By Clare M. Bedford, PICPA Recruitment and Retention Administrator

Did you miss the CPA license renewal deadline on Dec. 31, 2021? The Pennsylvania State Board of Accountancy has made changes to its renewal/reactivation process this year, and here is what you need to know. This information applies to any type of CPA license reactivation.

License Renewals cannot be submitted after Dec. 31, 2021. In prior years, the State Board allowed license renewals to be submitted up to 30 days after the renewal deadline. This grace period is no longer in effect, so late renewals can no longer be submitted through the PALS website.

If you missed the Dec. 31, 2021, deadline, you have the option to reactivate your CPA license.

Before You Reactivate

• Make sure you have met the following continuing professional education (CPE) requirements prior to requesting a reactivation application: 80 CPE credits, 4 of which must be in Ethics. If signing attest reports or supervising attest work, 24 credits must be in Accounting & Auditing. Credits earned can be no older than 24 months prior to the  date on the reactivation application.
• Reactivation applications submitted prior to March 31, 2022, will fall under the CPE self-study limitation waiver (all 80 credits obtained may be from self-study courses). Reactivation applications submitted after March 31, 2022, will be subject to the reinstituted self-study limitation (only up to 40 credits may be earned via self-study).

Submitting Your Request to Reactivate

The reactivation application is not available on the PALS website, and must be requested in one of the following three ways:  

• Call the Pennsylvania State Board of Accountancy at (717) 783-1404.
• Email the State Board of Accountancy at st-accountancy@pa.gov.
• Submit a help-desk ticket through the PALS website—First, log in to the PALS portal and click on the Technical Support ticket icon on the left-hand side. Select “create new ticket” and fill in all required fields. Add License Reactivation in the subject and provide a brief overview of your request.

When submitting a request, please include your full name (as it appears on your license), license number, email address, mailing address, and phone number. Logging in to the PALS website and submitting a help-desk ticket will allow you to populate all necessary information directly from your account.

After the State Board receives your request, it will email you a copy of the reactivation application, with appropriate fees added.

The reactivation application form must be returned by mail with copies of all applicable CPE certificates and a check or money order for the applicable fee.

Fees

If you have not practiced as a CPA while your license was inactive, the fee is $135 ($100 renewal fee plus $35 reactivation fee). If you have practiced as a CPA while your license was inactive, the fee changes monthly and includes past renewal fees plus a $5 late fee per month.

Processing Your Reactivation

Please note that there is currently a 46-day turnaround time for all applications submitted to the State Board. You can monitor the status of your application through the PALS website, but keep in mind that the turnaround time will be at least 46 days from the date it is received by mail.

As with all renewals, you can verify that your reactivation is complete by checking your license expiration date. This information can be found at www.pals.gov/verify. Once your license has been reactivated by the State Board, your license expiration date will change from Dec. 31, 2021, to Dec. 31, 2023.

This information is being provided in conjunction with the Pennsylvania State Board of Accountancy and outlines the general license reactivation process. Ultimately, all decisions pertaining to license reactivations are made by the State Board. For specific questions or about your CPA license or reactivation application, please contact the State Board of Accountancy directly at (717) 783-1404, st-accountancy@pa.gov, or log in to the PALS website and submit a support ticket.

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