Verified November 6, 2026 against the state board. Rules change, so read the board’s current rules before relying on them.
Alabama State Board of Public Accountancy licenses CPAs in Alabama. Its rules and forms are the authority for everything on this page.
Alabama requires 40 CPE hours in every fiscal year ending September 30, with at least 8 in accounting and auditing and at least 2 in ethics.
Sources: admincode.legislature.state.al.us/api/chapter/30-X-5
Alabama issues the CPA certificate first, then an annual permit to practice. Permits expire September 30 each year.
Sources: admincode.legislature.state.al.us/api/chapter/30-X-5, admincode.legislature.state.al.us/api/chapter/30-X-4, asbpa.alabama.gov/licensees/fees
Alabama rules effective October 15, 2026 set three licensure pathways for candidates who first sit on or after that date. Candidates must be at least 19 and a US citizen or legally present.
Sources: admincode.legislature.state.al.us/api/chapter/30-X-4, admincode.legislature.state.al.us/api/chapter/30-X-5
Alabama requires 40 CPE hours in every fiscal year ending September 30, with at least 8 in accounting and auditing and at least 2 in ethics. At least 2 hours must come from a qualifying ethics course. Reinstatement and late-certificate rules use a 5% ethics share of the hours submitted. The Board makes exceptions for a medical-doctor-certified health reason, for licensees not in public practice who elect retired or inactive status (retired status is open to those over 55), or for other good cause (Rule 30-X-5-.01). A licensee returning to active status from any other status shows 40 hours for each year off active status, capped at 120 hours earned in the preceding three years, with 20% in accounting and auditing and 5% in ethics. Non-resident licensees meet the rule by complying with the state of their principal office.
CPE is reported with the annual permit renewal, due by the last day of December. The licensee signs a statement under penalty of perjury and lists sponsor, delivery method, field of study, title, dates and hours for each program. Records must be kept five years. The Board audits on a test basis, and a failed audit triggers automatic audits for two more fiscal years.
Alabama issues the CPA certificate first, then an annual permit to practice. Permits expire September 30 each year. Annual. Permits to practice expire on the last day of September. Renewal application and fee are due by the last day of December. Board fee schedule (effective October 1, 2017): active CPA $100, inactive CPA $50, firm $130. Filing after December 31 adds $100 and after February 28 adds $500. Reciprocity application fee is $120 (effective January 1, 2025).
The Board issues a certificate to an out-of-state CPA who passed the exam under the other state's rules and either meets current Alabama requirements, met Alabama's requirements when first licensed, has four years of CPA experience in the last ten years, or holds a license from a jurisdiction the Board deems substantially equivalent. A separate fast track exists for certain military, federal-agency and NASA spouses.
To sit, a baccalaureate from a regionally accredited school with at least 24 semester hours of upper-division accounting and 24 hours of business courses. Pathway 1 certificate: bachelor's plus those 24 and 24 hours. Pathway 2: bachelor's plus a graduate degree, with 33 accounting and 24 business hours. Pathway 3: bachelor's plus 30 more semester hours (no more than 150 total), with 33 accounting and 24 business hours. The 150-hour total is a cap in Pathway 3 (bachelor's plus 30 hours). Pathway 1 needs no hours beyond the bachelor's degree. A candidate who passes all sections but does not finish certificate requirements within 60 months must also complete 120 CPE hours (24 accounting and auditing, 6 ethics) in the year before certification.
Pathway 1: two years of full-time, supervised experience in public accounting, industry, business, government or college teaching. Pathways 2 and 3: one year.
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