Washington

Date of Last Revision:    9/22/2021

License Renewal
Date: 4/30 triennially

Fee:  $230.00

CPE Reporting Period
1/1 to 12/31 triennially

General Requirement
120 hours, with 20 minimum per year beginning in 2020

Ethics Requirement
Four (4) hours in board approved ethics and regulations CPE. Ethics courses that are not board approved may be counted toward the technical and total hour requirement. Click here for a list of approved courses.

Credit Limitations

• Nano Learning: Credit for nano learing is limited to 12 hours.
• Non-technical CPE: Credit is limited to 60 CPE hours per 3-year period. Non-technical subjects are:  Communication skills; Interpersonal management skills; leadership and personal development skills; Client and public relations; Practice development; Motivational and behavioral courses; and Speed reading and memory building.
• Other CPE Limits: Credit is limited to 60 hours combined for the following types of programs. CPE credit earned from these programs cannot apply towards the 20 hour yearly minimum.
  • Service on the Washington state board of accountancy or the board's committees or volunteer service on on of the board approved peer review committees.
  • First time instructor/developer of a college or university course.
  • First time instructor/developer of a CPE course.
  • Authorship of published articles, books and other publications relevant to maintaining or improving professional competence.
• Fields of Study: This jurisdiction has a rule(s) placing limitations on certain subject areas or requiring a certain number of credits within a certain subject area or group of subject areas. Confirmation with the Board of the impact of the changes included in the new Fields of Study document, which went into effect September 1, 2016, is included in this analysis.

Credit Calculations

• Self study: Self-study is allowed full credit if interactive; half credit otherwise.
• Partial credit: Half credits are allowed after the first hour, except for Nano Learning which is accepted in 0.2 increments prior to the first full hour.
• College/University: For both undergraduate and graduate courses one (1) quarter credit equals ten (10) CPE credit hours and one (1) semester credit equals 15 CPE credit hours.

Other State Policies

• CPE Reciprocity: A non-resident licensee may meet Washington's CPE requirements by meeting the CPE requirements of the licensee's principal place of business. If the principal place of business has no CPE requirements, then the licensee must meet Washington's CPE requirements.
• Washington accepts CPE credits for programs offered by National Registry sponsors.