# Arkansas — CPA continuing professional education (CPE) requirements by US jurisdiction

For Arkansas, license renewal date is 1/1 annually; cpe reporting period is 1/1 to 12/31 annually; general cpe hours requirement is 40 hours  (Required to report 40 hours for the current renewal year but allowed to “look back” to include the past 3 yrs totaling 120 hours if you are deficient in current reporting year.); ethics cpe requirement is Four (4) hours in the area of accounting professional conduct and ethics during the 36-months immediately preceding the expiration date of their current license.  One (1) hour of ethics must be on Arkansas State Board of Public Accountancy specific laws and rules. This requirement may be satisfied by completing a free, web based course via the Board's website or attending group training taught by a board member, board staff member, or a designee of the Board, and will count towards the 4 hour ethics requirement.  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; other subject area requirements is At least 40% of hours in the following subjects: Accounting/Attest, Accounting Ethics or Tax (if public accounting).  At least 20% of hours in the following subjects: Accounting/Attest, Accounting Ethics, or Tax (if not public accounting), recorded from its source on 2026-08-12.

- **Jurisdiction:** Arkansas _(our reading, not quoted from the source)_
- **License renewal date:** 1/1 annually _(verified: appears in the quote below)_
- **CPE reporting period:** 1/1 to 12/31 annually _(verified: appears in the quote below)_
- **General CPE hours requirement:** 40 hours  (Required to report 40 hours for the current renewal year but allowed to “look back” to include the past 3 yrs totaling 120 hours if you are deficient in current reporting year.) _(verified: appears in the quote below)_
- **Ethics CPE requirement:** Four (4) hours in the area of accounting professional conduct and ethics during the 36-months immediately preceding the expiration date of their current license.  One (1) hour of ethics must be on Arkansas State Board of Public Accountancy specific laws and rules. This requirement may be satisfied by completing a free, web based course via the Board's website or attending group training taught by a board member, board staff member, or a designee of the Board, and will count towards the 4 hour ethics requirement.  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. _(verified: appears in the quote below)_
- **Other subject area requirements:** At least 40% of hours in the following subjects: Accounting/Attest, Accounting Ethics or Tax (if public accounting).  At least 20% of hours in the following subjects: Accounting/Attest, Accounting Ethics, or Tax (if not public accounting). _(verified: appears in the quote below)_
- **CPE reciprocity policy:** CPE Reciprocity Licensee must be a non-resident licensee.
- **Date of last revision:** 5/5/2025 _(verified: appears in the quote below)_

## What the source says

> 5/5/2025 License Renewal Date 1/1 annually CPE Reporting Period 1/1 to 12/31 annually General Requirements 40 hours (Required to report 40 hours for the current renewal year but allowed to “look back” to include the past 3 yrs totaling 120 hours if you are deficient in current reporting year.) Ethics Requirement Four (4) hours in the area of accounting professional conduct and ethics during the 36-months immediately preceding the expiration date of their current license. One (1) hour of ethics must be on Arkansas State Board of Public Accountancy specific laws and rules. This requirement may be satisfied by completing a free, web based course via the Board's website or attending group training taught by a board member, board staff member, or a designee of the Board, and will count towards the 4 hour ethics requirement. 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. Other Subject Area Requirements At least 40% of hours in the following subjects: Accounting/Attest, Accounting Ethics or Tax (if public accounting). At least 20% of hours in the following subjects: Accounting/Attest, Accounting Ethics, or Tax (if not public accounting). Credit Limitations Independent study, self-study and authorship credits:

## Source

- https://www.nasbaregistry.org/cpe-requirements/arkansas

Last verified: 2026-08-12. Review by: 2027-02-08.
Part of [CPA continuing professional education (CPE) requirements by US jurisdiction](https://referencesource.org/professional-licensing-continuing-education-by-jurisdiction/).