IIA CIA CPE Requirements 2026: Hours, Ethics and Annual Renewal

Every Certified Internal Auditor (CIA) is required to complete continuing professional education (CPE) and renew the certification each year with The Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA). Practicing CIAs need 40 CPE hours a year and nonpracticing CIAs need 20, with at least 2 hours of ethics included in both. This guide covers who the rules apply to, how hours are counted, what qualifies, the records to keep, and what happens when a renewal is missed.

1. CIA CPE Requirements at a Glance

Each row above is a requirement, not a recommendation. Anywhere a point is guidance rather than an obligation, this article flags it.

2. Who Must Comply: Practicing, Nonpracticing and Retired CIAs

Your annual hours depend on your renewal status, as set by The IIA's Annual Certification Renewal Policy:

Two other variations apply:

• Holding more than one IIA certification: Hours earned for the CRMA and other IIA certifications can count toward the CIA as well. A practicing CIA who also holds the CRMA can meet both requirements with 40 hours of training relevant to internal auditing and risk management assurance.
• Certified in Japan or Korea: Annual renewal goes through that country's Institute, which announces its own application period.

3. How Many CPE Hours You Need, and How They're Counted

Practicing CIAs complete 40 CPE hours a year. Nonpracticing CIAs complete 20. There's no multi-year averaging. Each renewal period stands on its own, subject to the shortfall and surplus rules below.

Measuring hours

CPE is measured by actual program length. One 50-minute period equals one CPE hour. Programs shorter than 50 minutes can be earned and reported in 10- or 25-minute increments.

Short segments can be added together and treated as one program. The policy's own example: five 25-minute segments make 125 minutes, which counts as 2.5 CPE hours.

4. The Annual Renewal Period, First Renewal, Shortfalls and Surplus Hours

The renewal period runs from 1 January to 31 December. Renewal opens in the Certification Candidate Management System (CCMS) on 1 October and has to be completed by 31 December.

Your first renewal

The first renewal period is longer. It runs from the date you're certified to 31 December of the following year. A CIA certified in February can start earning CPE straight away, but the first renewal isn't due until 31 December of the next calendar year.

Shortfalls

If you haven't earned enough hours by the end of the year, don't complete the renewal until you have. You can use hours from the next calendar year to make up the gap. Hours applied to the earlier year can't also count toward the current one. They don't count twice.

Surplus hours

Surplus hours from the immediately prior renewal period can make up a deficiency in the current year. The policy's example: a practicing CIA who earned 60 CPE hours in the prior period may apply up to 20 of them to the current period.

5. Ethics, Standards Conformance and the Annual Attestation

Ethics training

You're required to complete 2 CPE hours on the subject of ethics every year. The ethics hours are part of the 40 or 20, not additional to it. The IIA doesn't prescribe where the training comes from, but it has to take place within the renewal period. The IIA lists its own ethics-eligible courses on its ethics resources page.

Standards conformance

Every year, CIAs are required to review the Standards, decide whether they perform internal audit services in line with them, and report conformance or nonconformance to The IIA. Reporting nonconformance doesn't inactivate the certification or affect its status. The IIA encourages training on the Standards. That's guidance, not a requirement.

The annual attestation

At renewal, you attest that:

• you'll abide by The IIA's Standards of Ethics and Professionalism
• you won't bring The IIA into disrepute or discredit the organization
• you've completed the two hours of ethics training
• you've had no criminal convictions since the prior reporting period. Any conviction has to be described.

6. What Counts as CIA CPE

Educational programs are the main route. All of your annual hours can come from them. A program is acceptable only if it meets all of these criteria:

• a formal program of learning that contributes directly to your professional competence
• clearly stated objectives, setting out the knowledge or competence expected on completion
• stated education or experience prerequisites, where appropriate
• developed by people qualified in both the subject matter and instructional design
• current program content
• evidence of completion showing the CPE hours earned, such as a certificate of completion

The policy recognizes seminars and conferences, technical sessions at chapter meetings, formal in-house training, industry-specific programs, passed college or university courses, and formal correspondence and self-study programs that meet the criteria.

The policy points CIAs toward programs in the subject areas of the CIA exam syllabus. That's guidance on subject choice. Checking that your hours meet the guidelines set by the Professional Certifications Board (PCB) is your responsibility.

Category totals cap the combinations: 25 for publications, 25 for translations, 25 for presentations, 20 for volunteering and 20 for external quality assessments.

Activities not listed in the policy can still qualify. The condition is that you can evidence the activity, calculate a fair number of hours, and show it contributes to professional competence. The burden of proof is on you.

