Arkansas CPA CPE Requirements

Arkansas CPAs must complete either 40 hours of acceptable continuing professional education during the 12 months immediately preceding license expiration or 120 hours during the 36 months immediately preceding license expiration. Arkansas also requires 4 hours of ethics during the 36 months immediately preceding renewal, including a specific ethics course focused on Arkansas State Board laws and rules.

This page provides general educational information to help certified public accountants understand how Arkansas determines CPA CPE requirements for license renewal, including annual and 3-year options, ethics requirements, group-study minimums, subject-area requirements, audit documentation, and practice-status considerations.

Arkansas CPA CPE Requirements at a Glance

License Renewal Date and CPE Reporting Period

Arkansas licenses renew annually on January 1. For renewal, the Board looks to CPE completed during the 12 months immediately preceding January 1, unless the licensee uses the 120-hour lookback option covering the 36 months immediately preceding expiration.

Arkansas CPA Continuing Education Requirements for License Renewal

Arkansas allows CPAs to satisfy renewal through either the 40-hour annual rule or the 120-hour 3-year rule. That flexibility can help licensees who are short in the current year, but the Board’s audit process still requires complete documentation based on the reporting method used.

Total CPE Hours Required

Arkansas requires either 40 hours in the 12 months immediately preceding renewal or 120 hours in the 36 months immediately preceding renewal. The 120-hour option functions as a lookback rule for licensees who are deficient in the current reporting year.

Ethics Requirement

Arkansas requires 4 hours in accounting professional conduct and ethics during the 36 months immediately preceding license expiration. Since 2015, 1 of those 4 hours must focus specifically on Arkansas State Board laws and rules, and the remaining 3 hours must still be in ethics. Licensees who receive their initial current license during the calendar year are exempt from the ethics requirement until their first full calendar year of licensure.

Subject-Matter Allocation

Beginning with CPE taken for the 2021 license year and beyond, Arkansas requires licensees engaged in the practice of public accounting to complete at least 40 percent of required hours in the subject areas of accounting, accounting ethics, attest, compilation, or taxation. 

Licensees not engaged in public accounting must complete at least 20 percent of required hours in those subject areas. In practical terms, that means 16 hours under the 40-hour rule or 48 hours under the 120-hour rule for those in public practice, and 8 hours under the 40-hour rule or 24 hours under the 120-hour rule for those not in public practice.

Group Study Requirement

Arkansas requires a minimum amount of group study. Under the 40-hour rule, at least 8 hours must be group study. Under the 120-hour rule, at least 24 hours must be group study.

Reporting and Documentation

Applicants for renewal must submit a representation that they met the CPE requirement together with a Board-prescribed CPE statement showing the programs and hours completed during the relevant reporting period. Licensees must retain supporting documentation for five years following the end of the year of completion. If selected for audit, the Board requires actual certificates and complete backup based on the reporting method chosen.

CPE Audit Expectations

Arkansas’s audit guidance is specific. If a licensee uses the 40-hour rule, the Board wants all CPE taken in the current renewal year plus all ethics certificates from the current year and the prior two years. If a licensee uses the 120-hour rule, the Board wants all CPE certificates from the prior three years. The Board also says purchase receipts, attendance checklists, and Board-generated reports are not acceptable substitutes for actual certificates.

First Reporting Period / Newly Licensed CPAs

The official sources surfaced here do not provide a simple, standalone first-renewal reduction schedule comparable to some other states. What is clearly stated is that licensees who received their initial license during the current calendar year are exempt from the ethics requirement until their first full calendar year of licensure. For anything beyond that, newly licensed Arkansas CPAs should confirm their circumstances directly with the Board.

Arkansas CPA CPE Courses: What to Know

Arkansas course planning should account for more than just the total number of hours. Licensees need to think about the reporting method they will use, the 4-hour ethics requirement, the Arkansas Board laws-and-rules hour, the group-study minimum, and the subject-area percentages tied to whether they are engaged in public practice.

Self-Study and Accepted Formats

Arkansas accepts qualifying continuing education as long as it is a formal program of learning that contributes directly to professional competence and otherwise satisfies Rule 13. T

he rule also recognizes AICPA, NASBA National Registry, and QAS pathways for sponsors, including self-study sponsors. The Board’s public summary emphasizes group-study minimums rather than a broad ban on self-study, so the key issue is making sure the total mix of activities still satisfies Arkansas’s group-study and subject-matter requirements.

Audio-Based Self-Study and LumiQ

LumiQ provides CPE credits in an audio-based self-study format designed to support Arkansas CPAs through accessible, on-demand learning. Licensees remain responsible for making sure any course they complete fits Arkansas’s annual or 3-year total, ethics requirements, group-study minimums, and subject-area rules based on practice status. Arkansas also expects licensees to keep proper documentation in case of audit.

CPAs remain responsible for meeting either the 40-hour annual requirement or the 120-hour 3-year requirement, completing 4 total ethics hours every 3 years including 1 hour on Arkansas Board laws and rules, meeting the required group-study minimum, meeting the required subject-area percentage based on practice status, and keeping certificates ready in case of audit. 

LumiQ does not determine a licensee’s individual Arkansas CPA license renewal obligations and does not provide legal, regulatory, or individualized compliance advice.

Arkansas CPA License Renewal

The Arkansas State Board of Public Accountancy is the final authority on Arkansas CPA license renewal and continuing education compliance. Licensees should treat Arkansas law, Rule 13, the Board’s annual CPE summary on arkansas.gov, and current audit and renewal guidance as controlling.

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Reviewed by Danielle Marion, Regulatory Compliance Manager at LumiQ. Danielle has more than 20 years of experience in regulatory compliance and professional education governance, including leadership roles at Deloitte LLP.

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