Alabama CPA License Reinstatement: What a Lapsed License Costs
If your Alabama CPA license has already lapsed
What it actually takes to get a lapsed Alabama CPA license back — the fee, the catch-up CPE, and exactly what triggers "lapsed" in the first place. Sourced the same way every fact on this site is: a board page, plus the codified rule itself where we could confirm it against primary law, clearly labelled where we could only confirm it against the board's own page, never a guess.
Not a flat fee. Code of Ala. 1975 §34-1-11(d) lets the Board set a reinstatement fee (not exceeding $100) plus back registration fees and late penalties for every lapsed year -- the Board's own fee schedule sets the annual permit fee at $100 (individual)/$130 (firm) and late penalties of $100 (if filed January 1 through the last day of February) or $500 (if filed March 1-31), per 30-X-3-.07(4), compounding per lapsed year.
- Formula: Ala. Admin. Code r. 30-X-5-.02(3)-(4) requires 40 CPE hours for EACH year off active status, capped at 120 hours (3+ lapsed years), with 20% in accounting & auditing, earned within the 3 years preceding the request.
What triggers lapsed status: Annual permits expire September 30; renewal (application, fee, CPE proof) is due by December 31. A $100 late penalty applies if filed Jan 1-Feb 28/29, a $500 late penalty if filed Mar 1-31. Failing to renew or apply for inactive status within 6 months of expiration (roughly by the following March 31) is itself grounds for revocation under Code of Ala. §34-1-11(d), after which formal reinstatement (a Board hearing) plus back-fees and catch-up CPE apply.
See Alabama's CPA license renewal deadline →