of $50 for the first month, or partial month, of noncompliance and $25 per month, or partial month, of noncompliance thereafter until the date the licensee is in compliance with this part and provides: (1) documentation of compliance in writing; and (2) payment of the required late processing fee to the board."

  Remember : If you are not in compliance with the CPE requirements by June 30th and you need to use "carryback" hours from the subsequent fiscal year, the CPE non-compliance fees continue to accrue until the date you submit your certificates of completion for carryback hours along with payment of the CPE non-compliance fees to the Board.

  CPE Compliance Audit

  Each year a percentage of CPAs will be contacted by the Board and required to submit a complete record of CPE for the previous three-year reporting period as part of an ongoing audit process. In cases where the board determines that the hour information supplied by the licensee is not supported by the documentation supplied by the licensee or the hours do not meet the requirements of this chapter, the board may grant an additional period of time in which the deficiencies can be cured or the board may take disciplinary action. Licensees determined not in compliance must pay a late processing fee (see MN Rule 1105.3000(E). Fraudulent reporting is a basis for disciplinary action.