Option 1
40 hours
In any combination of New York’s recognized subject areas — for example, 20 hours of taxation, 12 of accounting and 8 of advisory services.
New York CPA CPE Requirements
New York CPAs must complete 40 hours of CPE every calendar year (January 1 – December 31) in any mix of recognized subject areas, or 24 hours concentrated in one subject area. You also need 4 hours of professional ethics every three calendar years; they count toward the 40. Extra hours don’t carry over.
New York CPE requirements at a glance
- Annual CPE hours
- 40 hours
- Or 24 hours, all in one recognized subject area.
- Reporting period
- Calendar year
- January 1 – December 31.
- Ethics
- 4 hours
- Every three calendar years. Counts toward the 40-hour total.
- Registration renewal
- Every 3 years
- You affirm CPE compliance when you renew your registration.
- Self-study
- Accepted
- New York’s rules set no cap on self-study hours.
- Carryover
- Not allowed
- Extra hours can’t be applied to a later year.
Need all 40 hours this year? Unlimited self-study CPE covers accounting, auditing, tax and business courses — $149 for the year.
Get Unlimited CPEHow many CPE hours do New York CPAs need?
Each calendar year, New York CPAs choose one of two ways to meet the requirement, and can choose differently the next year.
Going the 24-hour route? Browse by subject: taxation courses, accounting courses or auditing courses.
Is ethics CPE required in New York?
Yes. New York CPAs must complete 4 hours of professional ethics during every three calendar years. Ethics hours also count toward the 40-hour total in the year you complete them.
Which ethics courses count?
These Sequoia CPE courses are approved for New York’s ethics requirement:
- Ethics for New York CPAs - Foundations Course$64.50 · 4 hours
- Ethics For New York CPAs - Tax Focus$64.50 · 4 hours
Sequoia CPE is a New York State-registered CPE sponsor (sponsor number 002786).
Does your work add CPE requirements in New York?
Some New York CPAs owe additional CPE because of the work they do.
Supervising attest or compilation work?
New York sets a separate requirement for a licensee who supervises attest or compilation services, or who signs or authorizes someone else to sign the accountant’s report on financial statements on behalf of a firm.
Such a licensee must have completed at least 40 hours of continuing education in accounting, auditing or attest during the prior three calendar years or in the calendar year in which the service is performed. Those hours also count toward New York’s annual requirement in the calendar year they are completed.
What subjects qualify for New York CPE?
New York counts CPE hours in these recognized subject areas. Courses that focus on the marketing of professional services or on improving the profitability of an accounting firm or practice do not earn New York credit.
Accounting
Includes Accounting and Accounting (Governmental)
Auditing
Includes Auditing and Auditing (Governmental)
Taxation
Includes Taxes
Advisory services
Includes Business Law, Business Management & Organization, Communications and Marketing, Computer Software and Applications, Economics, Finance, Information Technology, Management Services, Personal Development, Personnel/Human Resources, Production and Statistics
Specialized knowledge
Professional ethics
Includes Regulatory Ethics
When is the New York CPE deadline?
December 31, every year. New York measures CPE by calendar year, even though your registration renews every three years.
January 1
Your CPE year starts
Hours you complete from this date count toward this year. Extra hours can’t be applied to a later year.
December 31
Annual hours due
Finish 40 hours (or 24 concentrated) by year-end. You don’t submit anything to the state.
Every 3 years
Renew and affirm
When you renew your registration, you affirm you met CPE for each calendar year in the period. Ethics must be done within the three calendar years.
Newly licensed?
If you were licensed on or after January 1, 2020, your CPE requirement begins on the first January 1 within your initial registration period. Licensed March 15, 2025? Your first CPE year is 2026.
How New York counts CPE credit
The rules that decide whether — and how much — a course counts.
| Rule | What New York requires |
|---|---|
| Credit hour | One credit equals one 50-minute contact hour. |
| Self-study | Accepted. |
| Approved sponsors | New York–registered sponsors, NASBA-registered sponsors or sponsors approved by the board in the state where the course is taken. Ethics courses follow a narrower rule. A licensee whose principal place of business is in New York, or who is licensed only in New York, must take an ethics course approved by the New York State Education Department; a licensee whose principal place of business is in another state, and who is licensed there, may also use a New York-registered sponsor approved for ethics, a NASBA-approved sponsor, or a sponsor approved by that state’s licensing authority.New York’s published lists: New York State-registered CPE sponsors (NYSED list, PDF) · New York State-registered ethics sponsors (NYSED list, PDF)Sequoia CPE is a New York State-registered CPE sponsor (sponsor number 002786). |
| Carryover | Not allowed. Excess hours can’t be applied to a later year. |
Keep your certificates for 5 years
New York doesn’t collect your certificates when you renew. Keep each certificate for at least 5 years.
Sequoia issues your certificate the moment you pass, and it stays in your account.
Your records must show
- Title of the program
- Number of credits awarded
- Sponsor’s name
- New York State sponsor number
- Date completed
Finish your New York CPE with Sequoia CPE.
