Arkansas CPA License Reinstatement: What a Lapsed License Costs

Flat, non-refundable $150 reinstatement fee (17 CAR § 236-1101). Reinstatement is available only on an application the Board receives on or before July 1 following the lapse (Ark. Code Ann. § 17-12-504(g)) -- for a license that expired December 31 and lapsed April 1, that is July 1 of the same year. This fee is distinct from the separate $25/month late-renewal fee that accrues in the first 3 months after the December 31 expiration, before the license actually lapses. If no reinstatement application is received by that July 1, the Board, after notice and a hearing, revokes the license, and it can't be renewed or reinstated; the holder can apply for a new license instead, and the Board may require education or other requirements to get it, including passing the CPA exam again (§ 17-12-504(h); exam under § 17-12-304).

• No CPE added purely as a penalty. The statute requires you to meet the CPE and other requirements that apply to reinstatement as of the date you apply (Ark. Code Ann. § 17-12-504(g)(2)); neither the statute nor the Board rules set a separate CPE figure for a lapsed license. The nearest rule, 17 CAR § 236-1210, puts suspended, revoked, or void licenses on the inactive-to-active CPE path in § 236-1208(c)(3) -- it does not name lapsed licenses, so confirm with the Board which CPE it will require. On that path, 3 1/3 hours of CPE 'qualified pursuant to 17 CAR § 236-1203' are due for each month since you last reported CPE (§ 236-1208(c)(3)(A)), while someone inactive for less than one year 'will be considered not to have been inactive for CPE reporting purposes' (§ 236-1208(c)(3)(B)). § 236-1203(d) requires at least 4 hours of accounting professional conduct and ethics during the 36 months before your license's expiration date, including a 1-hour course on the Arkansas Board's own laws and rules (Arkansas Ethics, or ETA) that counts toward those 4.