The AICPA/NASBA Statement on Standards for CPE Programs is the joint framework that governs continuing professional education for CPAs, published by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy. The current version took effect on January 1, 2024, and contains 24 standards covering program development, delivery formats, credit measurement, and documentation.1National Registry of CPE Sponsors. The Standards for Continuing Professional Education (CPE) The rules bind any organization that wants to issue CPE credit, and they shape the roughly 40 hours of annual learning most state boards require for license renewal.
How the Standards Are Organized
The 24 standards fall into functional groups rather than a single linear sequence. Standards 1 through 5 set sponsor responsibility and program development baselines: learning objectives, audience experience level, content accuracy, and independent review. Standards 6 through 11 handle the six recognized delivery formats. Standards 12 through 15 cover disclosures, instructor qualifications, participant evaluations, and instructional strategy. Standards 16 through 22 govern credit measurement. Standards 23 and 24 address certificates and record retention.2National Association of State Boards of Accountancy. Statement on Standards for Continuing Professional Education (CPE) Programs
A single course usually touches many standards at once. A self-study program, for instance, pulls in Standard 2 for learning objectives, Standard 5 for independent review, Standard 9 for format rules, Standard 12 for disclosures, Standard 17 for credit measurement, and Standards 23 and 24 for documentation.
Sponsor Responsibilities
Standard 1 places overall responsibility on the sponsor to ensure every learning activity complies with the full set of standards. In practice, that means naming an individual who oversees quality and acts as the point of contact for audits or compliance reviews.2National Association of State Boards of Accountancy. Statement on Standards for Continuing Professional Education (CPE) Programs That person is accountable for internal controls, administrative policies, and sign-off on every course before launch.
Most sponsors gain recognition by joining the National Registry of CPE Sponsors, administered by NASBA. Applicants submit a fully developed sample program for each delivery method they plan to offer. Sponsors can also register directly with individual state boards instead of or in addition to the National Registry, though fees and requirements vary by jurisdiction. Losing registry status or state board approval can invalidate credits already issued, which creates problems for the sponsor and the professionals who took the courses.3National Registry of CPE Sponsors. Annual Renewal
Program Development: Standards 2 Through 5
Standard 2 requires each program to be built around clearly stated learning objectives describing the professional competence participants should gain.4National Association of State Boards of Accountancy. Statement on Standards for CPE Programs – Section: 3.2 Standards for CPE Program Development Objectives have to be specific enough that a reviewer can confirm the content actually delivers on them.
Standard 3 requires that programs match the experience level of the intended audience, with prerequisite knowledge and experience disclosed so participants can self-select. Standard 4 requires that content be developed by subject matter experts and kept current with the latest regulations, standards, and practices. Standard 5 adds independent review: every program must be reviewed by a qualified person who was not involved in creating it, with that review documented. Independent review is one of the first items auditors check.
Fields of Study
Every program must be classified into a recognized field of study, and the technical/non-technical split carries real weight. Technical fields relate directly to accounting practice and include accounting, auditing, taxes, business law, finance, information technology, and regulatory ethics.5National Association of State Boards of Accountancy. National Registry of CPE Sponsors – Fields of Study That Qualify For Continuing Professional Education Non-technical fields relate indirectly and include personal development, business management, human resources, and communications. Many state boards cap how many non-technical credits a CPA can count toward renewal.
Classification is less obvious than it appears. A course on spreadsheet software by itself is non-technical, but a course on applying that software within an audit or tax practice should be classified under the relevant technical field. Ethics is split into two fields: regulatory ethics (technical) covers independence, conflicts of interest, confidential client information, and licensing rules, while behavioral ethics (non-technical) focuses on ethical decision-making more broadly.6National Association of State Boards of Accountancy. Fields of Study That Qualify For Continuing Professional Education Most state boards that mandate ethics hours require them in regulatory ethics specifically.
Delivery Formats
The standards recognize six delivery formats, each with distinct requirements.
Group Live (Standard 7)
Traditional in-person sessions with a real-time instructor. The format must include engagement that goes beyond passive lecture, such as polling, discussion, or problem-solving. Attendance must be actively monitored; a participant’s own claim of attendance is not sufficient.7National Registry of CPE Sponsors. As a CPE Provider, What Are My Responsibilities for Attendance Monitoring, Record Keeping, CPE Program Sign-in and sign-out sheets are the common approach.
Group Internet-Based (Standard 8)
The webinar equivalent of Group Live. A real-time instructor delivers content, and the platform must support interactivity: participants can ask questions and the instructor responds. Recorded sessions can qualify under this format only if the sponsor builds in enough engagement to confirm participants are actively present throughout.
