South Carolina CPA License Reinstatement: What a Lapsed License Costs

If your South Carolina CPA license has already lapsed

What it actually takes to get a lapsed South Carolina 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 where we could confirm it against primary law, clearly labelled where we could only confirm it against the board's own page, never a guess.

Verified 2026-09-12

Reinstatement Fee

$500

$500 codified reinstatement fee (S.C. Code Ann. § 40-2-250(F)), paid in addition to the standard $95 annual renewal fee the board lists on its FAQ -- $595 total out-of-pocket.

Catch-Up CPE Required

40 CPE hours per year lapsed 40 CPE hours for EACH year the license was lapsed (cumulative catch-up). If lapsed 3+ years, the requirement jumps to 120 hours (completed within the preceding 3 years) plus 6 months of additional qualifying experience.

Source of record S.C. Code Ann. § 40-2-250 (Renewal of licenses; reinstatement of lapsed licenses), subsections (E)-(G); definitions in § 40-2-20 read the rule →

What triggers lapsed status: Not renewed by February 1; considered lapsed if not renewed by February 15 at 11:59pm.

Last verified: 2026-09-12 · 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 South Carolina's CPA license renewal deadline →

How many CPE hours does South Carolina require? →

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