Louisiana CPA CPE Requirements

Louisiana CPAs must complete 80 hours of continuing professional education over a rolling 2-year period, with at least 20 hours completed each calendar year. Courses must be completed by December 31 and reported by January 31. Louisiana also requires a Board-approved professional ethics course in even-numbered years, and CPAs who participate in attest engagements during the calendar year must complete at least 8 hours in accounting and auditing.

This page provides general educational information to help certified public accountants and certificate holders understand how Louisiana determines CPA CPE requirements for license renewal, including annual minimums, rolling 2-year requirements, ethics requirements, attest-related accounting and auditing requirements, self-study rules, reporting expectations, and nonresident reciprocity.

Louisiana CPA CPE Requirements at a Glance

The chart below summarizes the core CPE requirements every LA CPA should know:

License Renewal Date and CPE Reporting Period

Louisiana uses a calendar-year CPE reporting cycle. Courses must be completed by December 31 and reported by January 31. The Board describes the requirement as 80 hours over a 2-year period, with a minimum of 20 hours each year.

Louisiana CPA Continuing Education Requirements for License Renewal

Louisiana’s baseline rule is 80 hours over a rolling 2-year period, with at least 20 hours each year. The Board advises CPAs to aim for about 40 hours annually to stay on pace. In the year a CPA becomes licensed or reinstates a license, there is no CPE requirement for that year, but the following year may require 60 hours to satisfy the rolling 2-year total.

Total CPE Hours Required

Louisiana requires 80 hours of CPE over a 2-year period, looking forward and backward, with a 20-hour minimum each year.

Ethics Requirement

Louisiana requires all CPAs to complete a Board-approved ethics course in even-numbered years. The Board’s CPE page notes that for 2026, the approved ethics requirement is a 3-hour Board-approved course offered only through approved vendors. General ethics courses are not a substitute when Louisiana requires the Board-approved version.

Accounting and Auditing Requirement

CPAs who participate in attest engagements during the calendar year must complete at least 8 hours of CPE in accounting and auditing. Louisiana defines participation broadly enough to include professionals responsible for performing substantial portions of the work, as well as those who plan, direct, or report on attest engagements.

Subject-Matter and Annual Limits

Louisiana also imposes annual limits on certain categories of credit. Published materials are limited to 10 hours per year. Teaching, speaking, or lecturing is limited to 20 hours per year. Completion of a credentialing exam is limited to 20 hours per year. Personal development is also limited to 20 hours per year. Excess hours in these categories cannot be carried over.

Reporting and Documentation

Louisiana’s CPE reporting process is entirely online. Hours can be reported throughout the year as courses are completed. The Board encourages CPAs to upload certificates of completion, although uploading is not required unless the CPE is audited. Licensees can also make a bulk entry at year-end and upload a course listing or transcript from a provider.

First Reporting Period / Newly Licensed CPAs

In the year a CPA becomes licensed, there is no CPE requirement for that year. Because Louisiana still uses the rolling 2-year framework, the following year may require 60 hours to bring the licensee into compliance with the two-year total.

Reinstatement

In the year a CPA reinstates a license, there is no CPE requirement for that year. The year after reinstatement may require 60 hours to satisfy the rolling 2-year requirement. Louisiana’s CPA resources page also includes separate reinstatement guidance, so reinstating licensees should review the Board’s current instructions carefully.

Nonresident CPAs

Louisiana allows CPE reciprocity for nonresident licensees. A nonresident may satisfy Louisiana’s renewal requirement by meeting the CPE requirements of the state where the CPA’s principal place of business is located. If the home state has no CPE requirement for renewal, the nonresident licensee must comply with Louisiana’s rules.

Louisiana CPA CPE Courses: What to Know

Louisiana’s rules are straightforward on totals but more specific on delivery method, annual limits, ethics, and certain practice-area obligations. Course planning should account for the rolling 2-year total, the 20-hour annual minimum, the even-year Board-approved ethics course, any attest-related accounting and auditing requirement, and the rule that only interactive self-study qualifies.

Live Webcasts

Louisiana treats a webcast as live CPE when the program is broadcast live and the sponsor uses an attendance-verification method acceptable to the Board. When those conditions are met, live webcasts are credited like other live programs.

Self-Study Considerations

Louisiana accepts only interactive self-study. The Board defines interactive self-study as a program that simulates a classroom learning process by testing understanding during the course, providing evaluative responses to incorrect answers, and reinforcing correct answers.

Louisiana does not impose an overall hour cap on self-study, but non-interactive self-study does not qualify. The Board also states that self-study courses from NASBA-registered providers that designate courses as interactive, QAS sponsors, and AICPA offerings are acceptable when they meet current standards.

Audio-Based Self-Study and LumiQ

LumiQ provides CPE credits in an audio-based self-study format designed to support Louisiana CPAs through accessible, on-demand learning. Because Louisiana accepts only interactive self-study, licensees should make sure any audio-based course they complete meets the Board’s interactive self-study standard and otherwise fits Louisiana’s rolling 2-year total, annual minimum, ethics requirement when applicable, and any attest-related accounting and auditing requirement. 

CPAs remain responsible for meeting Louisiana’s 80-hour rolling 2-year CPE requirement, completing at least 20 hours each calendar year, completing the Board-approved ethics course in even-numbered years, completing 8 annual hours in accounting and auditing if they participate in attest engagements, and reporting completed hours by January 31.

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

Louisiana CPA License Renewal

The Louisiana State Board of CPAs is the final authority on Louisiana CPA license renewal and continuing education compliance. Licensees should treat Louisiana statutes, Board rules, and current Board 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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