Verified November 6, 2026 against the state board. Rules change, so read the board’s current rules before relying on them.
Arizona State Board of Accountancy licenses CPAs in Arizona. Its rules and forms are the authority for everything on this page.
Arizona CPAs complete 80 CPE hours in each two-year registration period, including 4 hours of ethics and at least 16 hours in a classroom or live interactive webinar.
Sources: law.cornell.edu/regulations/arizona/Ariz-Admin-Code-SS-R4-1-453, azleg.gov/ars/32/00730.htm
Arizona CPAs register every two years. Registration fee is due in the month of the registrant's birthday anniversary.
Sources: azleg.gov/ars/32/00729.htm, azleg.gov/ars/32/00730.htm, azleg.gov/ars/32/00721.htm, azleg.gov/ars/32/00725.htm, law.cornell.edu/regulations/arizona/Ariz-Admin-Code-SS-R4-1-341
Arizona certifies a CPA who passes the Uniform CPA Examination and meets one of three education and experience combinations in A.R.S. 32-721(B). Candidates must be at least 18.
Sources: azleg.gov/ars/32/00721.htm, azleg.gov/ars/32/00723.htm, law.cornell.edu/regulations/arizona/Ariz-Admin-Code-SS-R4-1-341, law.cornell.edu/regulations/arizona/Ariz-Admin-Code-SS-R4-1-343
Arizona CPAs complete 80 CPE hours in each two-year registration period, including 4 hours of ethics and at least 16 hours in a classroom or live interactive webinar. The 4 ethics hours must include at least 1 hour on accounting ethics including the AICPA Code of Professional Conduct and at least 1 hour on Board statutes and rules. An ethics program taught or developed by the registrant's employer or a co-worker does not qualify. The Board grants a full or partial exemption for good cause tied to a disability, for one registration period only (R4-1-453(H)); the statute also lets the Board extend time for good cause. Non-resident registrants meet the rule by meeting the CPE requirement of their principal-place-of-business jurisdiction. Reactivation from retired status or reinstatement requires up to 160 hours in the prior four years, with 4 or 8 ethics hours depending on time lapsed.
Reported at registration with sponsor, hours, title, dates, subject and method. At least 40 hours must be in accounting, auditing, taxation, business law or consulting, with at least 16 of those in accounting, auditing or taxation. Records are kept three years from the date the Board received the registration, and the Board audits at its discretion.
Arizona CPAs register every two years. Registration fee is due in the month of the registrant's birthday anniversary. Biennial registration (A.R.S. 32-730). The fee is due during the month of the anniversary of the registrant's birth (A.R.S. 32-729). By statute the biennial CPA registration fee is set by the Board between $100 and $300, with a late fee of up to $100. Retired status registration is $50. The certificate application fee is $100 (R4-1-341).
A CPA licensed elsewhere who passed the exam is certified without re-examination if the other jurisdiction is substantially equivalent, or by years of CPA practice: three years with a graduate degree or bachelor's plus 30 semester hours, five of the last ten years with a bachelor's, or ten of the last fifteen years (A.R.S. 32-721(C)). A non-resident with no Arizona office practices under the limited reciprocity privilege with no notice or fee (A.R.S. 32-725).
To sit for the exam, a baccalaureate or postbaccalaureate degree with the accounting and related semester hours the Board sets by rule (A.R.S. 32-723). Arizona does not require 150 hours for every candidate. The statute allows a bachelor's degree with two years of experience, a bachelor's plus 30 additional semester hours with one year, or a postbaccalaureate degree with one year.
Experience means verified paid or unpaid accounting work in government, industry, academia or public practice, with one year equal to 2,000 hours. A certificate of experience is signed by a CPA or someone with similar accounting education and experience who knows the applicant's work.
Applicants must show a score of at least 90% on the AICPA professional ethics examination taken within the two years before applying (R4-1-341).
CORAA AI drafts audit working papers from your client’s QuickBooks books and does the first pass: lead schedules, tie-out, memos, draft notes and letters. CORAA Network reviewers clear every finding. Your firm reviews and signs.
