Wisconsin keeps this simpler than most states in one specific way: individual licenses and firm licenses renew on the exact same statutory date. Here's exactly how the renewal and CPE rules work, sourced to Wisconsin's own statute and administrative code.
Both individual CPA licenses and accounting firm licenses expire December 15 of each odd-numbered year — the same fixed calendar date for every licensee, not birth-month or cohort-based (Wis. Stat. § 440.08(2)(a)1. for individuals, § 440.08(2)(a)3. for firms). There's no separate firm-specific cycle to track here the way several other states require. Confirm your own next Wisconsin CPA renewal deadline here.
Some of the Wisconsin Board's own materials describe the practical deadline as December 14, one day earlier than what's actually written into statute. December 15 is the codified date we publish, sourced directly to the statute text itself — but if you've seen "December 14" referenced somewhere and wondered which is correct, that's why the discrepancy exists, and it's worth confirming directly rather than assuming either version by default.
Wisconsin requires 80 CPE credits per 2-year compliance period (the period immediately preceding renewal), of which at least 40 must come from formal learning activities, and 3 of those formal-learning hours must be on ethics (Wis. Admin. Code Accy 2.602). The part that's easy to miss: you can't bank all 80 hours in the final months before renewal — at least 20 credits must be completed in each 12-month half of the 2-year period. There's no separate CE-reporting deadline apart from the renewal date itself, but the two-half pacing rule means procrastinating on the first year of a cycle can leave you structurally unable to catch up in the second.
Bottom line: if you're a Wisconsin CPA (or run a firm), one date — December 15 of each odd-numbered year — covers both your license and, if applicable, your firm's license. Pace your 80 CPE hours across both 12-month halves of the cycle rather than the calendar year alone, since at least 20 hours are required in each half specifically. Set a reminder for your Wisconsin deadline here so the single date works for you instead of sneaking up on you.