License Renewal Reminder From the Tennessee State Board of Accountancy
A license to practice public accountancy in the State of Tennessee is issued for a two-year period. In order to facilitate the processing of renewals, odd-numbered licenses are renewed in odd-numbered years and even-numbered licenses are renewed in even-numbered years.
Each year, the Board sends a renewal notice as a reminder to licensees to renew their license. Renewal is easy - just follow the instructions to complete your renewal online. Utilization of the online process results in faster processing time, and allows one to print a copy of the new license. The fee for renewal is $110. Inactive licensees aged 65 or older are not required to pay a fee during renewal; however, they still must complete the renewal questions as required by statute.
Active CPAs must meet a Continuing Professional Education (CPE) requirement for renewal. CPAs with Inactive or Retired license status have no CPE requirement at renewal.
Carryover Rule
Having completed a renewal reporting period in which you earned more than the required hours, you may apply a portion of the overage to the next renewal. CPE carried forward will help fulfill the requirement for 80 overall hours only and does not help meet the requirement for yearly minimums, technical CPE or other benchmarks.
Two-year reporting period: If you have exceeded the requirement of 80 hours in a regular two-year reporting period, you may apply up to 24 hours to the subsequent reporting period.
First renewal: If you have exceeded the requirement of 40 hours in a shortened reporting period for new licensees, you may apply up to 12 hours to the subsequent reporting period.
Please note that you must have actually earned more than the required hours in a given reporting period in order to consider the excess hours for carryover. Do not count previously carried hours in this assessment.
Last-Minute CPE
If you are in a reporting year for your license and are still in need of CPE credits, visit TSCPA's On Demand Catalog for a wide variety of subject matter to meet your last-minute CPE needs.
| Minimum Requirements | Penalty if Not Met |
| 80 hours in the two-year period | 8 |
| 20 hours in 2020 | 8 |
| 20 hours in 2021 | 8 |
| 2 hours of Board-approved State Specific Ethics | 8 |
| 40 credits in technical subjects | 8 |
| CPA Licenses Expiring Dec. 31, 2021 | |
| License issued in | CPE requirement |
| 2021 | None |
| 2020 | 40 hours (to include 20 technical) **no state ethics required |
| 2019 or earlier | 80 hours (must include 40 hours of technical subjects, 2 hours of state ethics, at least 20 hours in each reporting year) |