Applicants to the National Registry of CPE Sponsors seek the ability to offer Continuing Professional Education (CPE) credits to CPAs so that Boards of Accountancy will accept them based on their rules and requirements. The application review process is intended to be a comprehensive review of an applicant’s CPE policies and course development in accordance with the Statement on Standards for Continuing Professional Education (CPE) Programs (Standards).   

Approval on the National Registry of CPE Sponsors (Registry) does not constitute a review of all the CPE courses that an applicant offers for CPE credit. Many sponsors that are approved providers on the Registry have hundreds of CPE courses in their library. The Registry does not have the ability, logistically, to review all courses by each applicant. An applicant is required to only submit one course for the instructional delivery method(s) applied for to serve as an example of its CPE offerings to demonstrate compliance to the Standards.    

Once an applicant’s course has demonstrated that it meets the Standards, NASBA then grants the applicant organizational approval as a Registry sponsor for the instructional delivery method of the submitted course. Organizational approval allows the sponsor to offer additional CPE programs for that same instructional delivery method during a membership year without the need to submit each new course to the Registry for review. The sponsor is entrusted that each CPE course offered as a Registry sponsor is developed and offered in accordance to the Standards.  

If the applicant wishes to offer CPE credit for a different instructional delivery method, then an application must be submitted with one course for that delivery method. Once the submitted course demonstrates compliance that it meets the Standards, then organizational approval will be granted for the new instructional delivery method. For example, if your organization initially applied for approval for the Group Live delivery method to offer CPE credits for in-person programs but now wants to offer CPE credits for webinars (Group Internet Based delivery method), you must apply for separate approval for the Group Internet Based delivery method.