Verified November 6, 2026 against the state board. Rules change, so read the board’s current rules before relying on them.
Kentucky State Board of Accountancy licenses CPAs in Kentucky. Its rules and forms are the authority for everything on this page.
Kentucky CPAs who worked 3,000 or more hours in a Board-licensed public accounting firm in the two calendar years before renewal complete 80 CPE hours; all other licensees complete 60. Two hours of professional ethics count within the total (201 KAR 1:100, Section 2).
Sources: apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/kar/titles/201/001/100, cpa.ky.gov/practicingcpas/Pages/Continuing-Professional-Education.aspx, apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=56083
Kentucky CPA licenses are issued and renewed for two years. Odd-numbered licenses expire August 1 of odd-numbered years and even-numbered licenses expire August 1 of even-numbered years (KRS 325.330(7)(a)).
Sources: apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=56083, cpa.ky.gov/practicingcpas/Pages/Continuing-Professional-Education.aspx, apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/acts/26RS/documents/0021.pdf
HB 45 (2026 Ky. Acts ch. 21, signed April 3, 2026, effective July 16, 2026) rewrote KRS 325.261 to offer three education routes. A bachelor's degree with an accounting concentration plus two years of experience now qualifies for licensure alongside the 150-hour routes.
Sources: apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/acts/26RS/documents/0021.pdf, apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/kar/titles/201/001/190, kycpa.org/newshb45, insidepublicaccounting.com/2026/04/22/kentucky-cpa-licensure-modernization-bill
Kentucky CPAs who worked 3,000 or more hours in a Board-licensed public accounting firm in the two calendar years before renewal complete 80 CPE hours; all other licensees complete 60. Two hours of professional ethics count within the total (201 KAR 1:100, Section 2). Two hours of professional ethics are required within the 80- or 60-hour total (201 KAR 1:100, Section 2(2)). Ethics courses taken for other states are accepted. Licensees on partial (prorated) reporting do not need the ethics hours. The Board may reduce or waive CPE for temporary physical or psychological inability, temporary extreme hardship, or complete retirement from practice at age 55 or older, requested on the Initial Request for Waiver of CPE Requirements form and reaffirmed at each renewal (201 KAR 1:100, Section 4; KRS 325.330(8)). Licensees who did not work in a Kentucky office in the two years before renewal may follow the CPE rules of their principal office state.
CPE is earned in the two calendar years ending December 31 before the August 1 renewal (KRS 325.330(7)(b)). The 60-hour requirement covers CPAs with fewer than 3,000 firm hours and those in industry, government, education, unlicensed entities or unemployed. At least 50 percent of hours must be technical standards courses. Personal development is capped at 8 hours (80-hour requirement) or 12 hours (60-hour requirement). CPAs in licensed firms performing attest or SSARS engagements need 8 accounting and auditing hours each calendar year. Newly licensed CPAs complete 2 hours per full month licensed. One CPE hour is 50 minutes. The Board audits each renewal year and records are kept five years.
Kentucky CPA licenses are issued and renewed for two years. Odd-numbered licenses expire August 1 of odd-numbered years and even-numbered licenses expire August 1 of even-numbered years (KRS 325.330(7)(a)). Biennial, by license number: odd-numbered licenses renew in odd years and even-numbered licenses in even years (KRS 325.330(2), (7)(a)). Licenses expire August 1 of the renewal year; the Board's renewal period runs in July. A license not renewed by expiration automatically expires (KRS 325.330(7)(c)). Statute caps the renewal fee at $200 biennially. A license expired less than one month may be renewed with a late fee of up to $100; after one month the holder applies for reinstatement with a late fee of up to $200 and added CPE hours (KRS 325.330(7)(d)).
The Board may license by reciprocity a CPA with a valid active license from another state who meets the KRS 325.261(3) education requirement, passed the Uniform CPA Examination, and meets current experience requirements or had four years of experience within the prior ten years (KRS 325.280, as amended by 2026 Ky. Acts ch. 21). Under amended KRS 325.282, an out-of-state CPA with no Kentucky office has practice privileges without notice if initial licensure required the exam and the KRS 325.261 education and experience requirements; CPAs holding privileges as of June 30, 2025 keep them.
KRS 325.261(3) requires one of: (a) a post-baccalaureate or higher degree with an accounting major or concentration; (b) a bachelor's degree plus 30 additional semester hours with an accounting concentration; or (c) a bachelor's degree with an accounting major or concentration. Exam eligibility requires age 18, good moral character and one of these education routes (KRS 325.261(4)). 201 KAR 1:190 defines the accounting concentration as at least 39 semester hours in business-related subjects, 27 of them accounting. Before HB 45, KRS 325.261(5) required 150 college semester hours for licensure. Effective July 16, 2026 that subsection was repealed; 150 hours (graduate degree or bachelor's plus 30) is one route, and a bachelor's degree alone is another.
One year of accounting or attest experience for the graduate-degree or bachelor's-plus-30 routes, or two years for the bachelor's-only route (KRS 325.261(5)). Experience may be in public practice, industry or government, verified by a CPA who held an active license from any state during the time verified, and obtained within five years of passing the exam.
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