Does Indiana require A&A CPE for CPAs?

Yes. Indiana requires a minimum of 12 hours of Accounting and Auditing (A&A) CPE per triennial period, representing 10% of the 120-hour total. A&A hours must be from NASBA-approved providers covering topics such as financial reporting, auditing standards, review and compilation standards, attestation, and related accounting topics. CPAs who do not perform attest services still need to meet the 12-hour A&A minimum unless an exemption applies — check with the Indiana Professional Licensing Agency for current exemption rules.

Does Indiana require ethics CPE for CPAs?

Yes. Indiana requires 4 hours of professional ethics CPE per triennial period, included within the 120-hour total. Indiana requires that ethics CPE include content on Indiana-specific statutes and rules governing the practice of public accountancy. A course covering only general ethics (AICPA Code of Professional Conduct, for example) without Indiana-specific content may not fully satisfy the requirement. Verify with the Indiana State Board of Accountancy that your chosen course meets Indiana's specific content requirements.

Can Indiana CPAs carry over excess CPE hours to the next triennial period?

No. Indiana does not have a CPE carryover provision. Hours completed beyond the 120-hour triennial requirement cannot be applied to the next triennial period. Each triennial period starts at zero. This contrasts with states like Maryland (80-hour carryover cap) and New York (no triennial limit). In Indiana, earning extra hours in one period provides no credit for the next — plan your CPE to meet but not drastically exceed requirements if efficiency is a concern.

How does Indiana compare to Ohio, Illinois, and Virginia for CPA CPE requirements?

Indiana (120hrs triennial, Dec 31, 20hr/yr annual min, 12hr A&A, 4hr ethics, 50% self-study cap, no carryover) is more restrictive than many neighbors. Ohio requires 120 hours per triennial period by December 31 with no annual minimum and a stricter self-study provision. Illinois requires 120 hours per triennial period, but with different subject matter requirements and a September 30 deadline. Virginia requires 120 hours per triennial period by December 31, with no self-study cap and no annual minimum. Indiana's 20-hr annual minimum and 50% self-study cap make it one of the more demanding CPE states.

What happens if an Indiana CPA misses the December 31, 2026 CPE deadline?

Failure to complete 120 CPE hours (including annual minimums, A&A, and ethics) by December 31, 2026 may result in disciplinary action by the Indiana Professional Licensing Agency, including license suspension, civil fines, or other sanctions. Indiana does not offer an automatic grace period. If you cannot meet the deadline, contact the Indiana State Board of Accountancy proactively before December 31 — voluntary disclosure is treated more favorably than non-disclosure discovered in an audit. Renewing your license without completing required CPE constitutes a separate compliance violation.

How do I renew my Indiana CPA license?

Complete 120 CPE hours in the current triennial period (Jan 1, 2024 – Dec 31, 2026), including 20+ hours per calendar year, 12 hours A&A, and 4 hours ethics. No more than 60 hours from self-study. Retain CPE certificates for 36 months. Renew your Indiana CPA license through the Indiana Professional Licensing Agency online portal (pla.in.gov). Pay the renewal fee before the license expiration date. If selected for a CPE audit, submit documentation through the NASBA CPE Audit Service.

Indiana CPA CPE Requirements — December 31 Deadline

Q: How many CPE hours do Indiana CPAs need?

Indiana CPAs must complete 120 hours of continuing professional education (CPE) per triennial (3-year) period. The current period for CPAs on the Jan 1, 2024 – Dec 31, 2026 cycle requires all 120 hours completed by December 31, 2026. Within those 120 hours: at least 12 hours must be in Accounting and Auditing (A&A), at least 4 hours must be in professional ethics, and at least 20 hours must be completed each calendar year (the annual minimum cannot be made up if missed). No more than 50% (60 hours) may come from self-study. There is no carryover provision.

Q: What is the CPE deadline for Indiana CPAs in 2026?

