Internal Audit CPE Requirements: Hours, Reporting, and Renewal

To keep a Certified Internal Auditor credential active, the CIA CPE requirements are 40 hours of continuing professional education every calendar year, including at least two hours of ethics, reported through the IIA’s Certification Candidate Management System by December 31. Miss that deadline and you lose the right to use the CIA designation until you catch up.¹

Hours You Owe Each Year

The 40-hour figure applies to practicing CIAs, meaning anyone actively working in internal audit or a related field, full-time or part-time. If you’re not currently doing that work but haven’t retired, you’re non-practicing and owe 20 hours per year. Retired CIAs are fully exempt.¹

Two of those hours, whether you’re at the 40-hour or 20-hour level, must be ethics training. The IIA doesn’t publish a fixed list of approved topics, but the content generally needs to address professional ethics, the IIA’s Code of Ethics, or ethical decision-making in an audit setting. Employer-provided ethics training can count if it relates to professional conduct in the field.²

If you hold the CIA alongside other IIA credentials such as the CRMA, CCSA, CGAP, CFSA, or QIAL, you still follow the CIA’s 40-hour rule, and the same hours count toward all your IIA designations.

Newly Certified Auditors

Your first reporting period begins the date you earn the certification and runs through December 31 of the following year. Pass the exam in March 2026, and your first report isn’t due until December 31, 2027. After that, you’re on the standard annual cycle.³

What Counts as CPE

One CPE credit equals 50 minutes of active participation or instruction. The IIA doesn’t pre-approve individual programs, so you’re responsible for judging whether an activity relates to internal auditing, risk management, governance, or a related professional topic.²

Qualifying activities include:

Seminars, conferences, workshops, and webinars
Structured in-house training
Self-study courses and online programs that verify completion
Writing articles, books, or technical papers on internal audit topics
Teaching or presenting a course on a relevant subject for the first time
Performing external quality assessments of other organizations’ internal audit functions

Passing parts of a non-IIA professional exam like the CPA or CA earns 10 CPE hours per part, capped at 40 hours in the year you pass. That’s enough to cover the entire annual requirement if you clear four parts in one year.

Rolling Surplus Hours Forward

Earn more than 40 hours in a year and you can carry up to 20 surplus hours into the next reporting cycle. Rolled-over hours only apply to the immediately following year; they don’t stack indefinitely.³

Reporting in CCMS

The reporting year runs January 1 through December 31, and the renewal portal in CCMS opens October 1. You log in, select the reporting option for each active certification, and attest that you completed the required hours, including the ethics minimum.⁴

You don’t upload certificates or transcripts during renewal. Submission is an attestation. The proof stays with you.

Records You Have to Keep

Retain all CPE supporting documentation for at least three years. Each year the IIA randomly selects a percentage of certified individuals for audit, and if you’re picked, you’ll need to produce records for the previous period.³ Your file for each activity should show:

The program title and a description of the content
The dates and location
The sponsoring organization
The credit hours indicated by the sponsor
Proof of completion, such as a certificate or written attestation

For publications, presentations, or committee work, keep documentation showing the nature of your contribution and the time involved. Failing to produce adequate records when audited can result in suspension.

Renewal Fee

The annual CIA renewal fee is $30 for IIA members and $120 for non-members. Members in North America with active designations have the renewal fee bundled with membership, so it’s effectively zero on top of dues. If your certification has already lapsed into grace period status, the fees double to $60 for members and $240 for non-members. International renewals may vary depending on whether you go through CCMS directly or a local chapter.⁵

Missing the Deadline

If you don’t complete renewal by December 31, your certification automatically shifts from “Active” to “Grace Period (Inactive).” You can’t use the CIA designation after your name or present yourself as certified in any capacity during that time. Listing “CIA” on a LinkedIn profile or business card while in grace status violates IIA policy.²

The grace period lasts two years. To return to active status you complete the overdue CPE hours plus the current year’s requirement and pay the higher grace-period fee. Hours used to clear the backlog cannot also count toward the current year.

Stay in grace longer than two years and the certification is revoked. There’s no simple reinstatement; you’d have to reapply to the certification program and pass the CIA exam again.⁶

Hardship Exemptions

Serious medical conditions, military deployment, and similar circumstances can qualify you for a hardship exemption. Submit the request through a case in your CCMS profile before December 31 of the reporting year, with supporting documentation. The IIA reviews these case by case, and the full criteria live in the Certification Renewal Policy. The deadline is firm: file before it passes, not after you’ve already lapsed into grace status.¹

1
The Institute of Internal Auditors. CPE Requirements for Internal Auditors
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The Institute of Internal Auditors. Annual Certification Renewal Policy
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The Institute of Internal Auditors. Annual Certification Renewal Policy
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The Institute of Internal Auditors. Certification Renewal – Maintain Your IIA Certification
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The Institute of Internal Auditors. Internal Audit Certification Costs
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The Institute of Internal Auditors. When Am I Required to Renew My Certification?