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CPA exam and license requirements in Texas

Texas requires 120 semester credit hours to sit for the CPA exam. Licensure requires 150. Administered under the Texas State Board of Public Accountancy. Last reviewed 2026-08-19.

Credit hours to sit
120
Credit hours to license
150
Exam fee per section
$262.64
Exam credit window
30 months
Notice to Schedule valid
180 days from board approval
Transferring scores out
Through the board, $40
State ethics requirement
Rules of Conduct exam

How many credit hours do you need to sit for the CPA exam in Texas?

Texas requires 120 semester credit hours to sit for the CPA exam. Candidates in Texas sit under the rules of the Texas State Board of Public Accountancy.

How many credit hours do you need for a CPA license in Texas?

Texas requires 150 semester credit hours for CPA licensure. That is 30 more than the 120 needed to sit, so candidates can begin testing before completing the licensure requirement.

How much does the CPA exam cost in Texas?

The CPA exam in Texas costs $262.64 per section, a $15 application fee, a $20 education evaluation fee. Four sections at $262.64 is $1,050.56 in section fees alone. These are Texas board and NASBA fees and exclude review course costs and any re-take fees.

How long do you have to pass all four CPA exam sections in Texas?

Texas gives candidates a 30-month window to pass all four CPA exam sections. The clock starts when the first section is passed.

How long is your Notice to Schedule valid in Texas?

Texas gives you 180 days from the date the Texas State Board of Public Accountancy approves your eligibility application to sit the section it covers. That window also has to cover paying NASBA and booking a seat with Prometric, so it starts earlier than the Notice to Schedule itself. If it expires you forfeit the fees already paid for that section and must reapply.

The clock starts earlier hereTexas runs this clock from the date the board approves your eligibility application rather than from the date the NTS is issued, and the same 180 days has to cover paying NASBA, scheduling with Prometric and sitting the section. The NASBA Candidate Guide edition of 2026-07-16 groups Texas with the jurisdictions allowing six months from NTS issue, which starts the clock later. Where the two disagree, the board rule is the one that governs.

Checked against 22 TAC 511.73, at https://www.tsbpa.texas.gov/exam-qualification/cpa-exam-scheduling.html.

Can you appeal a failed CPA exam score in Texas?

Texas offers a score appeal. An appeal lets you view the multiple-choice questions or simulations you answered incorrectly and submit comments on them, under supervision, and it requires a formal request, board approval, a fee and a deadline that runs from the date your score was reported. A score review is separate and is available everywhere: it re-checks that the approved answer key was applied correctly to your responses, and it is not a way to have an alternative answer considered. NASBA releases the numeric score for Texas but not the score notice document, so request the notice from the Texas State Board of Public Accountancy if you need it.

Appeal availability is listed in the NASBA Candidate Guide, edition 2026-07-16. See also what happens on test day.

How do you transfer CPA exam scores out of Texas?

Not through NASBA. Texas does not appear as an origin on NASBA's transfer service, so you request your scores from the Texas State Board of Public Accountancy directly, which states a fee of $40. You can still transfer INTO Texas from anywhere; it is only the outbound route that runs through the board.

Route read from NASBA's transfer service and cross-checked against NASBA's Interstate Authorization Fee Schedule, 2026-09-20, and every route claim was handed to a pass instructed to refute it. How exam credit moves between jurisdictions sets out the whole picture, including what moving does to your credit window.

Do your CPA exam credits expire after you pass all four sections in Texas?

Yes. Texas gives you 36 months from passing your last section to meet the education requirement, and what lapses if you do not is your exam credit. The rule is 22 TAC 511.80(e) and (f). Covers both pathways. Subsection (f), effective 1 August 2026, applies the same 36 months against the 120-hour route in §511.59. The rule moved from (d) to (e) when 22 TAC 511.80 was amended effective 3 June 2026. Third-party mirrors still carry the old lettering with the correct-looking number, which is the trap.

22 TAC 511.80(e) and (f): "An applicant under this section shall have 36 months from the time all test sections are passed to meet the education requirements of §511.164 ... or the credit for all test sections will expire." Source.

Researched against Texas's own statutes and administrative rules on 2026-09-20, not against the board FAQ alone. What happens to CPA exam credit after you pass all four sets out all 55 jurisdictions and the clocks that are mistaken for deadlines.

Does Texas require a CPA ethics exam?

Texas: Pass the Board's own open-book exam on the Texas Rules of Professional Conduct with a score of 85% or higher (a Texas exam, not the national AICPA ethics exam).

What work experience is required for a CPA license in Texas?

Texas requires one year (2,000 hours) of non-routine accounting work under a licensed CPA for the 150-hour Pathway A, or two years (4,000 hours) under the new 120-hour Pathway B.

Who regulates CPAs in Texas?

CPAs in Texas are regulated by the Texas State Board of Public Accountancy. Its published requirements are at https://www.tsbpa.texas.gov.

Can you become a CPA in Texas without 150 credit hours?

Yes. Texas has an alternative route to CPA licensure that does not require 150 semester hours, and it has been in force since 2026-08-01. The traditional 150-hour route remains available alongside it. The change came through Senate Bill 262, 89th Texas Legislature (2025).

What the alternative route requires: A baccalaureate degree with at least 120 semester hours, including 27 upper-level accounting hours and 24 upper-level business hours with a three-hour ethics course, plus two years of full-time non-routine accounting experience directly supervised by a licensed CPA.

Worth knowingThe Board adopted rules for both pathways effective October 9, 2025, but no one could be certified under Pathway B until August 1, 2026. The Legislature set the later date to give Texas colleges time to build the coursework. Candidates must file a TSBPA election form to move onto Pathway B, and Pathway B also changes exam eligibility, not just licensure.

Texas State Board of Public Accountancy, New Pathway for CPA Exam and Certification: https://www.tsbpa.texas.gov/news/new-pathway-for-cpa-exam-and-certification. Verified 2026-08-19, and independently re-checked against the cited source.

Recent changes and notes for Texas

Jurisdictions that changed around the same time as Texas

Texas's alternative route started on 1 August 2026. These started closest to it, which is the comparison that matters if you are choosing where to apply or holding a license in more than one.

The full picture, with every statute and the jurisdictions where the published trackers are behind, is on the 150-hour rule tracker.

Studying for the CPA exam

PocketCPA covers all six CPA exam sections with 11,896 questions, each cited to the specific standard or statute it tests, and 1,071 lesson pages written from primary source text. A nine-item sample of every section is open with no account, and a full-length FAR mock exam is free with one.

Source: https://www.tsbpa.texas.gov/candidates/certification. Requirements change; confirm with the Texas State Board of Public Accountancy before applying.