Alabama CPA License Renewal: Permits Expire September 30, the Board Lists October 1 as the Due Date, and Filing Stays Timely Through December 31
Correction (October 23, 2026): this guide originally gave December 31 as the renewal due date without mentioning that the Board's own 2026-2027 registration package lists October 1, 2026 as the due date and describes December 31 as the end of a grace period for filing timely. It also gave the $500 late penalty as ending March 31, the rule's bound, without the package's wording ("on or after March 1," with disciplinary action from April 1). The text below now names both.
Alabama CPA permits expire on the last day of September every year. For the permit year that just ended on September 30, 2026, the Board's 2026-2027 registration package says the registration and fee are due in the Board office on October 1, 2026, and that the rules provide a grace period for filing timely through December 31, 2026. The codified rule itself names only the December date. That makes three dates to keep apart: expiration, the Board's stated due date, and the end of the grace period.
Three dates: expiration, due date, and the end of the grace period
The Alabama State Board of Public Accountancy's rule on controls and reporting, 30-X-5-.05(1), begins: "Annual permits to practice expire on the last day of September of each year." It continues: "Applications and fees for renewal of annual permits shall be submitted to the Board no later than the last day of December of each year." Chapter 30-X-3 repeats the December date for the fee: it is to be paid "no later than December 31 following expiration of the permit of each year."
The Board's 2026-2027 registration package puts it differently. Its header reads "DUE OCTOBER 1, 2026 · DELINQUENT JANUARY 1, 2027," and it says: "The 2026-2027 registration and appropriate fee are due in the Board office on October 1, 2026; however, the rules do provide a grace period for filing timely through December 31, 2026. This grace period applies only to submission of the completed registrations." It also says "you are encouraged to file as near the October 1, 2026 due date as possible." The rule text and the package describe the same December cutoff; the package adds the October 1 due date that the rule doesn't state. If the difference matters to you, confirm with the Board.
So the permit itself expires September 30, the Board lists the renewal as due October 1, and a renewal filed by December 31 is still timely. The application includes a signed statement, under penalty of perjury, that you have met the CPE requirements. We found no rule text that says whether you may keep practicing between September 30 and the day you file, so if you are in that gap, ask the Board rather than assume.
Check your Alabama dates here.
What it costs
The annual permit fee is $100 for an individual and $130 for a firm. File after December 31 and a late penalty applies on top of the fee: $100 if you file from January 1 through the last day of February, $500 if you file from March 1 through March 31. The rule says the penalty is "in addition to all other fees and penalties," and that the Board may waive all or part of it "upon petition and for good cause or hardship shown." The Board's fee page lists the same amounts, and like the package gives no end date for the $500 tier ("Late filing after February 28 — $500.00 plus registration fee"). The Board's 2026-2027 registration package words the second tier differently: "The penalty increases to $500.00 for registrations submitted on or after March 1, 2027. On April 1, 2027 disciplinary actions ensue for unpaid fees and penalties." The rule bounds the $500 tier at March 31; the package gives no end date for it and adds disciplinary action from April 1. If you are past March 1, confirm with the Board.
CPE: 40 hours, counted by fiscal year
Alabama counts CPE by fiscal year ending September 30, not by a multi-year cycle. Under 30-X-5-.02(1), each person must complete 40 hours each fiscal year, with at least 8 in accounting and auditing, at least 2 in a qualifying ethics course, and no more than 12 of the 40 from personal-development courses (workplace behaviors such as time management or leadership).
The full Alabama CPE breakdown is here.
If you miss it: the six-month rule
Missing December 31 is expensive but still renewable, as the penalty schedule above shows. The harder line is in the statute, Code of Alabama section 34-1-11(d): if a CPA fails to apply for a permit, or for inactive status, within six months of the expiration date, they may not simply apply any more, and the failure is grounds for revocation or suspension unless the Board finds it was due to reasonable cause. In that case the Board may impose a reinstatement fee of up to $100, plus the registration fees and late penalties you would have paid. For a September 30 expiration, six months lands around the end of March; confirm the exact cutoff with the Board before you rely on it.
Alabama reinstatement details here.
What changed on October 1, 2026
An Alabama act known as the Pathways to CPA Act (Act 2026-16, HB59) took effect on October 1, 2026 and amended section 34-1-11 along with several other sections of the accountancy statute. We read the enrolled text: the September 30 expiration, the December 31 filing date, the $100 cap on the reinstatement fee, and the six-month window all carried over. None of this changed the fees or CPE hours described above: chapter 30-X-3's own amendment, effective October 15, 2026, is about a different rule in the same chapter: a separate practice privilege nonresident CPAs can hold in Alabama. That amendment adds a baccalaureate-degree requirement for CPAs licensed after December 31, 2024. The renewal fees, deadlines, and CPE hours on this page are unaffected either way, but if that nonresident-privilege question applies to you, check the Board's page before you rely on it.
Bottom line: Alabama CPA permits expire September 30 every year. The Board lists the renewal application, $100 fee ($130 for firms), and CPE statement as due October 1, with a grace period for timely filing through December 31; after that, a $100 late penalty applies through February and $500 from March 1, and the Board's package says disciplinary actions begin April 1. CPE is 40 hours per fiscal year ending September 30. Wait past six months from the expiration and you move from renewing to a Board-discretion reinstatement.
General orientation, not a citation. This guide draws on board rules and, where available, this site's own verified dataset — it isn't a primary source in itself. Last checked against those sources: October 23, 2026.
For the current renewal date or CPE figures your state actually enforces, use the state page linked above — it carries a direct link to the board page and codified rule, per our verification standard.