Membership registration
Reduced annual fees are available to long term members when they have reached the following age on 1 January of the year respectively. No application is required in this respect:
Category |
Reduced membership rate | Apportionment to Capital Fund | |
60 to 64 years of age with 20 years or more membership | HKD 1,613 | HKD 75 | |
65 or above with 20 years or more membership | Waived |
--- |
Annual fee(s) can be paid via the following methods:
(a) | Bank Autopay |
Please obtain a direct debit authorization ("DDA") form from the Institute's Finance Department at finrenewal@hkicpa.org.hk and submit your completed DDA form to your designated bank. It takes about 1 month to process your request by the bank. For members who have already set up the autopay instruction before 1 November, the annual fee(s) will be debited from the designated bank account on the payment due date specified in the payment advice. | |
(b) | Credit Card |
i) Pay online by VISA/ MasterCard - log in to the Annual Renewal section in our website at www.hkicpa.org.hk and act as instructed, or
ii) Complete and return the credit card authorization form (pay by BOC HKICPA VISA card, BOC HKICPA UnionPay Card or other VISA/MasterCard) iii) Pay in person at the Institute's member services counter. |
|
(c) | Crossed cheque or bankdraft |
Please send your payment advice together with a crossed cheque/ bank draft in Hong Kong Dollars ("HKD") made payable to "Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants" or "HKICPA". Please ensure that your registration number and full name are written at the back of the crossed cheque or bank draft. Do not send post-dated cheque. Members should bear any bank charge arising from payment outside Hong Kong and this charge should be added to the total payment. |
|
(d) | PPS |
Pay online by PPS - log in to the Annual Renewal section in our website at www.hkicpa.org.hk and act as instructed. | |
(e) | Cash |
Pay in person at the Institute's member services counter at 27th floor, Wu Chung House, 213 Queen's Road East, Wan Chai, Hong Kong. |
Q4. | I have relocated to overseas/ am currently out of the work force. Can my member annual fee be reduced? |
Q5. | I will move to overseas shortly. Can I pay my member annual fee before receiving the annual renewal notice for next year? |
You may log in to the Annual Renewal section in our website and check the payment status:
- Pay now: The annual fee is outstanding.
- Under Process: Your payment instruction has been received. Please allow 7 working days to process your payment. For member who has set up autopay, the status "Under Process" will be kept until your payment is successfully received by HKICPA.
- Settled: Your payment has been received by HKICPA.
Please send documentary evidence for these two payment transactions to the Institute's Finance Department at finrenewal@hkicpa.org.hk for processing.
The Institute has established a trust fund for the relief of poverty by providing assistance to members experiencing severe financial hardship in the form of payment of the Institute's member annual fees, a grant or a loan. Please download relevant application form from our website for completion and return to the Institute, with documentary evidence, as required, on or before 15 December, i.e. 15 days before the expiry of your membership registration on 31 December of the year.
Members are reminded that late submission will not be considered. In rare circumstances will late applications be accepted and only when accompanied by a letter that details compelling reasons for the delay together with supporting documents where relevant.
All members, except those exempt from complying with the Institute's CPD requirements, are required to submit a CPD declaration through filing of the Annual Return for membership renewal ("Annual Return") at the time of applying for their membership renewal.
The CPD records you keep in "MyCPA >> Development >> CPD activity summary" on the Institute's website DO NOT EQUATE to an online CPD declaration. You still have to submit a CPD declaration either by the online Annual Return or by sending this Annual Return to the Institute in hardcopy.
CPD exemption will only be granted to a member who, at the time of application, is not carrying out any accountancy or accountancy related work, whether paid or unpaid, and does not plan to do so for a significant period of time.
Generally, no exemption will be granted to members holding Practising Certificates or Specialist Designations or directors of any companies. Please refer to Appendix of Statement 1.500 (Revised March 2021), Guidance on Exemptions, for more details about exemption, including information about what is accountancy or accountancy related work.
Members may submit an application for exemption from CPD compliance in writing and support it with documentary evidence at any time during the year but are requested to submit it by 15 December of the year to allow time for processing for annual renewal purpose.
Q13. | I have been exempted from the CPD requirement since last year. What should I do with this year's Annual Return (CPD declaration)? |
If you have been granted a CPD exemption and continue to meet the current exemption criteria mentioned in Q12, you do not need to re-apply if your circumstances remain unchanged. Please skip the CPD declaration section, and complete and return the remaining section(s) in your annual return to the Institute for processing.
If the circumstances under which you were granted CPD exemption have changed such that you no longer meet the current exemption criteria, you should notify the Institute's Membership and Admission Department in writing and resume CPD compliance.
With the enactment of the Professional Accountants (Amendment) Ordinance in September 2004, compliance with CPD is one of the criteria for renewal of registration as a CPA under section 28(2)(c) and issuance of a Practising Certificate under section 30(8) of the PAO. In the absence of exemption, the Council shall refuse a member's application to renew his/her registration as a CPA if the member fails to comply with the CPD requirements as set down by the Council.
For more details on the CPD requirements, please click here.
You can easily pay your annual fee(s) and submit your annual return by logging in to the Annual Renewal section in our website.
Q16. | I tried to renew online but was accidentally logged out from the system. How can I know that the renewal transaction has been completed? |
Q18. | I was newly admitted in April this year. When and how will I be notified to renew my membership registration? |
Under the PAO, irrespective of the date of your first registration as a member with the Institute, your membership will expire on 31 December. Renewal notice will be emailed to you and all members in mid-November. Members who have paid the hardcopy surcharge will receive hardcopy renewal notice by post.
Q19. | Why are members required to make declaration on convictions in the annual return form? Is it a mandatory requirement for membership renewal? What would be the consequence? |
Declaration on convictions is not a mandatory requirement for membership renewal. As members have the obligation to report any conviction of criminal offence or professional misconduct to the Institute, this declaration is added to the annual return form to facilitate members in reporting their convictions, if any.
Q20. | I had been convicted of minor traffic offence in last year. Do I need to state it in the Declaration on convictions in Hong Kong or elsewhere in the annual return? |
Payment receipt will be sent to you via email once payment has been received by HKICPA. In addition, you may log in and download the payment receipt in the Annual Renewal section and/or "MyCPA >> Payment" in the Members' area of the Institute's website.
If you fail to complete the renewal procedures before the renewal deadline on 15 December, a final notice will be sent by email and post to you by the end of December. A final deadline will be given for you to renew your membership registration.
If no payment/ annual return are received from you by this extended renewal deadline, your name will be removed from the Institute's register of certified public accountants without further notice.
Q23. | I have paid my member annual fee, but subsequently been removed by the Institute for non-compliance of the CPD requirement. Can I get a refund of the annual fee paid? |
If you have paid the member annual fee but your name was removed due to your failure in filing the CPD Declaration via the Annual Return for membership renewal, the annual fee paid will be refunded in accordance with your payment method. For bank autopay, PPS and payments through our member services counter, refund will be made by cheque and mailed to your last known correspondence address.
Q24. | I do not want to renew my membership and/or practising certificate after it expires on 31 December this year. What should I do? |
Please note that a non-member of the Institute is not eligible to use the designation "Certified Public Accountant" or "CPA" or "會計師".
If you wish to restore your name to the CPA register and re-apply for a PC in the future, you are required to submit a fresh membership/ PC application(s) which will be assessed in accordance with the rules and requirements prevailing. Please refer to our website www.hkicpa.org.hk for the latest membership admission and PC issuance requirements and application procedures.