The Accountancy Board of Ohio has designated July 31 as “Check Your CPE Day” for Ohio CPAs.

Each year numerous Ohio CPA permits are suspended or revoked because CPAs have not met CPE requirements. To change that, the ABO is asking all Ohio CPAs to take 30 minutes on July 31 to review their CPE records. (Doing so on another day is fine, too.)

The CPE requirement for most is 120 credits, with a minimum requirement to earn 20 CPE credits per calendar year for all active permit holders. Do you need to schedule additional seminars, courses, webinars, etc., to comply with the CPE requirement? Have you completed the required (3) credits of Board-approved professional standards and responsibilities? Do you have proper certificates of completion or attendance for all CPE credits completed? Without completion certificates or attendance verification for each course, there is no real documentation of having earned CPE credits.

CPAs who are not retired must maintain a current permit or registration with the ABO. Whether you are in the practice of public accounting or work in regulated services, all CPAs in the state of Ohio are required to have a current permit (to practice public accounting), or a current registration (sometimes referred to as “CPA inactive”). Even if you are not working in a dedicated accounting field, it is necessary to maintain one of these types of CPA licenses. Not doing so can result in the CPA certificate you worked so hard to obtain being revoked.

Both types of licenses renew every three years and are required to be maintained per Section 4701.07 of the Ohio Revised Code. Failure to renew your permit or registration generates fines and other penalties which can far exceed the primary renewal cost.

Not performing public accounting or signing as a CPA? You may opt to hold an Ohio non-practicing registration. No CPE is required to maintain an Ohio registration, and you may use the designation CPA Inactive. However, you DO have to renew your registration every three years.

Been out of public accounting, but wish to begin practicing as a CPA again? The re-entry requirement is the completion of 120 credits of CPE, including three (3) credits of professional standards and responsibilities, earned in the 36 months prior to applying for a practicing permit, and payment of the permit fee.

Note that the Accountancy Board moved to Ohio eLicense in April 2018. Licensees were notified via email and sent system login information. All applications and renewal activities, contact information updates, and payments are now completed online. If you did not receive this registration information, please send an email to [email protected].

If your Ohio CPA license has lapsed, please contact the Accountancy Board of Ohio to find out how to bring your record current. Please call the ABO offices at 614/466-4135 for guidance if you wish to surrender or retire your certificate as a final act. If you did not renew your license, you may be suspended! Check your status via the Ohio e-License Center.

Questions about your OSCPA CPE transcript? Need to schedule live or online CPE? OSCPA has literally hundreds of options available to you. Reach out to OSCPA’s Member Service Center with any questions or search the OSCPA Store to find relevant professional education opportunities.