Washington

License Renewal Deadline:

4/30 triennially

CPE Reporting Period:

1/1 to 12/31 triennially

Total CPE Hours Required:

120 hours

Minimum CE Hours per year:

20 hours

Ethics Requirements:

Ethics and Regulations Requirement: Four (4) hours in board-approved ethics and regulations CPE are required. Ethics courses that are not board-approved may be counted toward the technical and total hour requirement. Click here for a list of approved courses.

Credit Limitations:

• Nano Learning:

  Credit for nano learning is limited to 12 hours.

• Non-Technical CPE:

  Credit is limited to 60 CPE hours per 3-year period. Non-technical subjects include:

  • Communication skills
  • Interpersonal management skills
  • Leadership and personal development skills
  • Client and public relations
  • Practice development
  • Motivational and behavioral courses
  • Speed reading and memory building
• Other CPE Limits:

  Credit is limited to 60 hours combined for the following types of programs. CPE credit earned from these programs cannot apply towards the 20-hour yearly minimum:

  • Service on the Washington State Board of Accountancy or the Board’s committees, or volunteer service on one of the Board-approved peer review committees
  • First-time instructor/developer of a college or university course
  • First-time instructor/developer of a CPE course
  • Authorship of published articles, books, and other publications relevant to maintaining or improving professional competence
• Fields of Study:

  This jurisdiction has rules placing limitations on certain subject areas or requiring a certain number of credits within a specific 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 State Policies:

CPE Reciprocity: A non-resident licensee may meet Washington’s CPE requirements by meeting the CPE requirements of the licensee’s principal place of business. If the principal place of business has no CPE requirements, then the licensee must meet Washington’s CPE requirements.

Washington accepts CPE credits for programs offered by National Registry sponsors.