Self-study courses: learn from a PDF, take the exam online and get your certificate the moment you pass.
NASBA QAS self-study sponsor #121900New York State-registered CPE sponsor #002786Try a free sample course
New York CPE questions, answered
How many CPE hours do New York CPAs need each year?
New York CPAs need 40 CPE hours each calendar year in any combination of recognized subject areas, or 24 hours if all 24 are concentrated in a single recognized subject area. The calendar year runs January 1 through December 31.
When is the New York CPE deadline?
December 31 of each year. New York CPE is measured by calendar year, and hours beyond the requirement can’t be applied to a later year. Your registration renews every three years, when you affirm that you met the requirement for each year in that period.
How many ethics hours do New York CPAs need?
New York CPAs need 4 hours of professional ethics during every three calendar years. Ethics hours also count toward the 40-hour total in the year you complete them.
Does behavioral ethics count toward New York’s ethics requirement?
No. New York does not count behavioral ethics toward the professional ethics requirement. Behavioral ethics courses count as advisory services hours instead. Sequoia CPE’s New York ethics courses are regulatory ethics courses and meet the 4-hour requirement.
Do online and self-study CPE courses count in New York?
Yes. New York accepts self-study programs. New York’s rules set no cap on self-study hours. Courses must come from New York–registered sponsors, NASBA-registered sponsors or sponsors approved by the board in the state where the course is taken. Sequoia CPE is a New York State-registered CPE sponsor (sponsor number 002786).
Can New York CPAs carry extra CPE hours forward?
No. Hours beyond the requirement cannot be applied to a later year (Education Law §7409(2)(c)).
Do I report my CPE to New York every year?
No. You don’t submit CPE annually. When you renew your registration, you affirm that you met the requirement in each calendar year of the period. Keep your certificates for at least 5 years.
When do newly licensed New York CPAs start CPE?
If you were licensed on or after January 1, 2020, your CPE requirement begins on the first January 1 within your initial registration period.
Are there exemptions from New York CPE?
New York’s rules cover four situations: illness, military service or extreme hardship; returning from inactive status; licensed in more than one state; and not working within New York’s scope of practice. The details and their conditions are under Exemptions and special circumstances, below.
Exemptions and special circumstances
Illness, military service or extreme hardship
The New York State Education Department may adjust all or part of the requirement for good cause acceptable to the Department that prevents compliance. Good cause includes personal illness certified by a physician, military service, and extreme hardship that makes it impossible to comply in a timely manner. Family or business commitments are not good cause, except unforeseen serious family problems in the last six months of the calendar year. A licensee granted an adjustment who is not completing the required hours cannot practice in New York.
An adjustment is not automatic: the licensee requests it on Section 3 of the Registration Renewal Addendum, with a written explanation of the circumstances that prevented compliance.
Returning from inactive status
A New York licensee returning to practice from inactive status must notify the New York State Education Department before resuming practice and, when filing to reactivate, certify, and document with completion certificates, at least 24 hours of continuing education completed in the 12 months immediately before filing.
After returning, the licensee completes a pro rata share of that year’s requirement: half the hours of the option chosen, 40 or 24, for each full six-month period from the date of return to the end of the reporting year.
Licensed in more than one state
Being licensed in another state does not exempt a New York licensee from New York’s annual hours. Every licensee registered to practice in New York State must complete them.
What can change is which ethics courses count: a licensee whose principal place of business is in New York, or who is licensed only in New York, needs an ethics course approved by the New York State Education Department, while a licensee whose principal place of business is in another state, and who is licensed there, may also use a New York-registered sponsor approved for ethics, a NASBA-approved sponsor, or a sponsor approved by that state’s licensing authority. These rules decide what counts for New York only: another state’s requirements, including which ethics courses it accepts, are set by that state’s licensing authority, so check them there.
A licensee who does not intend to practice in New York may ask the Board office to place the New York registration on inactive status. While it is inactive, the continuing education requirement does not apply.
Not working within New York’s scope of practice
A New York licensee who is not engaged in the practice of public accountancy as New York’s Education Law defines it, and who has filed a written statement with the New York State Education Department declaring that status, is exempt from the continuing education requirement. That definition is not limited to public accounting firms: it includes accounting, tax, financial or management advisory work for an employer in private industry, government, a not-for-profit or academia. The exemption is inactive registration status. An inactive licensee may not work within the scope of practice; to practice as a CPA or PA in New York and use either title, a licensee must be currently registered.
To request inactive status, the licensee submits the Registration Renewal Addendum to the Board office, which reviews whether the licensee is or has been working within the scope of practice and grants or denies the request in writing.
Official sources
This page explains New York’s rules in plain language. The New York State Education Department, Office of the Professions is the final authority — confirm details for your situation with the New York State Board for Public Accountancy.
New York State Board for Public Accountancy · Albany, NY · (518) 474-3817, press 1, then ext. 160
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