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CPA Certification
Individuals who have passed all sections of the CPA Exam may submit an Application for Issuance of the CPA Certificate. This form will be provided to an individual who has passed all sections of the CPA Exam.
Certification Requirements
The Board has a statutory obligation (Section 901.252) to ensure every person engaged in the practice of public accountancy meets specific education and eligibility requirements. The Board shall issue a certificate to a person who meets these requirements:
- Pass a background investigation.
- Pass the CPA Exam.
- Complete the education requirements of Board Rule 511.59 or 511.164 within 36 months of passing all sections of the CPA Exam.
- No fewer than 120 or 150 semester hours of college coursework taken at an accredited college or university depending on the pathway you selected for CPA certification.
- No fewer than 27 semester hours of upper-level accounting coursework to include 2 semester hours of accounting/tax research and analysis (effective through 7-31-2026) or 30 semester hours of upper-level accounting coursework (effective 8-1-2026)
- Complete a 3-semester-hour Board-approved ethics course.
- Meet the work experience requirements.
- Pass an exam on the Board’s Rules of Professional Conduct, which will be emailed to you after you submit the application for issuance.
Instructional Documents
CPA Certification Frequently Asked Questions
Required Forms
New Pathway Election Form:
Accounting Courses
The Board requires an applicant for CPA certification to complete additional accounting coursework beyond the 21 semester hours of accounting course requirements to take the CPA Exam. The accounting hour requirements are determined by the pathway the applicant elects for CPA certification and the date the CPA certification application is received by the Board.Â
Please refer to Certification Requirements for dates and requirements.
The 2 semester hours of accounting/tax research and analysis for CPA certification is a requirement for applicants who elect Pathway A and submit the application for CPA certificate prior to August 1, 2026.
- Accounting data analytics
- Accounting information systems or accounting data analytics
- Accounting research & analysis
- Accounting theory
- Advanced accounting
- Auditing & attestation services
- Financial accounting and reporting for business organizations or intermediate accounting
- Financial planning
- Financial statement analysis
- Financial statement auditing
- Fraud examination
- Governmental & non-profit entity accounting
- Internal accounting control & risk assessment
- International accounting
- Management information systems (must be cross-listed as accounting)
- Managerial or cost accounting (excluding introductory level courses)
- Mergers & acquisitions
- Taxation
- Elementary accounting
- Principles of accounting
- Financial and managerial accounting
- Introductory accounting courses
- Accounting software courses
- Any CPA review course offered by an educational institution or a proprietary organization
- CPE courses
- Ethics courses
- Accounting courses completed through an extension school of a board recognized educational institution may be accepted by the board provided that the courses are accepted for a business baccalaureate or higher degree conferred by that educational institution
Ethics Courses
An applicant is required to complete a Board-approved 3-semester-hour ethics course as part of the Issuance of the CPA Certification. The course must be pre-approved by the Board, taken as a standalone course in accounting or business ethics at a Board-recognized educational institution, and provide students with a framework of ethical reasoning, professional values and attitudes for exercising professional skepticism and other behavior that is in the best interest of the public and profession. The ethics program shall include the ethics rules of the American Institute of CPAs and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, and should provide a foundation for ethical reasoning and include the core values of integrity, objectivity, and independence.
Work Experience
The Board has a statutory obligation (Section 901.256) to ensure that every person who is eligible to receive a CPA certificate has qualifying work experience. The amount of work experience is dependent on the pathway to CPA certification that the person elects. Please refer to Certification Requirements. The requirement is full-time non-routine accounting work experience under the direct supervision of a licensed CPA.
The work experience can be obtained through full-time or part-time experience as described in Board Rule 511.122:
The amount of work experience is dependent on the certification pathway that you elect.
Pathway A is an option if you have completed at least 150 semester hours of college coursework.
- Full-time consists of 12 calendar months of full-time employment; or
- Part-time consists of at least 2,000 hours of employment over a period of not more than two consecutive years, where 20 hours of work per week is performed on a continuous basis. Documentation is required.
Pathway B (effective August 1, 2026) is an option if you have completed at least 120 semester hours of college coursework, but less than the 150 semester hours required in Pathway A.
- Full-time consists of 24 calendar months of full-time employment; or
- Part-time consists of at least 4,000 hours of employment over a period of not more than four consecutive years, where 20 hours of work per week is performed on a continuous basis. Documentation is required.
Non-routine accounting involves attest services as defined in Board Rule 501.52(4) or professional accounting services or professional accounting work as defined in Board Rule 501.52(22), and the use of independent judgment, applying entry level or higher professional accounting knowledge and skills to select, correct, organize, interpret, and present real-world data as accounting entries, reports, statements, and analyses extending over a diverse range of tax, accounting, assurance, and control situations.
Work experience must be gained under the supervision of a CPA who is responsible for supervising, evaluating and reviewing your work. The supervising CPA must hold a current license or permit issued by this Board or by another state board of accountancy. Work experience forms should be submitted with the Application for Issuance of the CPA Certificate after you have passed the CPA Exam.
