North Carolina CPA License Reinstatement: What a Lapsed License Costs
If your North Carolina CPA license has already lapsed
See how we verify every figure on this site.
Verified 2026-11-08
Reinstatement Fee
$100
Reissuance-of-forfeited-certificate application fee (21 NCAC 08J .0106(b)(1)), 'plus penalties' per the Board's own fee schedule -- no primary-law source ties a specific extra dollar figure to routine late-renewal forfeiture, so treat as a floor, not a hard ceiling.
Catch-Up CPE Required
- 40 CPE hours 40 CPE hours completed in the 12 months immediately preceding the reinstatement application (21 NCAC 08J .0106(b)(3)) -- the same total as one year's ordinary renewal, not extra hours. NC does not require make-up CPE for years spent forfeited.
- 8 NC accountancy statutes-and-rules hours (21 NCAC 08F .0504) within that 40-hour total -- and that course or exam is defined by rule to include the Rules of Professional Ethics and Conduct, so ethics is covered inside it, not as a separate requirement. Ordinary renewal's standalone 1-hour ethics course (.0401(e)) isn't cross-referenced by the reinstatement rule.
Source of record
21 NCAC 08J .0106 (Forfeiture of Certificate and Reissuance), with 21 NCAC 08J .0101/.0105(c), 21 NCAC 08F .0504, and N.C. Gen. Stat. § 93-12(15)/(7a)/(9)
read the rule →
What triggers lapsed status: License is FORFEITED if not renewed by July 1, the Board mails a demand letter, and renewal (application + CPE + fee) still isn't completed within 30 days of that letter's mailing date.
Last verified: November 8, 2026 · sourced from the state board's own page; the citation below covers part of this claim but not all of it, so we could not independently confirm the rest against codified statute or administrative rule text (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 North Carolina's CPA license renewal deadline →