Verified November 6, 2026 against the state board. Rules change, so read the board’s current rules before relying on them.
Iowa Accountancy Examining Board licenses CPAs in Iowa. Its rules and forms are the authority for everything on this page.
Iowa CPAs renewing in active status report 120 CPE hours in the three-year period ending December 31 or June 30 before the July 1 renewal date, including 4 hours of ethics (481 IAC 1030.5 and 1030.7).
Sources: legis.iowa.gov/docs/iac/chapter/481.1030.pdf, legis.iowa.gov/docs/iac/chapter/481.1025.pdf
Iowa CPA certificates expire on June 30 each year and are renewed annually online. Active renewal requires the CPE in 481 IAC Chapter 1030; inactive renewal carries a reduced fee and no CPE.
Sources: legis.iowa.gov/docs/iac/chapter/481.1025.pdf, legis.iowa.gov/docs/iac/chapter/481.1032.pdf, legis.iowa.gov/docs/iac/chapter/481.1029.pdf, legis.iowa.gov/docs/code/542.pdf, legis.iowa.gov/docs/publications/LGE/91/HF778.pdf
Since July 1, 2026 (HF 778, signed May 1, 2025), Iowa offers two certificate pathways: 150 semester hours with one year of experience, or 120 semester hours with two years of experience. Both require a baccalaureate or higher degree with an accounting concentration, the Uniform CPA Exam and an ethics exam.
Sources: legis.iowa.gov/docs/publications/LGE/91/HF778.pdf, legis.iowa.gov/docs/code/542.pdf, legis.iowa.gov/docs/iac/chapter/481.1023.pdf
Iowa CPAs renewing in active status report 120 CPE hours in the three-year period ending December 31 or June 30 before the July 1 renewal date, including 4 hours of ethics (481 IAC 1030.5 and 1030.7). At least 4 hours on ethics and rules of professional conduct in each three-year period (481 IAC 1030.7(2)). The course description must show professional or business ethics as the subject. A multi-topic course counts only the hours spent on ethics, with at least one hour required. CPAs who supervise compilations or sign compilation reports also need 8 hours of financial statement presentation (such as SSARS and A&A updates) in the same three-year period (1030.7(1)). A licensee resident in another state with mandatory CPE is deemed compliant if that state's CPE was met (1030.5(5)). The board may grant exceptions for hardship including health certified by a physician, military service, foreign residency, retirement or other good cause, but not for age alone (1030.5(6)). Inactive licensees are exempt from CPE (481 IAC 1025.7(4)). Reinstating a lapsed or inactive license to active requires 120 hours in the preceding three years, including the mandatory subjects (1030.5(7)).
Each renewal, the licensee self-selects December 31 or June 30 as the CPE deadline and may switch between renewals (1030.5(1), 1030.11). The board may accept an attestation instead of a course listing and verifies on a test basis; records are kept three years after the report (1030.9). One CPE hour is 50 minutes. Self-study, instructor credit, nontechnical subjects and professional exam credit are each capped at 50 percent of the obligation; published articles and books at 25 percent (1030.6, 1030.8). New licensees phase in: no CPE at the first renewal under 12 months, 40 hours at 12 to 24 months, 80 hours at 24 to 36 months (1030.5(2)-(4)).
Iowa CPA certificates expire on June 30 each year and are renewed annually online. Active renewal requires the CPE in 481 IAC Chapter 1030; inactive renewal carries a reduced fee and no CPE. Annual. Certificates expire June 30 of each year (481 IAC 1025.3(1)); Iowa Code 542.6 allows a term of up to three years with expiry set by rule. June 30. Renewal within the 30-day grace period (July 1 to July 30) carries a late fee; after that the certificate lapses and the holder may not practice, including during the grace period (481 IAC 1025.4). Annual renewal is $100 active and $50 inactive. Late renewal in the grace period adds $25 (active) or $10 (inactive). Reinstating a lapsed certificate costs $100 plus the renewal fee plus $25 per month of lapse, up to $1,000; the monthly penalty is waived if the holder did not practice during the lapse (481 IAC 1032.1, 1032.2).
Out-of-state CPAs with a principal place of business elsewhere may practice in Iowa under a practice privilege without an Iowa license, fee or notice to the board (Iowa Code 542.20). HF 778 (2025 Iowa Acts ch. 40, effective July 1, 2026) amended 542.20 to base the privilege on holding a valid license in the principal-place-of-business state that is substantially equivalent to an Iowa license, and to require compliance with Chapter 542 and board rules. A CPA moving a principal place of business to Iowa must obtain an Iowa certificate, available through a substantially equivalent state, individual substantial equivalency, or the four-in-ten experience rule (481 IAC 1029.1, 1029.5).
Candidates may sit once they have completed, or will complete within 120 days after the exam, a baccalaureate degree with an accounting concentration (Iowa Code 542.5(9)); scores are not released until the degree is complete. The concentration is met by one of four routes in 481 IAC 1023.3, for example a baccalaureate or higher degree with 24 semester hours of accounting above principles (financial accounting, auditing, taxation, management accounting) and 24 further semester hours of business courses. Quarter hours convert at 3:2. Iowa Code 542.5(7), as amended by HF 778 effective July 1, 2026, requires either 150 semester hours with a degree and one year of experience, or 120 semester hours with a degree and two years of experience. The degree must be at least a baccalaureate from a board-recognized institution with an accounting concentration or a board-approved equivalent.
One year of experience on the 150-hour pathway or two years on the 120-hour pathway, in accounting, attest, compilation, management or financial advisory, tax or consulting work in government, industry, academia or public practice (Iowa Code 542.5(7) as amended). Board rule 481 IAC 1023.12 defines one year as at least 2,000 hours over one to three years, verified by a licensee; attest qualification requires at least two years.
A candidate must pass an examination covering the code of ethical conduct before the certificate is issued (481 IAC 1023.13).
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