Canadian CPAs must complete 20 CPD hours a year (at least 10 verifiable) and 120 hours over each rolling three-year period (at least 60 verifiable, including 4 verifiable ethics hours). You declare compliance annually to your provincial body — not to CPA Canada — and you keep the evidence yourself in case you are audited.
That last point is where most of the confusion on this subject starts, so it is worth dealing with immediately.
CPA Canada Sets the Standard. Your Province Enforces It.
CPA Canada is the national organisation. It develops guidance, sets the direction of the profession, and represents CPAs nationally. It does not hold your membership, it does not receive your declaration, and it cannot suspend you.
Your obligations run to your provincial or territorial CPA body — CPA Ontario, CPABC, CPA Alberta, the Ordre des CPA du Québec, and so on. They set the deadline, they receive the declaration, they run the audits, and they impose the consequences.
The practical effect: the numbers below are consistent nationally because the provincial bodies have harmonised on them, following the International Federation of Accountants' IES 7 standard. The deadlines are not harmonised at all, and neither are the local additions. If you are searching for your deadline, you need your provincial body, not CPA Canada.
The Requirement in Numbers
| Requirement | Amount | Period |
|---|---|---|
| Total hours | 20 | Each calendar year |
| Verifiable hours | At least 10 | Each calendar year |
| Total hours | 120 | Each rolling three-year period |
| Verifiable hours | At least 60 | Each rolling three-year period |
| Professional ethics | At least 4, verifiable | Each rolling three-year period |
Quebec runs a separate regime — 25 hours a year, 120 over three years, with its own rules on self-study. Deadlines and provincial variations are set out in our guide to CPA CPD requirements across Canada, and the verifiable/unverifiable distinction in our guide to what counts as a verifiable CPD hour.
Two features of the structure catch people out. The three-year period is rolling, so each year is assessed together with the two before it and a weak year follows you through three assessments. And the annual and triennial requirements run simultaneously — clearing 120 hours in one year does not buy you two quiet ones.
What You Actually Declare
The annual CPD declaration is a statement of compliance, not a submission of evidence. You are confirming to your provincial body that you completed the required hours in the reporting year — which is the previous calendar year, not the current one.
You are not uploading certificates. Nobody reviews your learning plan. The declaration typically asks you to confirm the hours you completed, whether you met the verifiable minimum, and whether you met the ethics requirement — and in some jurisdictions to state the figures themselves.
Which means the declaration takes five minutes if your records are in order, and is a genuinely uncomfortable exercise if they are not, because the honest answer becomes hard to establish.
What a CPD Audit Asks For
Provincial bodies audit a sample of members each year. Selection is usually random, though a pattern of late or inconsistent declarations attracts attention.
An audit asks you to substantiate the hours you declared — potentially across the full rolling three-year period. Expect to produce:
- Certificates or attendance records for every verifiable hour claimed, showing your name, the activity, the provider, the date and the hours
- A log of unverifiable hours with dates, activities, time spent and a note on relevance
- An explanation of relevance — why each activity applied to your professional role. This is the test that decides whether an hour qualified at all, and it is the field members most often cannot answer retrospectively
- Evidence of the ethics hours specifically, identified as such
Three things make audits painful, and all three are avoidable. Certificates stored only in a provider's portal or a work email account disappear when you change jobs or the provider retires the system. Unverifiable hours reconstructed from memory produce numbers that cannot be defended. And activities whose relevance was obvious at the time become hard to justify two years later.
If you cannot substantiate what you declared, you are in a materially worse position than a member who declared a shortfall honestly. The remedy for a shortfall is a plan of action; the remedy for an unsupportable declaration is a conduct process.
Meeting the Ethics Requirement
Four verifiable hours of professional ethics in every rolling three-year period. It is the requirement members most often discover late, because it is possible to clear 120 hours comfortably and still fail on four.
The qualifying subject matter is broader than the word suggests: independence and conflict of interest, ethical decision-making, anti-money laundering, whistle-blowing and bribery, corporate social responsibility, and equity, diversity and inclusion all count, provided the activity applies ethical principles to professional responsibilities rather than simply describing a rule. The hours can be accumulated across several activities.
British Columbia adds a specific requirement: 1.5 verifiable AML CPD hours by December 31, 2026, which count toward the four rather than on top of them.
The 60-hour three-year package covers the full triennial verifiable requirement with the four ethics hours already inside it. If you need a single hour before a deadline, the live webinar calendar is the quickest route — one hour, one certificate.
Does CPA Canada Prescribe What You Study?
No. Beyond the four ethics hours, no Canadian body specifies subject matter. The only test is relevance to your professional role and responsibilities.
That latitude is wider than most members use. Leadership development qualifies — the Leadership Skills for CPAs package is as valid as a tax update for a CPA managing a team. Broader business capability qualifies, which is the premise of the Mini MBA for CPAs. And specialisation qualifies — The Modern Forensic Accountant is squarely CPD for a CPA moving toward investigative work.
What does not qualify is learning with no professional application, and routine work however technical. The line the profession draws is between doing the work and developing the capability to do it.
Keeping Records You Can Rely On
Your provincial body does not maintain your record. Three habits cover it:
- File the certificate the day you earn it, in a folder of your own, named by year — not in a provider's portal and not in a work email account.
- Log unverifiable hours the same week. Date, activity, time, one line on relevance.
- Check the ethics count every January. It is the small number that causes the large problem.
Courses completed on CPDFormula issue a certificate automatically and stay in your account, which takes care of the verifiable side. The unverifiable side remains yours to keep, and a spreadsheet is entirely sufficient.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does CPA Canada set CPD requirements?
CPA Canada develops national guidance, but your CPD obligations are set and enforced by your provincial or territorial body, which also receives your declaration and conducts audits.
How many CPD hours does CPA Canada require?
The national standard is 20 hours a year with at least 10 verifiable, and 120 hours over each rolling three-year period with at least 60 verifiable including 4 ethics hours. Quebec operates a separate regime of 25 hours a year.
Who do I report my CPD to?
Your provincial or territorial CPA body, annually, for the previous calendar year. Deadlines range from January 31 to September 30 depending on jurisdiction.
Do I submit certificates with my declaration?
No. You declare compliance and retain the evidence. Certificates are produced only if you are selected for a CPD audit.
How far back can a CPD audit go?
Across the full rolling three-year period, so keep evidence for at least three years.
What if I cannot meet the requirement?
Submit a plan of action to your provincial body committing to make up the shortfall within a defined period. Declaring compliance you cannot substantiate is a professional conduct matter and is treated far more seriously than a shortfall disclosed voluntarily.