Massachusetts CPA License Reinstatement: What a Lapsed License Costs

No single flat fee, and it depends on practice status during the lapse (252 CMR 2.16(2)). If the license lapsed one renewal cycle or less, or lapsed more than one cycle AND the holder practiced in Massachusetts during the lapse: back license fee(s) for each missed cycle + a late fee (the general Division of Registration late fee is $57) + the current $161 renewal fee. If the license lapsed more than one cycle and the holder did NOT practice during the lapse, or practiced only under another state's license: no back fees at all -- just the late fee + the current $161 renewal fee. Either way it's a computed total, not a published flat figure.

• 160 CPE hours Applies only once a license 'has not been renewed for at least two renewal periods' (roughly a 4+ year lapse): 160 hours of CPE within the 24 months before reissue, at least 80 of which must be in the attest function (M.G.L. c. 112 Sec87B(c)) -- double the normal 80-hour/2-year requirement. Those 160 hours get no credit at the next biennial renewal (Sec87B(c)), so that renewal's normal 80 hours must be earned fresh. A shorter lapse (one cycle or less) requires only the normal CPE already due, no extra hours. On every reinstatement path the CPE must be CPE as provided in 252 CMR 2.14 (252 CMR 2.16(1)(b), 2.16(2)), which requires 4 hours in professional ethics (2.14(2)).

Sourcing note: The $57 late fee and $161 renewal fee come from the Board of Public Accountancy's own current fee pages, not from 252 CMR 2.16 itself -- read the rule's full text and you won't find a dollar figure anywhere in it. It describes reinstatement fees only as "the back license fee," "a late fee," and "the current license fee" (or "current license renewal fee"), leaving the actual amounts for the board to set administratively rather than fixing them in the rule text, so they can change without a formal rule amendment. The CPE side works differently: it's codified directly in statute, where M.G.L. c. 112, Sec 87B(c) sets the 160-hour/24-month requirement for a license lapsed two or more renewal cycles, including the rule that at least 80 of those hours must be in the attest function. (Last checked 2026-11-11.)