The Board of Accountancy is the state agency responsible for licensing and regulating certified public accountants and certified public accounting firms. The Board is funded solely through fees charged to obtain and renew a license to practice public accounting and to sit for the CPA exam.
Kentucky State Board of Accountancy
332 West Broadway Suite 310
Louisville KY 40202
(502) 595-3037 Fax: (502) 595-4500
cpa@ky.gov
Individual License Renewals
Under state law, any odd numbered license not renewed by September 1, 2023 automatically expires, and the holders of the expired license shall be prohibited from practicing public accounting or holding themselves out as certified public accountants. To reinstitute an expired license, an individual must complete the reinstatement requirements set forth on this site.
REINSTATEMENT REQUIREMENTS
Even numbered individual licenses and ALL FIRMS will renew in July of 2024. Continuing Professional Education ("CPE") hours must be completed in the two calendar years prior to the year a license is to be renewed. These two calendar years are referred to as the "reporting period." For those renewing their CPA licenses in 2024, this means all CPE hours must be completed beginning January 1, 2022 and ending December 31, 2023. The new regulations are in effect for the 2024 renewals so please review the 201 KAR 1:100 regulations as outlined on our website (cpa.ky.gov) to complete the total required CPE for your employment status.
For odd numbered licenses renewing in 2025, all CPE hours must be completed beginning January 1, 2023 and ending December 31, 2024.
Any CPA who fails to complete the CPE during their assigned reporting period will not be eligible to renew their license online. Instead the CPA will be required to complete the reinstatement process. Reinstatement applications must be received by September 1 to avoid license expiration.
If a firm fails to renew, they must contact the board office to reinstate the firm license.
CPA Evolution
New Model for Licensure, New CPA Exam Expected to Launch 2024
The CPA Evolution initiative is transforming the CPA licensure model to recognize the rapidly changing skills and competencies the practice of accounting requires today and will require in the future. It is a joint effort of the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA).
Chronological listing of important dates:
October 13, 2023 – Last day to submit initial BEC applications to the Board
November 8, 2023 – Last day to submit BEC re-exam initial applications to the Board
November 15, 2023 – Last day NASBA will process BEC ATTs and NTSs
December 1, 2023 – First day the Board will accept Applications for the new Discipline sections (BAR, ISC, and TCP), but candidates will not be able to sit for those sections until January 10, 2024.
December 15, 2023 – Deadline to complete the current four exam sections (AUD, BEC, FAR, and REG)
December 15, 2023 – Last testing date for BEC
December 16, 2023 to January 9, 2024 – Dark window to facilitate IT system conversion. No exams will be administered during this time.
January 10, 2024 – Core sections of AUD, FAR and REG may be taken through March 26, 2024
Kentucky Board of Accountancy's Extension of Certain CPA Examination Credits
1. Immediately Available Twelve-Month Extension of Existing Exam Credit -- that must be Requested -- Pending Formal Promulgation of Administrative Regulation Change
During its meeting on June 15, 2023, the Kentucky Board of Accountancy voted to adopt the NASBA Board of Directors' amendment to UAA Model 5-7, and subsequent implementation recommendation from NASBA's CBT Administration Committee, to increase, from 18 to 30 months, the time in which an exam candidate earning an initial exam credit must successfully complete remaining sections of the Uniform CPA Examination.
Exam candidates should note, however, that to become official and effective, this change must first proceed through the Legislative Research Commission's formal process to amend the Board's governing administrative regulation, which traditionally takes 7-10 months.
Prior to the amended rule becoming effective, the Board has granted its Executive Director the authority to extend exam candidates' credits, up to 12 months from the existing expiration dates, on a case-by-case basis. Please note that these extensions are not automatically effectuating and must be individually requested by emailing the Board office at cpa@ky.gov. We will advise once the regulation amendment becomes effective to permanently extend the expiration date of conditional exam credit from 18 to 30 months thereby dispensing with the requirement of case-by-case requests.
2. Onetime Automatic Extension of Credits Existing as of the Launch of the Revised Uniform CPA Exam on January 1, 2024
In addition, the Kentucky Board of Accountancy has also approved the following credit extension policy to aid in the transition to the new CPA Examination beginning January 1, 2024:
Any candidate with Uniform CPA Examination credit(s) on January 1, 2024 will have such credits(s) extended to June 30, 2025.
CPA Exam Transition FAQs
Below, are frequently asked questions to help you better prepare for the changes coming to 2024 CPA Exam through CPA Evolution. If you have additional questions that are not outlined below please reach out to us at cpa@ky.gov.
CPA Exam Transition FAQs
Reminder of January 1, 2021 Changes to CPE Requirements
Beginning January 1, 2021, 50% of the CPE hours required of all licensed CPAs must be comprised of “technical standards” courses.
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Technical standards courses include those with the subject matters of accounting, auditing, business law, economics, finance, information technology, management services, professional ethics, statistics, securities, tax, or specialized areas of industry that contribute directly to the professional competence of a licensee.
Beginning January 1, 2021, CPAs in public accounting firms who perform (a) attest services, as defined in KRS 325.220; or (b) compilation or preparation of financial statement engagements subject to SSARS, must complete 8 hours of CPE in the subject matter of accounting or auditing each year, for a total of 16 hours over the two-year reporting period.
Beginning January 1, 2021, CPAs required to complete 80 hours of CPE per every two-year reporting period may include up to 8 hours of personal development courses toward their requirement, and CPAs required to complete 60 hours of CPE may include up to 12 hours of personal development courses.
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An acceptable personal development course improves time management, leadership, team building, goal setting and similar soft skills related to working in an office or professional setting. Human resources courses also qualify under personal development hours.
CPAs who
renew their licenses in 2023 (with a reporting period of January 1, 2021 to December 31, 2022)
will be the first group required to comply with these new CPE provisions.
FAQS ON RECENT CHANGES TO KY CPE REQUIREMENTS
Reminder of Essential Elements of Required Course Completion Documents
It continues to be required that each CPA obtain, and retain for 5 years, the appropriate documentation to establish that he or she completed the continuing professional education requirements. Such course completion evidence shall consist of a document prepared by the course sponsor that includes
all of the following:
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Name of the licensee
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Course title
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Field of study (ex. tax, ethics, accounting)
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Dates attended
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Number of CPE hours awarded
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Signature of provider or sponsor
Out of State License Renewal Change
As of July 14, 2018, a firm that does not operate an office in this state, holds a license in good standing from the state where their main office is located, and if applicable complies with the peer review requirements [KRS 325.301(10)] of this state is not required to obtain a license to provide public accounting services to a KY based client.
See
KRS 325.301(11) for details.
Score Release Update
As of April 1, 2020 Kentucky exam candidate scores will be posted online at the NASBA portal. Candidates
should be able to log into the NASBA portal to receive their grade as well as print their score report.
Score Release: Exam sections taken July 1 – December 15, 2023| If the AICPA receives your exam data file by*: | Your target score release date is: |
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| July 23 | August 8 | | August 15 | August 23 | | September 7 | September 15 | | September 30 | October 10 | | October 19 | November 3 | | October 31 | November 8 | | November 26 | December 5 | | December 15 | December 27
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revisions to the CPE and Exam Regulations
Please note the revisions to the regulations that govern
CPE (201 KAR 1:100) and the
CPA Exam (201 KAR 1:190).
CPA Exam News
To reprint your payment coupon or NTS, click on the following link to your NASBA CPA Candidate account (NASBA SSO):
NASBA CPA Candidate Account.