Hawaii CPA CPE Requirements

How to reach the regulator directly.

Hawaii State Board of Public Accountancy
Department of Commerce & Consumer Affairs
P.O. Box 3469
Honolulu, HI 96801-3469

Tel: (808) 586-2696

Email: accountancy@dcca.hawaii.gov

The regulator's own published rules and related resources.

State Board of Accountancy

The total continuing education hours required.

80 hours.

The detailed rules behind that total -- category minimums, ethics, and other conditions.

Ethics Requirement:

Effective January 1, 2010: Effective for the December 31, 2011 renewal of your CPA or PA license, and for every biennial license renewal thereafter, 4 hours of continuing professional education ("CPE") is required in ethics or professional conduct, pursuant to HI administrative rules.

This is a mandatory requirement for all HI-licensed CPAs and PAs, not only for those who renew a permit to practice. The CPE hours must be obtained from a CPE sponsor that is approved by the HI Board, or by the NASBA National Registry, or by another state board of accountancy.

• NOTE: June 26, 2014: CeriFi has confirmed with the HI Board that: (1) the 4 hours of ethics does not have to contain content specific to Hawaii rules/regulations; (2) any general ethics course that is developed by a NASBA Registry sponsor and is designated as either “regulatory ethics” or “behavioral ethics” will be accepted by the HI Board; and (3) an ethics course that contains rules/regulations regarding another state would be accepted to meet the HI ethics requirement.

How the reporting cycle is structured.

Biennial.

When a reporting cycle begins.

January 1, even-numbered years.

How completed credits are reported to the regulator.

Renewal application.

Accompanying an application for a permit to practice, each certified public accountant and public accountant shall also file, on a form prescribed by the board, an attestation relating to the applicant's continuing professional education, setting forth the following:

1. Name of the course sponsor;
2. Identification number of the course sponsor as issued by the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy's National Registry, the board, or any other board of accountancy in a state or jurisdiction of the United States;
3. Title of the course;
4. Date attended; and
5. Hours claimed.

The renewal or reporting deadline.

December 31, odd-numbered years.

→ Get monthly reminders before this deadline

What happens if the requirement is not met.

The board may randomly audit continuing professional education hours and require an applicant to submit written evidence satisfactory to the board demonstrating compliance with the continuing professional education requirements provided in this chapter.

The board shall certify, upon request, to any state as to the compliance with continuing professional education requirements under the laws of the State by any of its licensees.

Failure to meet the requirements in a timely manner by the renewal date will result in the forfeiture of the license. After the renewal date, the forfeited license may be restored subject to meeting restoration requirements.

Deficiency in hours and carryover hours: In the event an applicant, except those with an approved exception, is found to be lacking in the eighty required continuing professional education hours as of December 31 of any odd-numbered year, the applicant shall be required to make up the deficient hours before the board approves the permit to practice.

Reduced or prorated requirements for a first renewal.

Proration schedule for first time licensees is ten credits per three month period of the biennium. Thus, for example:

• Applicants whose first permits were approved in the first three months of the biennium shall earn 80 credits.
• Applicants whose first permits were approved in the second three months of the biennium shall earn 70 credits.
• Applicants whose first permits were approved in the last three months of the biennium shall earn 10 credits.

An applicant shall be allowed 80 hours of continuing education credit for passing the AICPA examination for the two years following the date the applicant is notified of passing the examination.

• If an applicant has not taken credit in the two years following notification, the applicant shall be allowed to take credit for 40 hours of continuing education during the three-year period following notification.
• Credit for passing the AICPA examination shall not be taken more than once.

An applicant for a permit to practice shall be allowed eighty hours of continuing professional education credit for passing the AICPA examination for the two years following the date the applicant is notified of passing the examination. If an applicant has not taken credit in the two years following notification, the applicant shall be allowed to take credit for forty hours of continuing professional education during the third year following notification. Credit for passing the AICPA examination shall not be taken more than once.

Rules for professionals licensed elsewhere.

Certification to other jurisdiction. The board shall certify, upon request, to any state as to the compliance with continuing professional education requirements under the laws of the State by any of its licensees.

Who may be excused from all or part of this requirement.

Licensees with temporary permits.

The board may excuse compliance with the continuing education requirement on the grounds of:

• Health, as certified by a medical doctor.
• Military service on extended activity with the armed forces of the United States.
• Other good and valid causes, as determined and approved by the board.

Whether unused credits can apply to the next period.

In the event the total continuing professional education hours is found to be in excess of the minimum requirements in any biennium, the applicant may carryover the excess to the following biennium's requirements, provided that the carryover shall be limited to forty hours. It shall be the responsibility of the licensee to maintain a record of any carryover credits.

• Ethics credits cannot be carried forward.
• Credits earned in excess of a "format cap" (i.e., teaching, publishing) cannot be carried forward. Credits are carried over to the next period without their "format characteristics."

→ CE Tracking calculates carryover for you

Rule changes the regulator has proposed but not yet finalized.

Proposed October 2020; Effective: TBD (preparing for Governor’s signature at this time).
CPE Amendment providing that twenty (20) hours minimum must be taken in each calendar year.

Rule changes the regulator has finalized, with effective dates.

Refer to the specific sections above for more details on any of the items noted below.

Ethics Requirement:

Effective January 1, 2010: Effective for the December 31, 2011 renewal of your CPA or PA license, and for every biennial license renewal thereafter, 4 hours of continuing professional education ("CPE") is required in ethics or professional conduct, pursuant to HI administrative rules.

This is a mandatory requirement for all HI-licensed CPAs and PAs, not only for those who renew a permit to practice. The CPE hours must be obtained from a CPE sponsor that is approved by the HI Board, or by the NASBA National Registry, or by another state board of accountancy.