Tennessee
State CPE Requirements
State Board Website:
License Renewal Deadline:
CPAs with an even license number – 12/31 of even years. CPAs with odd-numbered licenses – 12/31 of odd years.
CPE Reporting Period:
1/1 to 12/31 biennially, ending on even-numbered years for even license numbers and odd-numbered years for odd license numbers
Total CPE Hours Required:
80 hours
Minimum CE Hours per year:
20 hours
Ethics Requirements:
Two (2) hours from a board-approved two (2) hour state-specific ethics course designed to familiarize the licensee with accountancy law and rules as well as professional ethics.
Credit Limitations:
• Instructed: The maximum credit for instructors is 50% of total hours.
• Professional Journals: Credit for reading professional journals and taking an exam on the reading is limited to 20% biennially.
• Published Materials: For authorship credit, a copy of the published article or book shall be made available to the Board if CPE records are audited. The maximum credit for published articles/books is 50% of total hours.
• Fields of Study: This jurisdiction has a rule(s) placing limitations on certain subject areas or requiring a certain number of credits within a certain subject area or group of subject areas. Confirmation with the Board of the impact of the changes included in the new Fields of Study document, which went into effect September 1, 2016, is included in this analysis.
Other Subject Area Requirements:
• At least 40 hours in technical subjects: accounting, governmental accounting, auditing, governmental auditing, business law, economics, finance, information technology, management services, regulatory ethics,specialized knowledge, statistics or taxes.
• If engaged in attest function (including compilations), at least 20 hours is required in accounting and auditing.
• If providing expert witness testimony, 20 hours of CPE is required in that area in which the court deems you an expert.
Other State Policies:
Provider/Sponsor Approval: Program sponsors must be members of NASBA’s Registry or Board’s Registry, or fall into one of the following categories for automatic approval:
• Professional Accounting organizations (e.g. AICPA, TN Society of CPAs, TN Association of Public Accountants, Institute of Management Accountants, or other similar organizations approved by the Board)
• Universities or colleges recognized under Rule 0020-2-.01
• Firms or entities offering organized in-firm or in-house educational programs for their employees and others without charge
• Governmental entities
• Self-study programs must be taken from a provider that is a member of the Quality Assurance Service (QAS)
Independent study is accepted. See the new NASBA/AICPA CPE Standards for requirements.
Providers offering 16 or more credits must register with NASBA’s National Registry. Providers offering fewer than 16 credits may register with NASBA’s Roster program.
Home State Exemption
• A non-resident licensee seeking renewal of a license can meet the CPE requirement for Tennessee by meeting the CPE requirements for renewal of a license in the state in which the licensee’s principal office is located. Compliance is demonstrated by signing a statement certifying that the principal jurisdiction’s CPE requirements for renewal are met on the renewal application for Tennessee.
• If the state in which a non-resident licensee’s principal office is located has no CPE requirements for renewal of a license, the non-resident licensee must comply with all the CPE requirements for renewal in Tennessee.
• If the licensee’s principal jurisdiction does not have an ethics requirement, then the ethics requirement for Tennessee must be met.