Colorado CPA License Reinstatement: What a Lapsed License Costs

If your Colorado CPA license has already lapsed

What it actually takes to get a lapsed Colorado 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, never a guess.

Verified

Reinstatement Fee

No dollar figure is codified anywhere -- C.R.S. 12-20-202 delegates fee-setting to the DORA Director, published only on the online licensing portal, not in statute or rule. There is simply no primary-law dollar figure to cite for this one.

Catch-Up CPE Required

80 CPE hours 3 CCR 705-1 Rule 1.9(K)(1): the applicant must complete BOTH the full 80-hour requirement for the CPE period immediately preceding reinstatement, AND 10 hours for each full quarter the certificate was expired in the current period (up to 80 more) -- up to 160 hours total catch-up. These hours can't also count toward CPE owed for the remainder of the period after reinstatement.

Source of record 3 CCR 705-1, Rule 1.9(J) (Expired Status) and Rule 1.9(K) (Reinstatement) read the rule →

What triggers lapsed status: A certificate not renewed by its expiration date enters 'Expired' status (Rule 1.9(J)(1)). A 60-day grace period allows renewal by paying the renewal fee plus a late fee with no penalty; after that, the certificate is fully Expired and the holder cannot hold out as a CPA.

Last verified: 2026-07-25 · checked against the state's codified statute or administrative rule, not just a board webpage — if we can't verify a date against primary law, we say so instead of guessing (see how we verify every deadline). Always confirm with the official state board before relying on this date. License requirements and deadlines can change.

See Colorado's CPA license renewal deadline →

How many CPE hours does Colorado require? →

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