[TheGuyCPA]

Illinois CPA society states: “First Renewal Period

CPAs are exempt from CPE requirements for their first license renewal. This first renewal period of being free from CPE requirements runs from the time a license is issued until the next IDFPR 3-year cycle renewal. It can range anywhere from 3 years down to several months, depending on when in the IDFPR cycle the license is issued.

Second Renewal Period

The second renewal requires the licensed CPA to have the full 120 hours of CPE credit. “

I am thinking if I time my licensing process, I can have a full 3 years of exempt CPE renewal. September 2015 is the renewal period, and so if I become licensed in June, I only have 4 months exempt, whereas if I become licensed in October, I will be 2 years and 11 months exempt. Is that correct? Do you become licensed when you pass all four or when you apply to the state for a license? This is an interesting loophole.

FAR - 80
REG - 78
AUD - 88
BEC - 84

State of Illinois Licensed CPA as of September 2015

[Anonymous]

Minnesota has a weird renewal process now too. Licenses run January 1 to December 31 and are valid for one year, but CPE is July 1 to June 30, and is on a 3 year cycle. When I got my license last October, it came with a note saying that I needed to renew it by December 31, but that I couldn't start recording CPEs until July 1 of the following year.

You are licensed once the board has approved your application and has issued you a license number.

[Author]

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