Utah CPA CPE Requirements: Hours, Ethics, and Reporting

Utah CPA CPE requirements call for 80 hours of continuing professional education every two years, including four hours of ethics, with one of those ethics hours dedicated to the Utah CPA Licensing Act and Rule R156-26a.¹ The cycle closes on December 31 of each even-numbered year, and the Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing (DOPL) handles renewal on the same date your CPE is due.

Hours and the Reporting Cycle

Every active Utah CPA needs 80 qualified CPE hours per two-year reporting period. The current cycle runs January 1, 2025 through December 31, 2026.¹ There is no gap between the education deadline and the renewal deadline; both fall on December 31 of the even year.

If this is your first renewal after initial licensure, no CPE is required for that cycle.² After that, the full 80-hour requirement applies. The rule also treats 80 hours as a minimum: if you work in a specialized practice area, you may need additional hours beyond the floor to remain competent.¹

The Four Ethics Hours

Ethics is split into two parts. One hour must cover the Utah CPA Licensing Act (Title 58, Chapter 26a) and Rule R156-26a.³ The remaining three hours cover broader ethics content: the AICPA Code of Professional Conduct, case-based ethical instruction, ethical dilemmas in accounting, or business ethics.¹

A single course can satisfy both pieces when it includes Utah-specific content. An hour that covers Utah’s laws and rules counts toward the state-specific requirement and toward the broader ethics total at the same time.³

What Counts as Qualified CPE

Utah follows the AICPA and NASBA Statement on Standards for Continuing Professional Education Programs, so the common delivery methods all qualify: group live, group internet-based (webinars), blended learning, and interactive self-study.¹

The credit math is straightforward. One 50-minute period equals one CPE credit. After the first full credit in an activity, partial credit comes in half-credit (25-minute) increments, and when the total minutes don’t divide evenly by 50, you round down. A 140-minute session earns two and a half credits, not three.

Nano-learning counts too. These short electronic self-study modules are worth 0.2 credits each, capped at 0.2 credits per course. For group live and group internet-based programs, partial credit is accepted in 0.2 or 0.5 increments after the first full hour; for interactive self-study, partial credit starts after the first half hour.⁴

Carrying Hours Into the Next Cycle

Finish more than 80 hours in a reporting period and you can carry up to 40 extra hours into the next cycle.¹ Carried hours count only as general CPE in the new period, so they won’t satisfy the ethics requirement or any other specific category.

One wrinkle helps if you renew early. If you report your CPE and renew before December 31 of the even-numbered year, any additional CPE you complete during the remainder of that year can also be carried forward.¹ A December course after submission still has somewhere to go.

How to Report and Renew

Utah uses the NASBA CPE Audit Service as its reporting platform. You enter completed courses there for tracking and audit verification.¹ Renewal itself happens separately on DOPL’s online portal at utahdoc.mylicenseone.com, and DOPL emails a renewal notice 90 days before expiration.

Renewal is self-reported. You affirm you have completed the required CPE, but you don’t upload certificates with the application. The individual CPA renewal fee is $63.⁵ If a certificate lacks a NASBA sponsor number, you can enter “E” for exempt when reporting the hours, since Utah is not a NASBA state for sponsor verification purposes.

Keep Your Certificates

Self-reporting does not mean no documentation. Keep every certificate of completion, showing sponsor name, program title, dates of attendance, delivery method, and total hours earned. DOPL runs random audits in collaboration with the Utah State Board of Accountancy, and selected licensees must produce the records.³ Filing by reporting period rather than by course date makes the audit response straightforward.

Waivers for Hardship

You can ask DOPL to waive the 80-hour requirement for up to three years when circumstances genuinely prevent you from completing CPE. The waiver is a formal application and requires a showing of good cause, with extended military deployment or serious illness as typical grounds.⁶

The catch is a compressed catch-up. Within six months after the waiver expires, you must complete 30 hours of CPE, at least 16 of them in auditing and accounting.⁶

If You Miss the Deadline

Fail to complete 80 hours by the end of the renewal period and your license expires. You cannot practice until you have completed the required CPE and renewed.³ Reinstatement is heavier than ordinary renewal: you must complete 80 hours of qualified CPE within the 12 months before you apply to reinstate, and at least 16 of those must be in accounting or auditing.⁷

On top of the hours, you must pass both the AICPA Professional Ethics for CPAs Examination and the Utah CPA Laws and Rules Examination with at least the scores required for initial licensure. Passing those exams counts as eight hours toward the 80-hour reinstatement total.⁷ The reinstatement application also requires an explanation of why the license lapsed.

One narrow exception exists. If the lapse was purely administrative, such as forgetting to pay the fee or failing to sign a form, and you apply within 24 months of the expiration date while proving you were CPE-compliant the whole time, the 80-hour reinstatement requirement can be waived.⁷ Past the 24-month window, you’re back to the full reinstatement process regardless of cause.

Yellow Book and Out-of-State Situations

Two groups face additional rules on top of the standard 80. If you perform audits under Generally Accepted Government Auditing Standards (Yellow Book engagements), the GAO requires at least 24 of your 80 hours in subjects directly related to government auditing or the government environment of the audited entity, and at least 20 of the 80 total must be completed in any single year of the two-year period. Auditors who only perform field work and charge less than 20 percent of their annual time to GAGAS engagements still need the 24 government-related hours but are exempt from the rest of the Yellow Book 80-hour requirement.⁸ Yellow Book hours do not carry forward between measurement periods.

If your principal place of business is in another state and you hold Utah licensure through practice privilege, meeting your home state’s CPE requirements generally satisfies Utah’s, and you self-certify that compliance on your Utah renewal. If your home state has no CPE requirement, you must meet Utah’s full 80 hours. Either way, the one hour on Utah laws and rules plus the three hours of ethics education still apply.⁶

1
Utah Office of Administrative Rules. R156-26a Certified Public Accountant Licensing Act Rule
2
Cornell Law Institute. Utah Admin Code R156-26a-303b – Continuing Professional Education (CPE)
3
Utah Department of Commerce. CPA CPE FAQs
4
NASBA Registry. Utah CPE Requirements
5
Utah Department of Commerce. Renew an Accountancy License
6
Utah Legislature. Utah Code 58-26a-304
7
Cornell Law Institute. Utah Admin Code R156-26a-307 – Reinstatement of Licenses
8
U.S. Government Accountability Office. Government Auditing Standards