CPE requirements for CPAs

Mississippi CPA CPE Requirements

Q: Are there other Mississippi CPE limits?

• Independent study: This type of CPE is not accepted for credit. • Personal Development: No more than 20 hours CPE credit for personal development courses or classes may be claimed in a CPE compliance year. • Published Materials: Authorship is based on submission of the published document and a request for the number of credits. • Self Study: Courses must be approved by the NASBA QAS program.

Q: What other Mississippi CPE policies apply?

• Carryover: If more than 40 CPE credit hours are accumulated in a one year (1-year) compliance period, the excess hours up to a maximum 20 CPE credit hours may be carried over and applied to the CPE requirement for the immediately following one year (1-year) compliance period. No personal development hours earned in excess of 20 in a compliance year may be carried forward to future years. • Reporting: To receive a CPA license and to annually renew a CPA license, an individual must complete and report CPE credit hours on the Board prescribed reporting form by August 1, even if the number reported is zero. • The licensee’s primary employment is not in Mississippi but is in a State whose CPE requirements are substantially equivalent to Mississippi’s requirements as determined by the Board. • The individual is a licensee in that State of primary employment and reports those CPE credit hours as required, with a sworn statement to the Board that the CPE requirements for that jurisdiction have been met. • The licensee must comply with the Mississippi ethics CPE requirement unless his State of primary employment has an ethics CPE requirement and he complies with that requirement.

Checked against the NASBA Registry and the Mississippi State Board of Public Accountancy. Published on September 4, 2026 · Last checked September 5, 2026

The short answer

Mississippi CPAs must complete 40 hours every year. The requirement includes 4 hours of ethics every three years, and the course must be Mississippi-specific. All 40 hours may be earned through self-study. The reporting period ends on June 30, every year.

Total hours: 40; every year
Annual minimum: 40 hrs
Ethics: 4 hrs; every three years · Mississippi-specific
Self-study: No limit
Period ends: June 30; every year
Carryover: 20 hrs

How many CPE hours do Mississippi CPAs need?

Mississippi CPAs must complete 40 hours every year.

Reporting period: 7/1 to 6/30 annually.

NASBA Registry wording: 40 hours.

What is the Mississippi ethics CPE requirement?

Mississippi requires 4 hours of ethics every three years. Part of the requirement must cover Mississippi-specific rules, and the course must be approved by the Mississippi board.

NASBA Registry wording: Four (4) hours in Ethics, Professional Conduct and Public Accountancy Law and Regulations with at least one (1) ethics CPE hour of the four exclusively in Mississippi Public Accountancy Law and Regulations. • Providers offering ethics courses must register with the Board and/or have their content approved by the Board.

Does Mississippi limit self-study CPE?

Mississippi places no limit on self-study CPE, so all 40 hours may be earned through self-study courses.

When is Mississippi CPE due?

The reporting period ends on June 30, every year.

License renewal: January 1 annually.

Grace period: Report must be filed by August 1 even if zero hours.

Can Mississippi CPAs carry over extra CPE hours?

Up to 20 excess hours may carry over to the next reporting period.

Are there other Mississippi CPE limits?

Independent study: This type of CPE is not accepted for credit.
Personal Development: No more than 20 hours CPE credit for personal development courses or classes may be claimed in a CPE compliance year.
Published Materials: Authorship is based on submission of the published document and a request for the number of credits.
Self Study: Courses must be approved by the NASBA QAS program.

What other Mississippi CPE policies apply?

Carryover: If more than 40 CPE credit hours are accumulated in a one year (1-year) compliance period, the excess hours up to a maximum 20 CPE credit hours may be carried over and applied to the CPE requirement for the immediately following one year (1-year) compliance period. No personal development hours earned in excess of 20 in a compliance year may be carried forward to future years.
Reporting: To receive a CPA license and to annually renew a CPA license, an individual must complete and report CPE credit hours on the Board prescribed reporting form by August 1, even if the number reported is zero.
The licensee’s primary employment is not in Mississippi but is in a State whose CPE requirements are substantially equivalent to Mississippi’s requirements as determined by the Board.
The individual is a licensee in that State of primary employment and reports those CPE credit hours as required, with a sworn statement to the Board that the CPE requirements for that jurisdiction have been met.
The licensee must comply with the Mississippi ethics CPE requirement unless his State of primary employment has an ethics CPE requirement and he complies with that requirement.

Does Pacific CPE count toward Mississippi CPE?

Pacific CPE is a sponsor on the NASBA National Registry of CPE Sponsors (Sponsor #143718), delivering QAS self-study courses. Mississippi accepts self-study for all 40 hours, so the whole requirement can be met with Pacific CPE courses.

A general ethics course satisfies Mississippi's 4-hour ethics requirement. Pacific CPE's ethics courses include Frivolous Tax Arguments and Scams, Ethics and Integrity for Industry CPAs, Fraud Prevention and Management Misconduct. Mississippi also requires at least 1 hour of MS Law & Regulations each year.

See CPE for CPAs Browse the course library Credits never expire and apply to any course.

Sources

NASBA Registry: Mississippi CPE requirements · revised 6/1/2022
Mississippi State Board of Public Accountancy: CPE requirements · the board's own page
Mississippi State Board of Public Accountancy website

Every figure on this page was checked against the NASBA Registry summary for Mississippi (revised 6/1/2022) and the Mississippi State Board of Public Accountancy's own CPE page. Verified by Pacific CPE on September 4, 2026. The sources are re-checked automatically about every 30 days; the last check, on September 5, 2026, found no changes. Where the board's rule and the NASBA summary differ, the board's rule is shown. Rules change. If you find a difference, tell us and we will re-check the sources.

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