Florida CPA License Renewal: CPE Hours, Deadlines, and Fees

To renew a Florida CPA license, you must complete 80 hours of continuing professional education by June 30 of each odd-numbered year, report those hours to the Department of Business and Professional Regulation by July 31, and submit your renewal application with the $105 fee between October 1 and December 31. Miss December 31 and your license goes delinquent on January 1. The Florida CPA license renewal requirements pivot on those three dates, and the CPE piece is where most people slip.

The Three Deadlines

Renewal runs on a biennial cycle ending December 31 of each odd-numbered year. Three deadlines fall months apart, and each one does different work:

June 30: All 80 CPE hours must be earned. The re-establishment period runs July 1 of the first year through June 30 of the second.
July 31: Those hours must be reported through the DBPR’s online CPE Reporting Tool.
October 1 through December 31: The renewal window. You submit your application and pay the fee through DBPR Online Services. The DBPR emails renewal notices during this stretch.¹

The June 30 date is the one people miscalculate. You cannot stack 80 hours of coursework into October, November, and December. The credits have to be earned six full months before the license expires.²

What the 80 CPE Hours Must Include

The Board of Accountancy requires 80 hours per two-year period. Statute lets the board set the number anywhere between 48 and 80, and the board has consistently held it at the ceiling.³ Within those 80 hours:

At least 8 hours in accounting and auditing, on subjects distinct from taxation and management services.
At least 4 hours of Florida-specific ethics from a board-approved provider. The course must cover Chapter 455 and Chapter 473 of the Florida Statutes and related administrative rules.
No more than 20 hours in behavioral subjects such as communication and practice management.

The remaining hours can go to any approved subject, including taxation, technology, and advisory services.²

The 4-hour ethics course trips up more renewals than any other requirement. A generic AICPA ethics course does not count. The course has to come from a Florida board-approved provider and has to address Florida’s own practice act.³

If you audit under Government Auditing Standards or the Rules of the Auditor General, you have an additional layer: 24 hours of governmental CPE within the same re-establishment period, plus compliance with the CPE standards Government Auditing Standards themselves impose. Those 24 hours count toward the 80-hour total, but they have to be in subjects directly related to governmental auditing.⁴

Reporting CPE and Submitting the Renewal

Both steps happen through DBPR Online Services. First, use the CPE Reporting Tool to enter each course and upload proof-of-completion documents. Each course entry needs at least one uploaded document, and you should get a confirmation email within an hour of submitting.⁵ Aim to finish reporting by July 31.⁶

Then, during the October 1 to December 31 renewal window, submit the renewal application itself. You electronically attest that you’ve met the CPE requirements, including the Florida ethics course. If the CPE Reporting Tool shows incomplete hours, the system won’t let you finish renewal.¹

The Fee

The biennial renewal fee for an active individual license is $100, plus a $5 unlicensed activity surcharge, for a total of $105. Inactive renewals pay the same amount. Payment goes through DBPR Online Services when you submit the application.⁷

If You Miss December 31

Your license goes delinquent automatically on January 1. A delinquent license does not authorize you to practice.¹ What it costs to get back depends on how quickly you act.

Before March 15

If your CPE was actually completed by June 30 and reported by July 31, and you simply didn’t submit the renewal or pay the fee, you have until March 15 of the delinquency year to reactivate for the $105 renewal fee plus a $25 delinquency fee. No additional CPE. This grace period only works if your hours were fully reported before the license went delinquent.⁸

After March 15

The requirements jump. You have to complete 120 CPE hours with this breakdown:⁸

At least 30 hours in accounting and auditing
At least 8 hours of board-approved Florida ethics
No more than 30 hours in behavioral subjects
120 hours total

You’ll also pay a $250 non-refundable application fee, the current renewal fee, and the $25 statutory delinquency fee.⁹ Compared to $105 and no extra hours for on-time renewal, the delta is roughly $380 and 120 hours of coursework.

Null and Void

A license that stays delinquent through an entire additional licensure cycle, roughly two years, automatically becomes null and void without any further action by the board. You no longer hold a Florida CPA license at all. Reinstatement is possible only if you made a good-faith effort to comply but failed due to illness or unusual hardship, and even then approval is discretionary.⁹

Nonresident CPAs

If you hold a Florida CPA license but your office is in another state, Florida gives you partial CPE reciprocity: you’re considered to have met the general CPE requirement as long as you’ve satisfied the rules of the state where your office is located. The Florida ethics course is the exception. You still need those 4 hours of board-approved Florida ethics no matter where you’re based. If the state where your office sits has no CPE requirement at all, you owe Florida’s full 80 hours.¹⁰

Military Service

Active-duty members of the U.S. Armed Forces who held a valid Florida CPA license when they entered service are kept in good standing automatically. No renewal, no fees, no CPE for the duration of active duty and for two years after discharge. If you’re on active duty but also practicing as a CPA in the private sector in Florida, you still complete all renewal requirements, but the renewal fee is waived. Spouses absent from Florida because of a service member’s duties are also exempt during that absence.¹¹

Firm Licenses Renew Separately

If you practice through a firm, individual renewal is only half the picture. Every CPA firm practicing public accounting in Florida holds a separate firm license, and firm licenses expire on the same December 31 odd-year cycle.¹² Renewal fees depend on structure:

Corporations and partnerships: $145 on time; $170 delinquent.
Sole proprietor firms: $45 on time; $70 delinquent.

Firms cannot renew as inactive. They renew active or let the license lapse. Firms must also notify the DBPR within 30 days of any change to name, address, or ownership, including the departure or death of a partner, shareholder, or member.¹²

1
MyFloridaLicense.com. Certified Public Accounting – Renewing and Maintaining Your License
2
MyFloridaLicense.com. CPE Guidelines
3
Online Sunshine. Florida Code 473.312 – Continuing Education
4
Legal Information Institute. Florida Administrative Code R. 61H1-33.0035 – Government Auditing Standards
5
Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation. File Upload Information and Instructions
6
MyFloridaLicense.com. CPE Reporting
7
Legal Information Institute. Florida Administrative Code R. 61H1-31.003 – Renewal of Active and Inactive License Fee for CPA
8
Florida Administrative Rules. Florida Administrative Code R. 61H1-33.006 – Inactive or Delinquent Florida Certified Public Accountants
9
Online Sunshine. Florida Code 455.271 – Renewal and Cancellation of Licenses
10
Online Sunshine. Florida Code 473.311 – Renewal of License
11
Florida Senate. Florida Code 455.02 – Licensure of Members of the Armed Forces and Their Spouses
12
MyFloridaLicense.com. Certified Public Accounting