Indiana CPAs on the triennial cycle with a period of January 1, 2024 through December 31, 2026 must complete all 120 CPE hours by December 31, 2026. Indiana also requires a minimum of 20 CPE hours per calendar year — meaning you must have at least 20 hours completed by December 31 of each year in the period (2024, 2025, 2026). CPAs who missed the 20-hour minimum in 2024 or 2025 cannot make those hours up; they must still complete 20 hours in each remaining year and still meet the 120-hour total.

Q: What is Indiana's annual CPE minimum and can it be made up?

Indiana requires a minimum of 20 CPE hours per calendar year. This 20-hour annual minimum cannot be waived, rolled over, or made up in a future year. If you only completed 15 hours in 2024, you cannot add an extra 5 hours in 2025 to compensate — you have already fallen short of the 2024 annual minimum. You must still complete at least 20 hours in 2025 AND 2026, on top of meeting the 120-hour triennial total. This rule makes Indiana's CPE requirement stricter than it first appears: procrastinating through 2024 creates a permanent compliance gap.

Q: What is Indiana's self-study CPE limit?

Indiana caps self-study CPE at 50% of the triennial total — a maximum of 60 hours out of 120 may be earned through self-study from NASBA-approved providers. The remaining 60+ hours must come from interactive learning: live seminars, webinars (real-time with instructor interaction), group courses, or university-level courses. This cap is stricter than states like Maryland or Virginia, which have no self-study limit. Plan your CPE mix early: if you rely heavily on self-paced online courses, you will hit the 60-hour cap well before reaching 120 hours.

Q: What CPE records do Indiana CPAs need to keep?

Indiana CPAs must retain CPE certificates of completion (not just transcripts) for 36 months from the end of the triennial reporting period. For the current period ending December 31, 2026, retain records until at least December 31, 2029. Required documentation for each course: course title, provider/sponsor name, field of study, number of CPE hours, completion date, and the certificate of completion. The Indiana State Board of Accountancy may request certificates during an audit — transcripts alone are not sufficient proof under Indiana rules.

Core CPE Requirements

The Indiana State Board of Accountancy (under the Indiana Professional Licensing Agency) requires all active CPA licensees to complete 120 hours of continuing professional education (CPE) per triennial (3-year) period. For CPAs on the current cycle, the period runs January 1, 2024 through December 31, 2026.

      2024–2026 triennial period at a glance:
      120 hours total — across the 3-year period (Jan 1, 2024 – Dec 31, 2026)
20 hours per calendar year minimum — mandatory in 2024, 2025, and 2026; cannot be made up if missed
12 hours Accounting & Auditing (A&A) — within the 120-hour total
4 hours professional ethics — must include Indiana-specific content
50% self-study cap — maximum 60 hours from self-study providers
No carryover — excess hours cannot apply to the next triennial period
Certificate retention: 36 months — certificates of completion required (not just transcripts)

    

Indiana's 20-hour annual minimum is the most unusual and consequential rule in the state's CPE framework. Unlike states where you can back-load hours, Indiana requires consistent engagement: you must complete at least 20 hours in every year of the triennial. Falling short in one year creates a permanent compliance gap that additional hours in later years cannot fix.

The 20-Hour Annual Minimum — Indiana's Most Critical Rule

Indiana's 20-hour-per-year minimum is the single most important rule for Indiana CPAs to understand. It operates independently of the 120-hour triennial total.

The rule that trips people up: The 20-hour annual minimum cannot be waived, carried forward, or compensated by extra hours in another year. If you completed 15 hours in 2024, you cannot add 5 extra hours in 2025 to make up the difference. You have already fallen short — and you must still complete at least 20 hours in 2025 AND 2026 as well. This is a hard per-year floor, not a triennial average.

