Emeritus status is coming July 1, 2026. Please read the Inactive and Emeritus Status Policy here.
Emeritus status allows retired career CPAs to keep the CPA title in name only, without being held to the VBOA’s CPE requirements, and offers greater flexibility in unpaid volunteer work than Inactive status.
You can find more details in our policy about Inactive and Emeritus statuses here.
To qualify for Emeritus status:
You must be retired and no longer working for compensation. You must have been an actively licensed CPA for:
- At least 30 years; or
- At least 15 years and are at least 60 years old.
How to apply for Emeritus status
Cosas que debe saber antes de presentar una solicitud:
- Please allow up to eight weeks for applications to be processed.
- You must be approved by the board in writing for the Emeritus status before ceasing to meet the CPE requirements.
- Si se le aprueba, está exento de las regulaciones de CPE de VBOA a partir del año calendario en el que recibió el aviso de aprobación (NO el año en que presentó la solicitud).
- You cannot apply for this status during a CPE audit. If you are selected for an audit after applying, but before you’ve been approved for Emeritus status, you are still responsible for meeting the VBOA’s CPE requirements.
- Once approved, if you plan to change your employment status, you must notify the VBOA.
- You are still responsible for renewing your Emeritus license each year by June 30.
- To return to Active, you will need to apply and provide proof of 120 hours of CPE from the three most recent calendar years.
- Each licensing jurisdiction has different regulations regarding an Emeritus or similar status. If you live or work in another jurisdiction, it is your responsibility to understand the rules there.
To apply, submit the following form to the VBOA.
Volver al estado Activo
If an Emeritus licensee plans to start providing compensated services to the public or to or on behalf of an employer, they must request a change in status to Active and be approved for the status change by the VBOA before providing these services. In order to begin providing services, a licensee must meet the requirements of VBOA regulation 18VAC5-22-90, including 120 hours of CPE from the three most recent calendar years.