Self-Study (Standard 9)
Participants control pace and timing, but the format carries the most detailed design rules. The course must guide participants through the material using review questions at regular intervals, with at least three review questions per CPE credit. It must conclude with a qualified assessment: a final exam requiring a 70% passing score and at least five questions per CPE credit.8National Association of State Boards of Accountancy. Statement on Standards for Continuing Professional Education (CPE) Programs Every incorrect review question answer must come with specific feedback explaining why the response is wrong.
Nano Learning (Standard 10)
A short module on a single learning objective. The combined duration of content and assessment must be at least 10 minutes. Each module is capped at 0.20 CPE credits, and the qualified assessment must have at least two questions that the participant must answer correctly, a 100% passing threshold.9National Registry of CPE Sponsors. Get Ready for Nano-Learning10National Association of State Boards of Accountancy. Statement on Standards for CPE Programs
Blended Learning (Standard 11)
Two or more delivery formats in a single program, such as a self-study module followed by live group discussion. The program must have a primary synchronous or asynchronous component, and participants must receive a summary document describing each component and what they need to complete for credit.11National Registry of CPE Sponsors. Blended Learning The qualified assessment must measure at least 75% of the program’s learning objectives, and each component’s completion must be separately documented.
Independent Study (Standard 6)
Covers learning activities not offered by a traditional sponsor, such as self-directed research, published writing, or university coursework. The CPA’s employer or another qualified party serves as the sponsor, and the same documentation and measurement standards apply.
Calculating CPE Credits
Standard 16 sets the basic unit: one CPE credit equals one 50-minute period of learning. A full credit must be earned before any fractional credits are awarded. After the first credit, sponsors may grant credit in increments of one-fifth (0.2) or one-half (0.5).10National Association of State Boards of Accountancy. Statement on Standards for CPE Programs A 75-minute session earns 1.4 credits under the one-fifth increment system; a 40-minute session earns none.
Group programs are measured by actual duration. Self-study is harder because no instructor controls the pace, so Standard 17 gives sponsors two options. The first is pilot testing: at least three individuals independent of the development team work through the course under conditions similar to real delivery. Testers must be representative of the intended audience, and they cannot be told the expected completion time in advance. The average completion time from the pilot group determines the credit value.8National Association of State Boards of Accountancy. Statement on Standards for Continuing Professional Education (CPE) Programs
The second option is a prescribed formula that combines word count (assuming 180 words per minute), audio and video duration, and question count (1.85 minutes per question), divided by 50.12National Association of State Boards of Accountancy. Statement on Standards for Continuing Professional Education (CPE) Programs Word counts must exclude material that is not essential to the learning objectives, such as author bios, tables of contents, glossaries, and supplementary appendices. Totals that do not divide evenly into 50-minute blocks are rounded down to the nearest permissible increment.
Nano learning credits are measured by program duration plus assessment time, with a 10-minute minimum and a 0.20-credit maximum per module.10National Association of State Boards of Accountancy. Statement on Standards for CPE Programs
Certificates and Record Retention
Standard 23 requires sponsors to issue each participant a certificate of completion that includes the sponsor’s name and contact information, the participant’s name, the course title, the field of study, the completion date, the delivery method, and the credits earned.10National Association of State Boards of Accountancy. Statement on Standards for CPE Programs Certificates must go out as soon as possible and no later than 60 days after completion.13National Association of State Boards of Accountancy. Statement on Standards for CPE Programs
Standard 24 requires sponsors to retain all program and participant documentation for a minimum of five years.10National Association of State Boards of Accountancy. Statement on Standards for CPE Programs State board audits can reach back several renewal cycles, and without sponsor records a CPA may have no way to prove they completed a course. Sloppy recordkeeping or late certificates can leave a CPA unable to document compliance even after doing the work.
What This Means for Individual CPAs
The standards are written for sponsors, but individual CPAs carry the consequences. Most state boards require roughly 40 hours of CPE per year, whether structured as 40 hours annually, 80 biennially, or 120 over three years. A few states use different structures, and one currently has no mandatory CPE requirement at all. State boards also vary on minimum increments, ethics mandates, and non-technical credit caps, so checking your own board’s rules is essential.
You are responsible for complying with all applicable CPE requirements from your state board, membership associations, and other professional organizations.1National Registry of CPE Sponsors. The Standards for Continuing Professional Education (CPE) A few practical habits follow from the standards:
- Verify the sponsor is listed on the National Registry or approved by your state board before enrolling.
- Confirm the course’s field of study will count toward the specific category of credit you need. A technically excellent course classified as non-technical will not satisfy a technical requirement.
- Keep your own copies of every certificate. Do not rely on the sponsor’s five-year retention alone.
- Track credits throughout the reporting period rather than at the end.
Falling short of your state’s requirements can result in license suspension, late fees, mandatory audits, and in serious cases revocation. Reinstatement typically requires completing all missed hours and paying fees, and can take months.