2024: Must have at least 20 CPE hours completed by December 31, 2024
2025: Must have at least 20 CPE hours completed by December 31, 2025 (separate from 2024 minimum)
2026: Must have at least 20 CPE hours completed by December 31, 2026 (separate from prior years)
Total: Must also hit 120 hours across the full triennial period by December 31, 2026

Practical implication for 2026: If you are in 2026 and you did not complete 20 hours in 2024 or 2025, you cannot fix those years. Focus on completing at least 20 hours in 2026 AND reaching 120 total hours by December 31. The annual minimums for prior years remain violations — but completing the full triennial total correctly in the current year reduces your overall risk profile.

Most Indiana CPAs should plan for 40 hours per year to have a comfortable buffer above the 20-hour minimum while reaching the 120-hour triennial total.

The December 31, 2026 Triennial Deadline

Indiana's triennial CPE cycle ends December 31, 2026 for CPAs in the January 1, 2024 – December 31, 2026 cohort. All 120 hours (including A&A, ethics, annual minimums) must be completed — certificates dated — by December 31, 2026.

December 31, 2026: Deadline for all 120 CPE hours, all annual minimums, all subject-area requirements
License renewal: Renew through the Indiana Professional Licensing Agency (pla.in.gov) before your license expiration date. Confirm CPE is complete before submitting renewal
CPE audits: If selected, submit documentation through NASBA CPE Audit Service with certificates of completion

December crunch risk: Indiana CPAs who procrastinate face a double problem in December 2026 — completing enough hours to hit 120 total, while also completing at least 20 in the 2026 calendar year alone. Schedule CPE early in each calendar year to avoid a December rush. Most NASBA-approved providers cap daily CPE credit at 8 hours; earning 20+ hours from scratch requires multiple days of dedicated learning.

Accounting & Auditing (A&A) Requirement

Indiana requires 12 hours of Accounting and Auditing CPE per triennial period — representing 10% of the 120-hour total.

A&A hours must cover topics such as financial reporting, GAAS (auditing standards), review and compilation standards, attestation engagements, internal controls, or related accounting topics
Courses must be from NASBA-approved sponsors
The 12-hour A&A minimum applies regardless of whether you perform attest services — unless a specific exemption is in effect (verify with the Indiana State Board)
A&A hours count toward your 120-hour total; they do not require additional hours beyond 120

      Planning tip: Take a 4-hour A&A course per year across the triennial period (4+4+4 = 12 hours). This keeps you compliant, avoids front-loading or back-loading a specific subject area, and also contributes to your annual 20-hour minimum each year.
    

Ethics CPE Requirement

Indiana requires 4 hours of professional ethics CPE per triennial period, included within the 120-hour total.

Ethics CPE must include Indiana-specific content — Indiana statutes and rules governing the practice of public accountancy
A general AICPA Code of Professional Conduct course without Indiana-specific content may not fully satisfy the requirement
Verify Indiana ethics content with the course provider before enrolling
Ethics hours are included within the 120-hour total — you do not need extra hours for ethics on top of 120

      Compared to neighboring states: Indiana's ethics requirement (4 hrs/triennial with Indiana-specific content) is similar to Virginia (4 hrs/triennial, general), Ohio (3 hrs/triennial, Ohio-specific), and Missouri (2 hrs/triennial). The Indiana-specific content requirement is stricter than states that accept any NASBA-approved ethics course.
    

Self-Study Cap — Maximum 50% (60 Hours)

Indiana limits self-study CPE to 50% of the triennial total — a maximum of 60 out of 120 hours. The remaining 60+ hours must come from interactive or group-based formats.

Counts as self-study: Self-paced online courses, correspondence courses, and pre-recorded video courses from NASBA-approved providers (with post-test)
Does NOT count as self-study: Live in-person seminars, live real-time webinars with instructor interaction, group study programs, university courses
If you rely heavily on self-paced online courses, monitor your self-study total carefully — hitting 60 hours before reaching 120 total means all remaining CPE must be live or interactive
Real-time webinars with Q&A capability typically count as group/interactive, not self-study — confirm with the provider how they classify the delivery format

Self-study strategy for Indiana: Do not complete more than 20 self-study hours per calendar year. This keeps you below the 60-hour triennial cap while meeting your annual 20-hour minimum entirely through live/interactive formats if you prefer. Alternatively, split each year into roughly 10 self-study hours + 10 interactive hours.

