California CPA CPE calculator and license renewal planner, 2026.
A California CPA license expires every two years on the last day of the licensee’s birth month, and an active renewal needs 80 hours of continuing education that satisfy eight separate subject rules. Enter your birth month and year, the attest work you did in the period, and the hours already completed by year and subject. The sheet returns the expiration date, the window, what is still owed under each rule, the pace to finish, and the fee.
Rules are the California Board of Accountancy’s, read October 2026 and listed at the bottom. Prorated first renewals after initial licensure are handled; status conversions and extensions are not.
| Subject | Year 1 | Year 2 |
|---|---|---|
| General technical Tax, accounting, auditing, consulting, financial planning, business law, IT and other technical subjects | ||
| Ethics Four-hour rule; not the regulatory review course | ||
| Regulatory review Board-approved course, two hours | ||
| Accounting and auditing | ||
| Preparation engagement subject matter | ||
| Fraud Prevention, detection or reporting of fraud affecting financial statements | ||
| Non-technical Practice management, communications, business software, personal development, HR; capped at 40 |
0 hours
Rule by rule
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A written valuation of your practice follows within 24 hours of the call.
The date
The Board sets the expiration from two facts: the month is your birth month, the license expires at midnight on its last day, and the year follows the parity of your birth year. A licensee born in March 1970 has a license that expires March 31, 2026, then March 31, 2028. The two-year CE window ends on that date; the yearly 20-hour minimum is measured on each twelve months of it separately. Renewal opens in CBA Connect 90 days before expiration.
The hours
Eighty hours in the window, none carried over. At least 40 technical. At least 20 in each year, 12 of them technical. Four hours of ethics. A two-hour Board-approved regulatory review course every six years. If you signed or substantially worked on attest reports: 24 hours of accounting and auditing plus four of fraud, or 24 of government auditing plus four of fraud; preparation engagements as the highest service take eight hours plus four of fraud. The specific-subject hours sit inside the 80 and inside the 40 technical. Non-technical hours count only up to 40.
The fee and the records
Under SB 816 the renewal fee is $400 for a CPA license expiring after June 30, 2026 ($340 before), and from July 1, 2026 CBA Connect adds a 2.3% card fee. If payment is not received within 30 days of expiration, a $200 delinquency fee attaches ($170 for earlier expirations). Since January 2026 you certify completion rather than listing courses, and the Board audits a sample, so keep certificates for four years.
Rules
- California Board of Accountancy, Continuing Education Quick Reference Guide (updated July 29, 2026): the 80 hours, the 20 and 12 per year with the Board’s January 31, 2027 example, ethics, regulatory review, the A&A, government and preparation-engagement rules with fraud, the 40 technical minimum, no carryover, the January 2026 certification change and the four-year record rule, the first-renewal proration with the Board’s January 24, 2026 example. Read October 27, 2026.
- CBA, Accounting and Auditing, Government Auditing, plus Fraud CE: who is subject, the 24 and 4 hours, 28 technical hours inside the 80.
- CBA, An Overview of the Renewal Process: birth-month expiration, subject definitions, extensions, firm renewals.
- CBA, CPA License Renewal Information and the Board’s fee restructuring under SB 816 (Chapter 723, Statutes of 2023): $340 and $400 renewal, $170 and $200 delinquency by expiration date, 2.3% card fee on payments from July 1, 2026.
- CBA, Regulatory Review course list; 16 CCR 87 (basic requirements), 87.8 (regulatory review), 88 and 88.2 (qualifying programs and measurement), 89 (records).
Simplifications
- The next expiration is computed from today’s date and the birth month and year. Confirm the date in the Board’s license lookup; it governs.
- The fee shown assumes payment at the expiration date. A first renewal, a status conversion from inactive or retired, a delinquent renewal and an extension follow other hour counts that this sheet does not apply, except the first-renewal proration.
- A missed yearly minimum in a year that has already ended cannot be cured by later hours; the sheet flags it and suggests contacting the Board’s Renewal Unit.
- Hours are counted as entered. Whether a course qualifies, and in which subject, is for the certificate and 16 CCR 88 to decide.
- This is a planning aid, not a determination by the Board.
Planning a sale in the next three years?
One confidential call with our CPA team covers what your practice would sell for, how a deal with us is paid, and the license status you keep through the transition. You can also write to [email protected].
A written valuation of your practice follows within 24 hours of the call.