State license renewal and CE requirements

Certified Public Accountant license renewal and CE requirements in Montana

What the cited board page stated for Certified Public Accountant in Montana. Rules and fees change: confirm every figure with the licensing board.

Renewal cycle: 12 months. Continuing education: 120 hours every 36 months. These are two separate facts: the licence is renewed on the cycle, and the CE hours cover the period stated next to them.

ProfessionCertified Public Accountant
StateMontana
State licence requiredYes
Licensing boardMontana Board of Public Accountants
https://boards.bsd.dli.mt.gov/public-accountants/
Renewal cycle12 months (1 year)
Continuing education (CE)120 hours every 36 months
Mandatory CE topicsCPE period: 36 months; ethics 2 (included in the technical subjects); minimum 50% (60 hours) technical subjects
Renewal fee (USD)$125.00
DeadlineDecember 31 annually
Source pagehttps://boards.bsd.dli.mt.gov/public-accountants/
Notesfee from: https://boards.bsd.dli.mt.gov/public-accountants/license-information/ ($125.00 for full active licensees; 100% late fee after December 31). 36-month period read from the page's own window (January 1 to December 31 three calendar years apart; page still shows 2018-2020 dates). New licensees: by December 31 of the third year after the initial year. CE period 36 months (differs from the 12-month renewal cycle), official phrase: “The basic CPE requirement is 120 hours of acceptable CPE with a subset of 2 hours in ethics in any rolling three-year period.” (https://boards.bsd.dli.mt.gov/public-accountants/faq).

Last verified: 2026-10-09

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