No Carryover Provision

Indiana does not allow CPE hours from one triennial period to carry forward to the next. Each triennial period starts at zero.

Hours completed in excess of 120 in the 2024–2026 period provide no credit for the 2027–2029 period
Plan CPE to meet requirements without drastically exceeding the 120-hour total if your schedule permits
This contrasts with Maryland (80-hour carryover cap) and Washington state (50% carryover allowance)

CPE Records — Certificates Required, Not Just Transcripts

Indiana has a specific and important record-keeping requirement: CPAs must retain certificates of completion — not just provider transcripts or automated emails — for 36 months from the end of the triennial reporting period.

For the current period ending December 31, 2026, retain certificates until at least December 31, 2029
Required information on each certificate: course title, provider/sponsor name, field of study, CPE hours earned, date of completion
A provider transcript summarizing your courses is not sufficient — Indiana requires individual course certificates
Digital copies (scanned PDFs, JPGs) are acceptable for storage; organize by year and provider for easy retrieval

Audit risk: Indiana CPE audits require certificate-level documentation. If you have courses where you received only a transcript or automated completion email — not a downloadable certificate — contact the provider now to request proper certificates. Some providers generate certificates on demand through their learning management system. Do not wait until you receive an audit notice.

NASBA CPE Audit Service

Indiana requires use of the NASBA CPE Audit Service for CPAs selected for a CPE audit by the Indiana State Board of Accountancy.

Create or access your account at nasba.org
Log each CPE course: provider name, course title, field of study, hours, completion date
Upload your certificate of completion for each course
If selected for audit, the Board will direct you to submit through this platform — not via paper or email attachments

Proactively maintaining your NASBA CPE Audit Service records throughout the triennial period is strongly recommended. Setting up records in advance means an audit notice requires only review, not reconstruction of two or three years of CPE history.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many CPE hours do Indiana CPAs need?

120 hours per triennial period (Jan 1, 2024 – Dec 31, 2026 for the current cycle). Minimum 20 hours per calendar year (cannot be made up). At least 12 hours A&A, 4 hours ethics (Indiana-specific content). Max 60 hours self-study. No carryover.

What is the CPE deadline for Indiana CPAs in 2026?

December 31, 2026 — the end of the current triennial period for CPAs on the Jan 1, 2024 – Dec 31, 2026 cycle. All 120 hours (including annual minimums, A&A, and ethics) must be completed by that date.

What is Indiana's annual CPE minimum and can it be made up?

Indiana requires 20 CPE hours per calendar year — and this minimum cannot be made up if missed. If you fell short in 2024 or 2025, those years remain non-compliant. You still must complete at least 20 hours in each remaining year of the triennial period.

Does Indiana require A&A CPE?

Yes — 12 hours of Accounting and Auditing CPE per triennial period (10% of 120 hours). Covers financial reporting, auditing standards, attestation, review and compilation. Required for all active CPAs unless a specific exemption applies.

Does Indiana require ethics CPE?

Yes — 4 hours per triennial period with Indiana-specific content on Indiana statutes and rules governing public accountancy. General ethics courses without Indiana content may not qualify. Verify with your course provider before enrolling.

What is Indiana's self-study CPE limit?

Maximum 50% — up to 60 of 120 hours may be from self-study providers. The remaining 60+ hours must come from live seminars, real-time webinars, or other interactive formats. Monitor your self-study total carefully if you rely on self-paced online courses.

Can Indiana CPAs carry over excess CPE hours?

No. Indiana has no carryover provision. Hours beyond 120 in one triennial period cannot be applied to the next. Each period starts at zero.