CPA Supervision
Board Rule 511.124 provides that work experience submitted to obtain a Texas CPA Certificate must have been under the direct supervision of a licensed CPA.
Work experience must be gained under the supervision of a CPA who is responsible to supervise, evaluate and review your work. The supervising CPA must hold a current license or permit issued by this Board or by another state board of accountancy.
Supervision may be obtained in one of the following ways:
- You and the CPA supervisor are both employed by the same firm or company, and you report directly to the CPA supervisor.
- You and the CPA supervisor are both employed by the same firm or company, and you report directly to the CPA supervisor; however, your office is in a different city than the supervisor. Additional information is required to describe how the CPA is able to supervise you when you are in different cities. Contact a member of the Qualifications Team.
- You are employed at a firm or company where there is no CPA supervisor. The firm or company may engage a CPA firm to provide you with supervision and evaluate and review your work for a specified period of time. The CPA firm that is engaged may not provide attest services for the firm or company. Contact a member of the Qualifications Team to receive a sample engagement.
In addition to the work experience form, two statements are required:
- A statement describing the type and amount of experience the CPA possesses that qualifies the individual to supervise you.
- A narrative of your job responsibilities.
Work experience forms should be submitted with the Application for Issuance of the CPA Certificate after passing the CPA Exam.
Citations
The Public Accountancy Act and the Board’s Rules of Professional Conduct grant express authority and obligations to an individual who is licensed as a Certified Public Accountant (CPA). You should review the following citations before making reference to your status as a CPA.
The Public Accountancy Act
Chapter 901 of the Occupations Code
- Subchapter A. Section 901.002. General Definitions
- Subchapter A. Section 901.003. Practice of Public Accountancy
- Subchapter F. Section 901.251. Certificate Required
- Subchapter H. Section 901.351. Firm License Required
- Subchapter I. Section 901.401. License Required
- Subchapter J. Section 901.451. Use of Title or Abbreviation for “Certified Public Accountant”
- Subchapter J. Section 901.453. Use of Other Titles or Abbreviations
Texas Administrative Code, Title 22, Part 22
Chapter 501
Rules of Professional Conduct
- Section 501.52. Definitions
- Section 501.80. Practice of Public Accountancy
- Section 501.81. Firm License Requirements
- Section 501.82. Advertising
- Section 501.83. Firm Names
- Section 501.90. Discreditable Acts
Registration Process
Registration is the process for approving an applicant for the CPA Certificate and assigning the unique CPA number.
A member of the Qualifications Team will evaluate your education and work experience, complete a background investigation through the Texas Department of Public Safety, verify your oath of office, and score your exam on the Rules of Professional Conduct. If any area of your application or supporting documents is incomplete, the Team member will contact you by phone, email, or letter.
Once the application is complete in all respects, you will be registered as a CPA and assigned your unique CPA number. A congratulatory letter and license notice will be sent to you at the conclusion of registration. It is important that you pay your license fee as soon as possible so that you may use the CPA designation. Using the Board’s online payment process to submit your license fee is the fastest means by which to accomplish this!
You may not use the Texas CPA designation unless and until you have paid your license fee.
Each year you will receive an annual license fee renewal notice prior to your birth month to renew your license through the Board’s online process.
The Board provides a CPA wall certificate for each new CPA. The certificates are professionally produced for each individual and because of volume and cost considerations, certificates are printed only twice a year. The certificates are completed a few weeks prior to the Board’s Swearing-In Ceremony. Depending on when you are registered as a new CPA, there could be a delay of up to 8 months before you receive your certificate. The certificate is presented to each new CPA who attends the Swearing-In Ceremony. If you are unable to attend the ceremony, your certificate will be mailed to you after the ceremony.
After you are registered as a new CPA, you will be sent an invitation to attend a Swearing-In Ceremony.
Important Note
By submitting this application, you acknowledge that you are subject to the Public Accountancy Act (Chapter 901 of the Occupations Code), the Texas State Board of Public Accountancy Rules of Professional Conduct, and all other rules promulgated by the Board. Any violations of the Act or its rules prior to licensure could be cause by the Board to take disciplinary action against you as an applicant, candidate, certificate holder, or deny the issuance of a CPA certificate.
Confidentiality
Section 551.11765 of the Texas Government Code, a subsection of the Public Information Act, directs a state agency to maintain all information in a license application in confidence and excepted from public disclosure. There are three exceptions; the applicant’s name, and the license number and status of any subsequently issued license. Therefore, the required contents of your initial license application and any future license renewal will not be disclosed to the public. This includes the information provided to NASBA as a part of the application’s evaluation. The Board takes seriously the safeguarding of private information about its applicants.
Issuance of CPA Certificate Fee
The fee for the Issuance of the CPA Certificate is $50. A check or money order made payable to the Texas State Board of Public Accountancy should be submitted with the Application for Issuance of the CPA Certificate.
This is a non-refundable fee.
Board Rule 521.9 establishes the Certification Fee for the Issuance Application for the CPA Certificate.