What doesn't count

• College or university courses taken to meet the exam's bachelor's-degree requirement.
• Preparation and report writing for an external quality assessment: Only onsite time counts.
• Programs that miss any of the six criteria: including programs with no evidence of completion or CPE hours.
• Hours above a category limit.

7. Online Learning, Self-Study, Webinars and On-Demand CPE

The policy doesn't set a separate category or cap for online learning. Webinars, live online classes and on-demand courses are educational programs, measured by program length. Like any other program, they have to meet the six criteria. Self-paced courses fall under what the policy calls formal correspondence and self-study programs relevant to internal auditing. They're recognized as long as they meet the program criteria, including evidence of completion.

The IIA's own online CPE includes on-demand courses, webinars and instructor-led online training, listed on its CPE opportunities page.

The overarching requirement is that the learning contributes directly to your professional competence, in subject areas related to the CIA. Self-study meets the same standard as any classroom program: a formal program, stated objectives, qualified developers, current content, and evidence of completion showing the CPE hours. The IIA assesses compliance one certified individual at a time, through each person's annual attestation and, if they're audited, their records. Interactive online self-study with stated learning objectives and a completion certificate falls within the policy's formal correspondence and self-study category, where its objectives and certificate line up with the criteria above.

EverCPE.com offers online self-study for accountants and auditors that may help you fulfill your CPE requirements.

EverCPE.com is interactive, structured self-study rather than passive reading. Each learning session comes with:

• Content shaped around the exact accounting and auditing questions you have, instead of generic off-the-shelf courses
• Substantive material organised around clear learning objectives
• Knowledge checks with feedback as you go, so you fix any misunderstanding while you work through the learning session
• Scored multiple-choice questions that check whether you understand the material
• A certificate of completion once you complete the learning session, naming you, the session and the hours
• A full downloadable handout covering the session, its learning objectives, and its content

In short, EverCPE.com leaves you with documentation and evidence of the learning you completed.

8. Renewal, Records and the CPE Audit

Completing the renewal

Annual Certification Renewal is completed in CCMS between 1 October and 31 December. Completing it counts as your signed statement that every requirement has been met. Supporting documentation isn't submitted at renewal. The IIA issues an acknowledgment of compliance once the renewal is accepted.

Renewal fees vary by IIA membership status, the certifications held, location, and whether you renew directly with The IIA or through a National Institute. IIA members in North America and the Caribbean get renewal reporting free. All renewal sales are final.

Keeping records

Keep all supporting documentation for at least three years, and make it available if The IIA asks. Records include, as appropriate:

• the program title or a description of the content
• the dates attended
• the location of the course or program
• the sponsoring organization
• the CPE hours, as stated by the sponsor
• a letter, certificate or other written independent attestation of completion
• documentation supporting publications, oral presentations, committee involvement or other participation

The CPE audit

The IIA, or its designee, audits CPE records every year. These are the rules:

• Selection is random. Notification comes by email immediately after you complete your renewal.
• If you're selected, you provide evidence that your CPE meets the policy's criteria.
• If you don't provide the evidence by the stated deadline, your certification moves automatically to Revoked status.
• If the audit shows you're short of hours, you get six months to earn the missing hours and submit documentation.
• Falsifying documentation or acting unethically leads to referral to The IIA's Professional Responsibility and Ethics Committee.

9. Retired Status, Hardship Exemptions and Missed Renewals

Retired status

Retired CIAs are exempt from all renewal requirements for as long as they remain retired. The certification has to be in Active status before it can move to Retired. You notify The IIA yourself by opening a support case in CCMS. The IIA may audit retired declarations at random, and false information can lead to disciplinary action, including revocation.

Hardship exemptions

The PCB may grant a partial or complete exemption from the renewal requirements where good cause exists, such as military service or individual hardship. Supporting documentation is required before a case is reviewed. Requests are submitted through CCMS before the renewal deadline.

Missed renewals

On revocation, the paper certificate must be destroyed, and the CIA designation can't be used after your name.

10. Official IIA Sources and Certified Individual Responsibility

This article sets out The IIA's published rules as at the research date in the verification log below. It doesn't replace The IIA's Annual Certification Renewal Policy, The IIA's own guidance, or advice about your situation.

Research verified: 2 October 2026, against The IIA's Annual Certification Renewal Policy (Global).

Disclaimer: CPE requirements can depend on individual certification status, professional circumstances, jurisdiction and other factors. Requirements may also change over time. Certified individuals are responsible for confirming their current CPE obligations directly with The IIA and, where applicable, their local jurisdiction, employer, regulator or other relevant authority. EverCPE.com does not guarantee that completion of any particular course will satisfy a certified individual's CPE requirements.