What CPE records do Indiana CPAs need to keep?

Certificates of completion (not just transcripts) for each CPE course, retained for 36 months from the end of the triennial period (until December 31, 2029 for the 2024–2026 period). Each certificate must show provider name, course title, field of study, hours, and completion date.

What CPE providers does Indiana accept?

NASBA National Registry of CPE Sponsors, AICPA, Indiana CPA Society (INCPAS), and other state CPA societies meeting NASBA standards. Self-study requires a final exam. College/university courses at accredited institutions may qualify.

Does Indiana use the NASBA CPE Audit Service?

Yes. CPAs selected for a CPE audit must submit documentation through the NASBA CPE Audit Service at nasba.org. Set up your account proactively and log courses as you complete them so records are audit-ready at any time.

What happens if an Indiana CPA misses the CPE deadline?

Failure to complete CPE requirements by December 31, 2026 may result in license suspension, civil penalties, or other sanctions from the Indiana Professional Licensing Agency. No automatic grace period. Contact the Board proactively if you anticipate a shortfall before the deadline.

How does Indiana compare to Ohio and Virginia for CPE requirements?

Indiana (120hrs triennial, 20hr/yr annual min, 12hr A&A, 4hr ethics with IN content, 50% self-study cap, no carryover) is more restrictive than Ohio (120hrs triennial, no annual min, Dec 31) and Virginia (120hrs triennial, no annual min, no self-study cap, Dec 31). Indiana's annual minimum is the key differentiator.

Indiana vs. Neighboring States — CPE Comparison

State	Total Hours	Cycle	Deadline	Annual Min	A&A Req	Ethics	Self-Study Cap
Indiana	120 hrs/3 yrs	Triennial	Dec 31, 2026	20 hrs/yr (no makeup)	12 hrs/3 yrs	4 hrs, IN-specific	50% (60 hrs)
Ohio	120 hrs/3 yrs	Triennial	Dec 31	None	None specified	3 hrs, OH-specific	None
Virginia	120 hrs/3 yrs	Triennial	Dec 31	None	None	4 hrs/3 yrs	None
Missouri	120 hrs/3 yrs	Triennial	Dec 31	None	None	2 hrs/3 yrs	None
Maryland	80 hrs/2 yrs	Biennial	Dec 31 (even yrs)	None	None	4 hrs/period	None
New York	40 hrs/yr	Annual	Dec 31	40 hrs/yr	None	4 hrs/yr	None

Source: State Board of Accountancy rules (2026). Verify current requirements at your state board website.

Multi-State CPAs: Indiana + Another State

Indiana CPAs practicing in Ohio, Virginia, or other December 31 states often hold dual licenses. Key considerations:

IN + OH: Both have December 31 triennial CPE deadlines and require 120 hours. Ohio has no annual minimum; Indiana's 20-hr/year minimum means you must pace CPE consistently regardless of Ohio's flexibility. Ohio has no self-study cap; Indiana caps at 50%. In a dual-licensed scenario, plan to Ohio's flexibility but track Indiana's stricter rules separately.
IN + VA: Both require 120 hours per triennial by December 31. Virginia has no self-study cap and no annual minimum — more flexible than Indiana. Plan CPE to meet Indiana's stricter rules and Virginia compliance follows. Verify A&A and ethics hours meet both states' specific requirements.
IN + MO: Both require 120 hours per triennial with December 31 deadlines. Missouri has no annual minimum or self-study cap. Indiana's rules are the binding constraint. Missouri's 2-hr ethics requirement is lighter than Indiana's 4 hrs with Indiana-specific content.
Substantial equivalency: Indiana is NASBA substantial-equivalency compliant. CPAs whose principal business is in another substantial-equivalency state may qualify for Indiana's non-resident practice privilege — but still need to satisfy their home state's CPE and Indiana's ethics standards.

Indiana CPA CPE Requirements — December 31, 2026